Royal Hawaiian Golf Club

Unfortunately we played the day after it rained and was cart path only.

The 7th hole was not playable.

Staff were friendly and very helpful, but there was no restaurant open, no bar after just a snack shop, for a course of such stature I was shocked that they have very little food and beverage offerings.

The pace of play was great, not many on the course but for $150 it was not really worth it!

The staff told us we could cancel and get a refund due to the conditions but once we teed off no refunds possible.

We played on a beautiful sunny day. Unfortunately, it had been raining a lot in recent days, so the course was about 85% unplayable. The course should have been closed until it dried up considerably. Nearly everyplace we walked (tees, fairways and greens) we either sloshed through an inch of standing water or, worse yet, 2 inches of sloppy slimy mud. Many greens had large areas of mud with no grass whatsoever. The fairway grass was thin and sparse. Sand traps had a layer of mud totally covering the sand. Nearly every approach shot resulted in a splash of mud and a golf club covered with mud. It's very hilly, so walking to your ball or the tee or the green requires you to traverse very steep areas...which is difficult or impossible to do without falling on your butt in the mud. Seriously, while walking from the cart to the green, my feet flew out from under me and I landed flat on my back in the mud. I had 1 inch of mud caked to my legs, arms, and my entire back. (That shirt is a loss.) As many other reviewers have mentioned, the course is carved out of the jungle and one of the most beautiful around. Surprisingly it used to be one of my favorite courses on Oahu. I've played there several times in the past (when it was called Luana Hills), but I won't go back until Windward Oahu has its next drought.

I played this course 5 years ago on my honeymoon and was extremely excited to play it again. Since then I have played pebble beach, Spanish bay, Spyglass, TPC Las Colinas, TPC Scottsdale and many other courses. I list all of them bc the rate charged today was comparable to those courses above. The course was in rough shape. Staff very unfriendly. Pace of Play was horrific!!! We were 3.5 hours and only on hole 11. We called and asked for a Marshall to help speed up play. No one came.

The locations is unreal but it is obvious the management and conditions of the course needs to improve if there going to charge that much.

Needless to say, I am extremely disappointed and leaving Oahu with a bad taste in my mouth.

The course is basically tucked into the side of the mountain. The views are unbelievable and my wife took a boat load of pictures. That being said, I was a little concerned as we were driving up to course. The maintenance crew was throwing sand onto the greens. The greens had not been punched, they were just muddy. I don't mean just one or two greens, the entire 18 were the same way. Large spots on every green that had no grass and in my opinion were un-puttable. I really had no chance of making a putt over three feet. The rest of the course was beautiful, so it doesn't make sense that they couldn't maintain the greens. The tee boxes, fairways and bunkers were well maintained. You will never get a flat lie in a fairway, but that is how the course is set up. One would definitely need to play this course a few times to know what club to tee off with. Overall, a little disappointed with the course considering the amount of money I paid. Would not go back, should have went to Turtle Bay.

Royal Hawaiian is a physically stunning golf course that looks like it was carved out of a jungle and surrounded by mountains. The on-course scenery is spectacular. The layout is also top-notch, with many memorable holes throughout the round. That same layout is also, however, very penal. The course does not have much room off of the fairways and greens and errant shots are quickly punished and the lost ball count will rise precipitously

.

The downside of this course is that it lies on the rainy side of the Ko'Olau Mountain Range (which ironically is what provides the course with its scenic beauty). The course can get a heavy amount of rain, which makes the course play much longer than its yardage on the card and, in certain places, close to unplayable with balls frequently deeply embedding through the green. The pace of play here was also disappointing, with no marshal/ranger/player assistant to intervene on a front nine that took 2 hours and 45 minutes.

I do, however, recommend this course if only for its physical beauty. I would urge that players call ahead to see how much rain the course has received and whether the course is playing "cart path only." If the course indeed is playing cart path only, prepare for a long, wet, and at times muddy round if you decide to venture out on the course.

Amazing golf course and facilities hidden in the mountains. From the drive in at the end of the road to driving away after our round, everything in between was memorable (including losing 4 golf balls!) Really enjoyable experience, Lon and Mark in the shop were very friendly and shared course knowledge with us. The outside staff and restaurant staff were great and they have really nice rental clubs as well. This is a one-of-a-kind golfing experience!

We started back 9.

We know why, front 9 is poor maintenance and need a lots of repair.

Golf course has to be made playable condition.

I was thoroughly amazed that they could carve a golf course out of the canyons below the Pali. It reminded me of jungle hikes. This was one of the most scenic courses I've ever played. Spectacular views on almost every hole. The course itself is somewhat short but very challenging. The facility is very nice and well maintained. Can't wait to go back.

With low expectations playing a Pete Dye course, I was blown away. Running inland through a rain forest, the course was fun, challenging and fair. Such words have never been said by me about any Pete Dye course ever. Even more thrilled to only pay $35 for a same day replay. Scored well despite the wind and blown away by the views of the jungle. Don't miss this.

Plan for adequate warm up time before the round. Accuracy is very important on the first few holes.

Believe everything you read about bringing extra golf balls. That is just a reality on this challenging course with gorgeous views of mountain and valleys. There is a reason they call the front nine, Jurassic Park. You expect to see dinosaurs popping out at any moment. We only saw a family of nosey wild pigs. Be prepared for blind and down hill shots. We started on the back nine, which got us comfortable with hitting fairway woods or hybrids off the tees -- you'll need to on the front nine. The greens were faster on the back, which posed a problem when we got to the slower front nine greens.Overall a wonderful golfing experience.

My buddies had warned me that I wouldn't enjoy this round and they couldn't be more correct. The level of inconsistency in the quality of the course combined with the insanely unfair layout makes for a not-fun round.

There were greens and fairways that were gorgeous...and then there were fairways and greens that were worse than the worst municipal course.

The course isn't made for golf. There were par 5's that ran out of fairway at the 240 yd mark unless you go way right which was improbable. There were par 4's that if you hit a driver you'd be too far and if you hit an iron you'd have to hit a 5i to an elevated green that wasn't receptive at all. I'll never play again.

I really, REALLY enjoyed the course today. I can say it was imensly challanging. I really played layup golf and had a complete blast. I just can't imagine trying to crush some of these holes, the difficult terrain shows everyone who tries! Its a ball graveyard out there!

Greens were in good shape but fairways were in bad shape. lack of water

The back nine at Royal Hawaiian is pretty open and very playable; the front is called Jurassic Park and I was cautioned to bring a (few) backup sleeve(s) of ball(s). I got started on ten and my first nine (10-18) played as advertised. There was enough challenge to keep me interested, but nothing that would likely cause frustration as long as you are hitting your clubs decently (which, fortunately, I was).

There is some elevation change and, due to the relatively dry landing surfaces, plenty of roll to be found as a result (witness my 196 7 iron off the first tee). I played the black tees (not the tips here) which were only about 6000 yards; however, as the starter told me, it’s not the length that can get you here. I got through 8 holes 2 over and was feeling pretty confident (too confident, in fact, after hitting a practically perfect 3W 221 yards uphill off the tee, I proceeded to pull the ensuing wedge out of bounds and took a double going into the turn).

As we entered “Jurassic Park” I was reminded by a club staff person not to get too frustrated if I lost too many balls and I prepped myself for a difficult final nine. Ultimately; however, I didn’t lose any balls other than a couple of complete miss hits on my part (read: me trying to tin cup my way over a 220 yard carry that I had no business shooting for on this particular day). The fact of the matter is, the back nine (not unlike the front) is just not very long (3043 from the blacks) and almost every hole is approachable with mid irons off the tee. So, as long as you aren’t digging into your bag for your driver on every hole, you really don’t have to be in that much trouble (again, the only hole I really got in trouble on was when I got out my big(ish) stick and tried to be a hero). That was also the only double I had on the back and I was perfectly satisfied to card a 41.

What the front nine did allow me to do, and I really enjoyed, was work on shaping some shots with a real reward for doing so. The par 5 fourth hole, for example is reachable with a well-placed drive (the fairway is open enough to use a big club here without any real danger, I used a 3w) and a ~200 yard club with a draw (you have to bend it around a tree). I didn’t quite have enough draw to get on the green, but I was able to get around the tree and get close enough to chip on and leave myself a very makeable birdie putt. This was a perfect warmup for anther draw on the fifth (8i from 178… downhill) which led to a GIR on a relatively tricky green to reach without a solid drive (which I didn’t muster on that hole).

Long story made short (literally and figuratively) I found the front nine very playable, provided you have a little discipline off the tee. Additionally it turned out to be a decent test of golf, both from a shot making and course management standpoint.

Beyond the golf, this track (especially the front) is absolutely beautiful. Nestled in a valley, towering (yet very green) cliff walls surround you and jungle vegetation is lush and plentiful. They have recently cleared out a lot of growth, so there are currently some barren spots on some of the holes, but based on the plant life around these areas, I expect the “baldness” to be short lived. Royal Hawaiian is certainly scenic enough that even if you did have a frustrating day with your clubs, you can always look up and just enjoy your surroundings.

The staff was outstanding. Their enthusiasm for the course was noticeable from the minute we stepped out of the car. They were eager to help in any way and seemed truly bent on ensuring we had a great day.

As I mentioned above the course was a bit dry (but that certainly benefitted me from a golf standpoint). The greens were also a bit slow (they recently put in new grass that isn’t mature yet); however, they let me know about that right away when we arrived and insisted that we hit the practice green before playing to get the feel of them. This helped a lot, and, firing a slow greens (when you know they are slow) is never bad for scoring anyway. They were, despite being a little slow, in excellent shape.

I haven’t played any other courses on the island, so I can’t compare Royal Hawaiian anything here; however, I can say I’d play it again. In fact it is entirely possible I’ll sneak in another round before this visit to the islands is over.

Very Fun course.

Very good facility and good staffs.