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4.2
444 Reviews (444)
5 Stars
132
4 Stars
213
3 Stars
71
2 Stars
21
1 Stars
7
Conditions
3.9
Value
4.1
Layout
4.6
Friendliness
4.5
Pace
4.4
Amenities
3.6
93.9%
Recommend this course
404 out of 444 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.4
8 Reviews (8)
5 Stars
3
4 Stars
5
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
3.8
Value
4.3
Layout
4.6
Pace
4.6
Amenities
3.5
StaffFriendliness
4.5
100.0%
Recommend this course
8 out of 8 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.3
24 Reviews (24)
5 Stars
7
4 Stars
16
3 Stars
1
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
3.9
Value
4.0
Layout
4.7
Pace
4.6
Amenities
3.5
StaffFriendliness
4.6
95.8%
Recommend this course
23 out of 24 reviews
Read Reviews

About

Holes 18
Type Public/Municipal
Style Links
Par 72
Length 6902 yards
Slope 139
Rating 74.0

Heron Lakes Golf Course was opened for public play in 1972. The course was designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr. and is located off of I-5 next to the Portland International Raceway. It was named after the Blue Herons that inhabit the many lakes and ponds around the course. There are two courses, the Great Blue and the Green Back.

The Great Blue has been rated for years as the most difficult golf course in the Portland Area. It is a links style course with water, tall rough, narrow fairways, and sand everywhere. Most fairways on the Great Blue narrow to small greens that roll and pitch in several directions.

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Course Details

Year Built 1992
Fairways Winter Rye Grass
Greens Bent Grass
Golf Season Year round

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes
GPS No
Pull-carts Yes
Caddies No
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Bunker Yes
Golf School/Academy Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard, Discover Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Walking Allowed Yes
Dress code Shirts must be worn on the premises at all times.

Food & Beverage

Bar, Snacks

Accolades

  • Golf Advisor: Top Courses in Oregon (2023 #17)
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Reviews

4.2
444 Reviews (444)
Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 15
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

Fantastic public course

Every city should be so lucky to have a 36 hole facility like this. The Great Blue is interesting, challenging, in great shape and has friendly staff working there.

Be careful on the par 3's. Two of them are directly over water with no bail out and one of them was set up on this day so it was impossible to carry. Nonetheless, this is a great course that I love every time I get a chance to play it. Only thing I don't care for is the amount of water on this course but that's a minor thing if you hit the ball straight.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Advanced
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Surprisingly crowded and slow for a tuesday

The course was in great shape and we had a great round. We had to wait on every hole, which was the only downside.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Great Blue is a good challenge.

Small undulating greens. Good variety of holes - doglegs, long and short. If you like tree-lined courses this isn't it. Tough track with lots of water and even more bunkers. Par 3s are extremely tough with forced carries over water. Handicap of par 3s is all wrong. #11 is not the easiest hole in the course!

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 8
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
1.0
First Time Playing
Excellent weather
Used cart

OVER 5 HR ROUND...HORRIBLE STAFF

I was extremely disappointed by the poor customer service. When I checked in the two pros at the shop were talking to each other while I stood there for 5 minutes and said can someone help me. Then I got a dirty look and checked in. The front 9 taking 2 hrs and 40 min! I went into the shop and told Nick Popovicci that I wanted a refund for our back 9 because I did not have the time or patients to for a round to take over 5 and a half hours! He said “well it is what it is and 2.5+ hrs for 9 holes is our course standard.” I asked him why they didn’t have a ranger moving people along, or why they might have over booked tee times and he gave me some rude answer. At one point we had 3 groups waiting on a tee box. I told him I was upset that he didn’t even offer a sorry or we apologize for the inconvenience. I told him I didn’t fly from NC to play your course to be treated like this and he said well I don’t know what to tell you. I will never return to your course again. This club needs to fire him before you lose more guests and need to have some training on customer service.

Quality was terrible, the driving range or lack thereof was nothing but a mud pit with zero grass. When I attempted to hit a few balls in front of the rope an employee asked me to hit behind the rope. The balls were all chewed up and dirty as well. Not to mention how could you have a golf course next to a race track!? The entire round I heard nothing but motorcycles racing. They also had people playing in jean shorts and cut off tank tops. Save your time and money.

Conditions Average
Value Poor
Friendliness Poor
Pace Poor
Amenities Poor
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 7
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Good weather
Used cart

challenging course

I had fun but the course was tore up from their men's club championship. They should have sand/seed on carts to fix divots on fairways. Lots of ball marks on the greens that were not fixed. No cold water on course and it was hot..

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Greens were shaggy/tons of ball marks

I was disappointed in the condition of the greens. I dont think they were cut that day and there were a lot of ball marks making them pretty bumpy. I just played the Reserve, Pumpkin and Tualatin so that is hard to compare but the greens were terrible in comparison. The latout is great the course is very challenging but the poor condition of the greens was a problem. I played here once in 2014 and the greens were fine but not so much this year

Conditions Average
Value Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Walked

A thirsty round

Course is in great shape, however, the sand traps could use some work. Most don't have any fluffy sand so you can't hit out of them as you normally would. There are A LOT of traps and the inconsistency of them is a challenge. We saw the drink lady on the 2nd hole and didn't see her again until we were approaching the 18th. Since there is no easy way to stop at the turn to buy drinks it was a thirsty round for us. There are water fountains on the course so you won't die but we don't happened to be a fan of public drinking fountains. Make sure to pack your own drinks and snacks.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Friendliness Fair
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 182
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 250 Contributor
Previously Played

Good value

Fairways and greens were great, considering we're in very dry and hot season. Hope it was well water they used because the water table is fairly high at this location.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Great Muni Public course

For a city run course just excellent. Well maintained and well run. Close to river. Lots of water but forgiving. Plant to hit this one next time I'm in Portland.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

Great Blue

The course was not in very good condition. There were many burnt out areas in the fairway, especially on the back. The bunkers were horrible, very little sand in the bottom of the traps which prevented making a routine bunker shot as the club bounced off the dirt . and the greens had just been "needle tined." Wish I had of known that before making the reservation. Very disappointed in this outstanding layout-needs a lot of work.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 41
Handicap 25+
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Good golf

Fairways green, course does good job keeping watered and playable.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Walked

Great Course

The course is in great condition. The sand in the bunkers is very playable

Conditions Fair
Value Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Nice day!

Greens could have been better.
Beverage cart, could have come by more than once.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 6
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Good value

Great value for under $20 a round with a "hot deal." Marshals were friendly and informative, and they made their presence known on the course to keep the pace up as much as possible. The greens were a little more beat up than normal from people not fixing their ball marks, so I fixed 3-4 every hole. My biggest complaint would be that it was a sweltering 91 degrees out and I only saw the drink cart once, and that was right before the turn, so it was virtually pointless. They could have made quite a bit from my foursome alone if they had been out.
All in all, heron lakes is one of the best public facilities in the portland area, and the two courses offer something for every skill level.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

great blue

Greens were a little slow but weren't cut yet. Fairways were excellent. Course played great but wish the greens were quicker.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once every three months
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Dmc

Has been a while since I've played this course, essentially the same, great shape and good pace of play.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Best value in Portland

Two great courses, totally different from each other. Good challenge, great condition. Really enjoy it.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Good weather
Used cart

Haron Lakes Great Blue

Course was in good shape, but the greens were not completely healed from the plugging wounds so putting was a challenge. Had a great time.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 4
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Good weather
Used cart

Great spring day

8-10 after spring plug and sanding. Still 'healing' but a nice day; just can't take putting too seriously

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

nice view

I, d like to play my group. Because of staff, the dream went off ~~

Conditions Excellent
Value Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
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