Heron Lakes Golf Club - Great Blue Course
About
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.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 72 | 6902 yards | 74.0 | 139 |
| Blue | 72 | 6491 yards | 71.9 | 137 |
| White | 72 | 6030 yards | 69.9 | 131 |
| White (W) | 72 | 6030 yards | 75.9 | 142 |
| Red | 72 | 5258 yards | 71.3 | 131 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold M: 74.2/146 | 413 | 560 | 333 | 168 | 566 | 205 | 396 | 466 | 428 | 3535 | 412 | 200 | 544 | 446 | 376 | 187 | 380 | 523 | 413 | 3481 | 7016 |
| Black M: 72.5/142 | 403 | 515 | 324 | 150 | 520 | 179 | 388 | 428 | 402 | 3309 | 388 | 182 | 526 | 443 | 352 | 176 | 356 | 496 | 384 | 3303 | 6612 |
| Blue M: 70.5/135 W: 76.2/144 | 381 | 501 | 307 | 133 | 503 | 161 | 348 | 413 | 366 | 3113 | 384 | 173 | 506 | 408 | 321 | 156 | 325 | 483 | 375 | 3131 | 6244 |
| White M: 68.7/127 W: 74.3/140 | 351 | 461 | 286 | 126 | 475 | 136 | 312 | 388 | 335 | 2870 | 367 | 166 | 467 | 401 | 300 | 149 | 299 | 474 | 364 | 2987 | 5857 |
| Yellow M: 65.8/121 W: 70.9/131 | 314 | 435 | 260 | 111 | 432 | 103 | 297 | 361 | 286 | 2599 | 346 | 139 | 400 | 342 | 274 | 122 | 259 | 439 | 338 | 2659 | 5258 |
| Handicap | 7 | 1 | 15 | 11 | 9 | 17 | 13 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 18 | 12 | 2 | 8 | 6 | |||
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
| Handicap (W) | 9 | 3 | 13 | 17 | 1 | 15 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 16 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 18 | 6 | 4 | 10 |
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Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Food & Beverage
Bar, SnacksAccolades
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Golf Advisor: Top Courses in Oregon (2023 #17)
Reviews
Reviewer Photos
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Photo submitted by Bigvern13 on 11/05/2025
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Photo submitted by Bigvern13 on 07/12/2025
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Photo submitted by Bigvern13 on 07/12/2025
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That’s a green. Notice how my ball did not roll, but bounce every two feet. Photo submitted by u790885909 on 10/09/2024
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18th hole from green Photo submitted by pjolly on 07/20/2024
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Photo submitted by pjolly on 07/20/2024
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Photo submitted by u000003078946 on 11/06/2023
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Photo submitted by u000003078946 on 11/06/2023
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Photo submitted by u314161709525 on 06/23/2023
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Photo submitted by JackPark on 05/22/2023
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Photo submitted by JackPark on 05/22/2023
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Photo submitted by u403283649 on 08/08/2021
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Photo submitted by u403283649 on 08/08/2021
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Photo submitted by cbenson64 on 12/26/2020
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Photo submitted by soundertillidie on 10/04/2020
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Par 5 hole Photo submitted by murray1234 on 07/30/2019
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Photo submitted by ucla1980 on 07/12/2019
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Photo submitted by Terry7235445 on 07/05/2013
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Sunset on the par3 16th hole Photo submitted by swayvincent on 07/02/2013
Vary fun but some drawbacks
The corse is vary good but the bathrooms were not good and the water from the fountain was vary poor but over all good corse and vary nice whether
Fairway wasn't fair enough
Fairway... Wasn't good enough to play. Few grass, lots of mud. Poor facilities especially no air gun, one of two was out of order..one was too weak.
winter golf
everything was frozen solid. hard to keep balls on the greens. but, had a great time. interesting watching balls hit the water holes and slide across the ice. had a ball hit the ice on #4 just short of geen bounced up and 12 feet from flag. great time, bad score. no food in club house.
Heron Lakes (Great blue)
Walked the blues (6491/71.9/137) in 4.5H on Veteran's Day afternoon on a prepaid Golf Now Hot Deal for $15. Played as a 3some & waited nearly every shot on the 3some in front of us in very windy conditions, 30-50 mph gusts kept most of the golfers away. The greens putted really nice, firm and medium fast. Definitely well above average for a city course. There are many pin positions on these greens where you better be on the correct level or side of the pin, or a 3 putt is likely. The fairways were nicely maintained with generally lush lies. However, due to the wet conditions, the ball would plug easily. The rough was lush and the ball would settle down. It was tough to advance more than a middle iron on most shots if you missed the fairway. I hit numerous 5 and 6 iron 2nd shots just setting up a wedge/chip on my 3rd shot. The combination of wet conditions and very high winds made reaching many holes in regulation impossible if you missed the fairway. The tees were decent, above average for a public course that gets a lot of play. The only thing below average was the sand traps, they were downright poor. They could use some new, additional sand and they had not been raked/maintained in at least a couple of days. Challenging layout with zero homes that you can see from anywhere on this course. Occasionally you will have railroad or racetrack noise, but this track and it's sister Greenbelt course (not as demanding in my opinion) are pretty isolated considering they are less than 10 miles from downtown Portland along the Columbia River. This layout has lots of red/yellow hazards (combination of wooded areas, lakes & marshland) that you have to avoid on nearly every hole, plus an above average amount of sand traps. Only a few holes have water stations and there was no drink/food cart. This course is definitely worth playing, especially for under $20.
Course has a nice layout.
Enjoyed playing even with the extreme wind we had that day. Will play again when weather is better.
always a good time.
Pro shop is full of great, helpful people. Courses always in good shape even in bad weather
Had a great day
First time playing at heron lakes. Took advantage of a slow work day and a very favorable golf now hot deal to "sneak out" on a Tuesday afternoon.
The course was ours for the afternoon. Did not see anyone else on it the entire time. Enjoyed the front 9 more than the back 9, but the the weather might have had a part in that as it worsened over the last hour and a half.
The course was easy to walk, as there are not many hilly areas. It reminds me more of a traditional links style course. I enjoyed a good number of the holes on the front 9 and found the view on most to be fairly scenic. The back 9 seemed a tad more difficult, and as the rain kept pouring down things started to get a bit more sloppy.
I was impressed that I did see course maintenance works blowing leafs out of bunkers and the fairway. I had played over the prior weekend where leaves were just everywhere, and it made finding your ball extremely difficult.
They have an area for some short game practice. I warmed up a little bit there, but only until my playing partner arrived. They had a driving range as well.
The main building with pro shop and clubhouse appears adequate, although its not anything spectacular. Generally the people in the pro shop were friendly.
I look forward to trying the other course they have in the near future.
Beautiful Course - A top rate Public Course in our Book
Course was in excellent condition with lots of fun challenges. Plenty of bunkers, water and rolling greens, but very fair.
Our top rated course for the greater Portland public courses.
Many opportunities for a beautiful view of Mt Hood on a clear day. Take your camera!
Bring your earplugs and something to do in between shots
Played this course as part of a buddies trip with my brothers to Portland. We were very excited about playing this course as the layout looks fun and challenging. The front nine was ok, pace of play was great, under two hours, the only real issue we had on the front was the course is right next to Portland International Speedway that had races or time trials going on. The noise was super loud and ruined what I would consider a enjoyable 9 holes of golf. On the back nine, things went from bad to worse as pace of play became unbearable. When we hit hole 9 we ended up waiting about 10 minutes to tee off. From there on out, we waited to hit every shot and every hole the wait got a little longer to the point that we had 4 groups playing (or trying to play) the same hole. Course conditions were ok but not fantastic. For the price we paid I think there are better values to be had. We played two other courses over the weekend that were the same price but far superior in every way. I get the impression that the owners of this course are trying to squeeze every nickel they can out of this property at the expense of pace of play. I would not play there again.
Disappointed by the staff, too busy golf
Ok I had a deal for a 18 holes at 4.30. First, they were no one for 10 minutes but the guy didn't let us go. Then, it was not written on the condition but we were paired with 2 other people & since they played bad, we lost a lot of time. We decided to go ahead alone later but got stuck quickly by the group in front. Awesome. Basecally, it has been impossible to make the 18 holes, barely 15. It would have been ok if we werent constantly harrased by rangers. At the start, then later on, checking who you are and how much delay you have. First time ever!! Hated the management. The course on itself is nice but really not for beginners, because of a lot of bunkers and water features.
Fun Course
The Great Blue is a challenging but fun course. The fairways and greens were in great condition. The only negative was the pace of play. They had no marshall out and the foursome in front of us was very slow. We teed off at 3:26 we did not get done until after 8.There was some groups behind us who were not going to be able to finish because of the group in front. They had at least two hole open in front of them. Despite the slow play it was a great day.
Almost too hot for golf
It was 102 degrees when we teed off on Great Blue. The course was in okay shape. It was somewhat brown and a little beat up. The greens were in good shape though but rolling a little slow. it was a quick round due to little play on such a hot day. Staff was nice and the practice facilities are always good.
great blue review
Well maintained course offering good combinarion of challenge and reward for well placed shoots.
One of Portland's nicest public courses!
If you've played the Great Blue you know it provides a challenging links-style round of golf. Early summer weather in June found the course in very good condition, with greens almost fully recovered from aeration and getting firm. 3pm on a Tuesday afternoon made for a good pace & allowed a quick walking round. Pro Shop was friendly & helpful. Looking forward to retuning many time this summer.
Decent Course - Rude Staff
I've played Heron Lakes a few times and never been treated well by the staff. Pitty...the course is fun and would play it more often if the staff weren't in such a hurry to get people away from them. Customer service is dead at Heron Lakes.
Great course
Had a great round of Golf and would highly recommend the course. In my case I was glad I had an extra sleeve or two of balls.
Golfing with good friends
The Great Blue course is more challenging than the Greenback course. I would have liked for the sand traps to have a little more sand and raked. Some of the machines used for maintenance had gone through the traps also. Otherwise, the course is in good shape and fun to play.
really nice
tees=A fairways=A rough=B sand=B greens=B+ nice variety... good conditions
The Great Blue
Too bad it was rainy yesterday but the course is in good shape and the green were really rolling nice.
Great Value
Great value and greens are great, good challenge for any golfer and appreciate the variety of holes.