Heron Lakes Golf Club - Great Blue Course

The weather forecast for the day was iffy, and that probably led many people to cancel their plans to play. Too bad for them, after a couple sprinkles on the first two holes, it was a pleasant late winter/early spring day. There were only a few people on the course, so we played at a comfortable pace. Despite heavy downpours the day and evening before, the course was in fine shape. The greens were in particularly great form. Kudos are due to the staff: the clubhouse people were warm and friends, and the course was in amazing shape, given the season.

Heron Lakes-
The Greenback is really beautiful with it's nature. Lots of trees and wildlife. In the summertime you will loose balls, if you don't hit the fairways. Great dogleys front and back. 14th -17 is amazing.The Great Blue is longer and harder in my opinion. Don't forget to look at the huge fish in the ponds. Also Heron Lakes attracts a lot of those guys with 400.00 drivers that cant hit straight. They have no short game as well as no Golf Etiquette. Lots of testosterone around those tracks. They're fun to beat...

Have fun!

I really enjoyed the Greenback. I had heard a lot about it but this was my first time to play it. It seems like most people overestimate the easiness of the Greenback. Compared to the Great Blue it is easier, less water hazards. There are trees, so if your drives don't find the fairway, you may have tree issues. Since it was January we played the white tees. I think the back tees would really add to the challenge of the course. The greens were large and in good condition. They were very fair, no crazy undulations. Since its been a dryer than normal winter, I can't comment on how the course drains. Overall I was very happy with the Greenback and I can't wait to play it this summer.

For a great course close to my home and in the heart of the portland area that is heavily played, they do a great job keeping the course in great shape. It was a dry, clear, sunny winter day. Greens were fairly fast but in good shape. Fairways were also in good shape. A good value for $18.

First time ever playing the HL complex. Walked the Great Blue. Fairways and tees in pretty good shape. Greens hold but are super-bumpy probably due to fall and early morning freezing. If you don't make your first putt, pick it up and go to next hole. walked in about 4.5 hours in group of 4.
It's a good layout with a good mix of holes (short, long, wide, narrow, straight, dogleg, etc.). I played from white tees because others wanted to. Would love to play from blues (6500 yds).

had a great time, saw more wildlife than expected in a city course. brought a friend for his first time there and he found it wonderful. easy level walking course and very dry for this time of year. greens fast and smooth and blown clean of leaves. while playing we were treated to seeing not only geese, ducks and herons but also received and up close look at a bald eagle
flying over the east end of the course. that was just too cool.

I prefer the Greenback at Heron Lakes, but the Great Blue is very nice as a Links style course. Easy to lose balls in the tall grass. Fast greens. Interesting, beautiful layout. As with the Greenback, the pace is SLOW. The courses here are very busy and people are loathe to let you play through. We always get done at dark or later since we usually golf in the afternoon.

Greenback plays better for me. The layout is interesting and the greens are fast, but not overly. The only criticism for this course is that it is very busy. More than once we have had to wait for slow four-somes and even once a five-some that would not let us through. We usualy start in the afternoon but it seems like we never make it to the 18th hole before DARK.

Have not played the Great Blue for a long time and forgot how challenging it is. The course was in great shape and fun to play. Had a great time!

my only gripe would be the leave's, the fairway's were clear,
but the falling leave's made it hard to find my ball at time's.
you cant control mother nature. all in all it was a great day.

I love the challenge that the course brings but the greens were the worst I have ever seen on any course I have played. It was pure luck if you got one to drop after it would go threw dead and bumpy spots. I love the course but I won't be coming back until its fixed

Some of the greens are challenging. You might have to lay up on some holes instead of charging the greens.

The course is in good shape, especially the greens. The staff is very helpful and friendly. Beverage cart was available when needed and food was good at the snack bar. Heron Lakes does a good job.

I hadn't played the Heron Lakes courses since last summer, but I just played both the Blue & Green in back to back days and was shocked at how bad the courses have gotten. They used to be in such great shape but now, it's hard to pay more than $20 and spend 5hrs out there. On top of that, the counter staff is hardly inviting, so what's left?

Green Back
The fairways & aprons are really chewed up. We had to take a lot of unmarked GUR relief. Pace was really slow on the front, but the marshall did a great job in finding the culprit, and the back was smooth sailing. The greens were in good shape, so that was the best thing Green Back had going.

Great Blue
The greens were in terrible shape. About half the greens were in need of major rework because of all the bare spots. We had to give relief on the greens several times because there wasn't any grass to putt on to the hole. Opposite to Green Back, the fairways on Great Blue were in much better shape than the greens.

Great Blue is one of my favorite Portland courses. It has a wonderfully challenging "links style" layout. It rewards the player that makes their shot and punishes, sometimes severely, one that is out of position. Be prepared to lose a few balls if you are not making your fairways. It has a number of fairly long holes where you will need two solid metal shots to get your GIR. Putting surfaces are typically some of the best (smooth and fast) in the PDX area.

Sadly, however, on the day we played, they had poorly top-dressed the putting surfaces such that wet sand stuck to your ball and putting was miserably slow and unpredictable. Another negative (and this is a perenial problem) is that Great Blue lies adjacent to Portland International Raceway and on some hole (like 8 and 17) the noise can be painfully loud and distracting when racing is happening. Such was the case on the day we played and hence the poor rating. There is also a rail line adjacent to the course that can be a distraction but this is less likely.

Still, I higly recommend this course to the intermediate or advanced golfer looking for a good test of their game with the following caveats:
- Call and check on green conditions.
- Go when no one is racing at PIR if possible.
- Be prepared for some audible distractions.
- Bring your "A" game - you will be tested.

Consolations:
- Clubhouse has a passable bar.
- Grill makes a really excellant burger.
- Free WiFi for those of you tethered to a job.

this course drains water well. it is a great course no matter the conditions.

I usually expect more from Heron Lakes with regards to how other players respect the game of golf, but my last two rounds have me pondering if I should move on to other courses in the area.

Municipal courses offer their array of characters on any given round, because I don't think there is much you can do to keep non-golfers off the course, but was dismayed when I found a threesome on the turn tee box that hadn't been in front of us all day. They were visibly intoxicated, smoking cigars and cigarettes, and beyond rude. Wearing five year old Seahawks tee shirts with holes in them gave their attitudes away, and they wanted nothing more to deny my group the right to play through. We followed this drunken motely crew before we could skip past them on #15 and move to #17. A call to the pro shop did no good.

In the least, I would expect them to let us through; then again they pulled can after can of PBR from their bags.

Here is my feedback: enforce the dress code, beverages from off site aren't allowed, and listen to those who respect the game.

Both the Heron Lakes courses have got to be some of the best "city" courses throughout the country! They are a great value for the type of course. The only issue I found was the lack of people fixing their divots....but that's what you get with a Muni I guess? The divot issue was pretty bad in that the greens were almost un-puttable because of current divots and scars from old ones not fixed.

I know Heron Lakes Great Blue is a nice golf course, but I'm not sure what happened there. It looks as though they put down too much fertilizer and then didn't water enough or something. I understand it's summer and all, but to have burned out dry patches on the greens? I was paired up with a couple of gentlemen who told me it was the worst they had ever seen there. Hopefully by the end of September the course will be in better shape, notably the greens. Heron Lakes is a nice golf course in a pretty easy to get to location so I will be back to play it again.

Nice course, easy to walk. Greens are plenty big, but need more attention from players fixing their ballmarks, plenty of bumps on the greens make for lost strokes. Plenty of room on the fairways, which were in good condition overall. Sand in bunkers quite heavy and wet. I'm guessing there was heavy rain in the past week.
Pace felt a lot slower than it was, but this course could easily be played in 3.5 hours without rushing, if players would just pick up the pace between shots. Freight train line is alongside course, and there was an extremely long , slow train rumbling and squealing by almost the entire back nine, could be distracting to some players.