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Heron Lakes Golf Club - Great Blue Course
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green M: 74.4/140 | 409 | 568 | 336 | 166 | 564 | 200 | 399 | 447 | 428 | 3517 | 412 | 207 | 551 | 443 | 377 | 182 | 400 | 508 | 410 | 3490 | 7007 |
| Burgundy M: 72.0/136 W: 78.4/141 | 377 | 505 | 309 | 150 | 522 | 177 | 383 | 405 | 402 | 3230 | 389 | 184 | 510 | 435 | 349 | 171 | 375 | 485 | 382 | 3280 | 6510 |
| Burgundy/Blue M: 70.6/130 | 377 | 464 | 309 | 126 | 522 | 139 | 383 | 368 | 402 | 3090 | 369 | 184 | 466 | 435 | 305 | 171 | 344 | 485 | 365 | 3124 | 6214 |
| Blue M: 69.5/126 W: 75.0/135 | 347 | 464 | 288 | 126 | 478 | 139 | 347 | 368 | 365 | 2922 | 369 | 172 | 466 | 400 | 305 | 150 | 344 | 466 | 365 | 3037 | 5959 |
| Grey M: 66.2/114 W: 70.9/130 | 310 | 437 | 260 | 113 | 432 | 102 | 300 | 341 | 286 | 2581 | 348 | 141 | 406 | 341 | 271 | 120 | 279 | 433 | 342 | 2681 | 5262 |
| White M: 61.5/105 W: 64.1/105 | 201 | 334 | 189 | 89 | 354 | 94 | 226 | 255 | 237 | 1979 | 269 | 130 | 348 | 251 | 194 | 111 | 192 | 322 | 234 | 2051 | 4030 |
| 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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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
Climate change in the NW
Beautiful day, sunny and warm on the first Monday in December. This week will be a great time to get some golf in for the end of the year. The Blue course is tough but in great shape.
February golfing?
The ducks and the geese keep the fairway grass short and it is dry enough for some run out on low hit balls, but not high. Greens are in good shape and for this early in the year I was very pleased. No wind made this a golf shirt round.
It’s a beautiful challenging course
I played in the rain so other than the weather making it more difficult nothing negative to say about this course. Always aim for the fairways and your next shot would be perfect. It’s a few you might want to keep left if you can.
Great City Course
Challenging layout, greens and fairways were well maintained. Also a great walking course.
Could use more parking.
Overall a good value.
Weather insurance is a scam
I bought the weather insurance and it’s a scam. It rained hard for the first 12 holes and most greens had so much water that we couldn’t putt on them . We got zero refund from golf now. Very disappointing.
Great Municipal Course
Loved the blue side of this municipal course. Layout was surprisingly well designed. Lots of water, you need to play smart golf. Only beef I had was most of the greens are elevated, which goes against its links style feel, and the greens were REALLY firm when we were out there. On a links course that’s fine because you run the ball onto the green, but with everything elevated that’s not really possible. Even still, one of my favorite tracks within the Portland area.
First time playing tips, tough challenge
Played Blue course many times from Blues.
First time from tips.
Fun but…
A. The “championship” tee boxes were rock hard.
Obviously not watered.
B. Missing some of the gold tee markers on some par 3’s. (Played from blacks in those cases
C. Some of the gold boxes hard to find.
Great time
We lucked out again and were paired with great guys. 18 holes in 3.5 hrs. No one repaired divot marks on the greens, but other than that course was in great shape.
Twilight Round
The greens were pretty tricky this evening. The pin location on the 12th was crazy and fun too. It’s a deep slope.
Par three tee boxes
The par three tee boxes need to have a nice layer of sand and dirt. They have move marks than some of the PDX/Vancovuer streets do.
Please fix them
Course close to city
The biggest advantage of this course is its closeness to the city. We played the Great Blue course which may not be easy for first time visitors. The design of the course is great and the green speed is good. The rough is rather rough.
Beautiful course, greens of glass
This was a beautiful course with an interesting layout but the greens were like putting on glass. So hard and fast it made putting and any kind of wedge/short iron onto the green very difficult to hold it.
Amir Fazal
All good except sand traps
More sand needed please
I like heronl lakes and play their a lot.
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