Turtle Bay Resort (Oahu)

This course is beautiful and challenging.

But the pace was unbearable. They let groups that were an hour late jump into proximate tee times. So essentially they permitted about 16 players to be in the same 20 min period. You waited 20 mins per hole and constantly got balls hit into you. They should tell late parties to return for twilight open play or just rain check. We ended up missing 5 holes bc it got dark (and we started at like 2 and I usually take less than 3 hrs).

It lived up to the hype - but I prob won't be back bc they managed starts so poorly.

This course is obviously amazing! And if you are into course design/architecture then this is a place for you! Classic Palmer design elements take hold of you the second you step onto the first tee box. And the only real issue I had (with the course) during this round was that 1) Id never played before & 2) because of Covid they are not maintaining the bunkers to the level that a resort course should maintain their bunkers. This is all completely understandable and honestly did not play much into my 3 star review at all.

The biggest issue here is the value for play. It’s clear when you arrive that with Covid has come certain changes but none of those changes are posted on Golfnow. Because of this I arrived 1 and 1/2 hours early to grab some things form the pro shop before trying to warm up a bit and get a feel for the greens to keep my putting under control for the round. NO OPEN PRACTICE FACILITIES! Ended up just doing a quick purchase, hitting the bathroom and then waiting to go out to the first tee box. Frustrating to say the least that I couldn’t even get an idea of how I was hitting and putting before going out on a brand new course. Needless to say I shot a bit higher than usual. In fairness this was partially due to the challenge of the course but NO PRACTICE, definitely was a significant factor as well. Simply put, if you are going to charge 209 bucks for a resort style/famously designed course, the value needs to be there. It simply was not. To be fair to all parties the blame of no information on closure of amenities is on GolfNow as they are the booking party. However, I feel like it would be EXTREMELY wise for Turtle Bay to drastically reduce their visitors 18 round price to compensate for the understandable reduction in amenity availability.

The staff is extremely friendly and had an awesome welcoming experience even considering I arrived there prior to sunrise! Way to go!

Basic Overall Recommendation here is either get a rate that 100 bucks or less for this course during Covid or wait till Covid is over and things are in full swing. 209 bucks would be fair for post Covid.

Price listed was for green fees, cart, and range balls. Range was closed and they said the rate I was quoted was a walking rate. I ended up paying $20 more for a cart. They said it was the Golfnow sites fault for not updating they’re personal guidelines.

Played the Palmer Course for the first time and thoroughly enjoyed it! Got on earlier than original tee time and met up with a fellow Canadian for the last 17 holes! Course was in excellent shape and despite losing a few balls, had a good round despite rental clubs and not golfing since mid September! Booked through Golf Now and got a reduced rate of play! Would definitely golf this course again.

Even late start around 3 pm, my family experienced all of 18 holes by passing several holes and 15 hole was great and 17th hole with the background of Pacific oceanhad given to my family awesome memory !!
Thanks a lot!!!

After rental clubs, riders fee, and tee time the value for this course was absolutely not worth it. The course is almost too easy, not challenging whatsoever. The scenery was nice but really nothing better than what we have in Orlando, for the price there is much better golf courses you can play at in Oahu. No cart at the course, I was a single playing behind a foursome and they never let me play through even though I was waiting on them. The conditions were great as expected when paying 150+

My wife and I flew from South Dakota to stay at Turtle Bay and play the Palmer course. We are avid golfers who both shoot in the low 80's. We brought our own clubs as we have had bad luck with rentals in the past. We bought the 3 Day Unlimited Golf Package which gave us 3 rounds each for a total of $525. Otherwise it would have been $200 EACH per round. The Palmer course is very beautiful, except for the portion that follows along the highway, which can get noisy. The fairways and greens were in spectacular shape. The bunkers, not so much. The sand was very hard. They need to be refurbished.. We both shot our normal scores, which was a pleasant surprise, since the pro said we would be challenged. The staff was exceptional and bent over backwards to make sure we did not get stuck behind a bus full of hackers. We play our round in just over 3 hours, and look forward to going back. We played two more times in this trip.

Great course the fairways and the greens are well kept dream rolling greens and the pace of play is great there are a lot of sand traps guarding the greens and it could be clay if it rain

Good quick round, twosome played 18 in 3 hours. My only complaint is the sand varies too much.

Great course and great value. Really cool views of the ocean. Favorite place to play

It’s clear the money here goes to the Palmer course. Greens were slow and bumpy and bunkers needed sand like a fish needs water. The course layout itself is not impressive. If I wasn’t told I was in Hawaii, I would think I was at my average muni in San Diego (not Torrey Pines). Very little interaction with the ocean as you just meander through rental properties and maintenance sheds. On the upside, the staff was very friendly and I enjoyed them. The course was just a disappointment.

The greens had just been aerated and were in very marginal condition. There was a group 2 groups in front of me and there were 4 groups behind them that waited for nearly 12 holes. There was not a Marshall to speed them up or let faster groups play thru. The pro shop staff was excellent and very cordial.

A must play if you are visiting on Oahu. The course is in great shape. If you haven't played on a Paspalum grass course you will be in for a surprise. The rough is very rough in this type of grass! Be warned. As much as possible stay in the fairway if you want to enjoy a good round. If not, at least you were warned. This is worse than the rye grass used on courses like Paiute in Las Vegas. A beautiful blend of nature and golf. It was in much better playing condition that the Palmer which we played earlier in the summer and slightly cheaper as well. This is a cant miss course to play.

I used to rave about this course to anyone who would listen saying that it was beautiful like the PGA courses you see on the mainland. The last time I played there, was very disappointing especially the 16th hole with the serpentine sand dunes located in the middle of the fairway. My memory of the hole location next to the ocean was just beautiful, however, the hole was encircled with almost knee high grass and weeds!. The hole was in terrible shape! Save your money and play Ko Oline on the leeward side of the island.

I thought this course was gorgeous and a really nice layout. I thought $199 to play was a little steep. I would play it all the time at $125 or less.

I live on Maui and took advantage of the opportunity to play this course as I was on Oahu for a visit. A friend had told me this was the best course on Oahu. For that, it was a massive disappointment, especially considering the price.

I must add that we played on a day with a lot of wind. And I’m talking about hitting a wedge 175+ yards downwind and hitting a driver less than 175 upwind, kind of day. I am used to playing in wind from Maui, but this was something else. And the course layout only partially seems to support that. Many holes are nestled into the trees making it impossible to judge the impact of the wind once the ball gets above the tree line. I don’t remember having hit this many good shots that were severely punished, ever! I suppose it might be easier once you know the course, but that is a bad characteristic for a resort course, IMO.

And the sand! Oh my god, the “sand”. This course is practically on the beach yet you can’t find any sand to fill the bunkers?!? Almost comically horrible.

Greens are very slow. Maybe that is personal preference, but I would like then to be faster. I was also constantly fooled into thinking they’d break more. Maybe that’s just me.

The scenery was also disappointing. Doesn’t feel like Hawai’i at all, especially when compared to courses like the Wailea courses, that go through palm trees and lava, and offer awesome views everywhere. Here, you see the ocean once. And you play through a bunch of shrubs and can’t see out. And some of the stuff neighboring the course is downright depressing.

Overall, everything at Turtle Bay seems slightly old and off. Some things remind me of municipal courses. The hotel reminds me of an old summer camp. I guess it was nice once, but it is now badly in need of renovation.

It was also odd that it looked like they had very few openings (1 player here and 2 players there, sort of thing), but when we got there, there were very few people. Makes you wonder if they try to make the course appear busier.

I would play the course again, but only on a less windy day and for less money. The way this went, it just isn’t worth it. But I can see that the layout is interesting. Maybe I’ll come back for a tournament one day. But I wouldn’t take anyone there, especially not at full price.

Get new sand in the bunkers now!!!!!!!!! The course layout is absolutely amazing and beautiful the greens are slow but well manicured, and the fairways are in good shape. Probably my favorite on the island as far as layout top 5 as far as being well manicured (Ewa beach golf course is the best), but my god fix the bunkers. There is a ton of sand all over the course and is beautiful but if you find yourself in then you may as well be hitting off the cart path please fix the bunkers and it would be the best course on island.

The overall experience was absolutely most enjoyable,
Pace slowed down a tad but nothing to be close to annoyance,
A positive experience