Royal Hawaiian Golf Club

Run down, no facilities, and all greens damaged by incorrect treatment by grounds staff

Had the opportunity to play this course twice during a trip to Oahu. An incredibly beautiful but insanely difficult golf course. Bring extra golf balls!

The greens could use a little more love, especially on the front-9.

Some of the best mountain views on the island. The pro shop had the essentials. Staff very friendly all around. Rental clubs were taylormade stealth in well used state. Front 9 was harder, back 9 had some drivable par 4s. The fairways were mostly in great condition, the greens were not. The old divots were sandfilled at least but just didn't roll true.

Staff was super friendly, but the pro shop was the only thing open on the property, and it had very limited supplies of refreshments (food/snacks, maybe because it was mid week?) and also limited golf accessories (gloves, balls, hats). One of the on-course bathrooms is currently out of service. Front 9 is just a ball donation to the jungle gods, with greens in terrible shape. These front nine greens have multiple un-repaired ball marks on every green, and what I am guessing is some sort of disease on several of them that leave gaping zig-zag cracks with no grass, making even a short putt impossible to make. The back 9 is much more open, with fairly good greens. Given a choice, playing the back 9 twice would have been much more enjoyable than suffering through the front nine. The majority of the course has a broad-leafed “grass” for the rough that flat out swallows balls. The pro shop had a small selection of incredibly overpriced balls for sale, but spending a few minutes off of the fairway yields several “new” balls per hole if you run short.

A beautiful course that was a joy to play! So much to see and enjoy. The course was great and a little challenging requiring some accuracy to hit areas over the jungle or water. A few of the greens were a little rough and needed some work, but overall a great course. The staff was great! Very friendly. The pro shop is well stocked. Most of the other amenities were closed or unavailable, but that did not detract from the course and would have only added to the pleasure.

greens, esp front nine are worse than my local muni. fairways are OK but the fringe is brutal on your wallet bc unless you step on it, the balls are gone.

i guess you come for the scenery bc there isnt much else here. also no snack shops/bev carts.

First few holes have bad greens. But the rest is great. Infrastructure needs a bit of maintenance.

The turf on the greens is bad and the grass on the fairways is yellow and needs maintenance. The turf around the entire pitch needs clearing and the branches need clearing.

The VIEWS were spectacular, the layout EXTREMELY challenging and even more so when the wind picked up on the back 9. I must say the greens on the front 9 were less than ideal but got better as we got to the 8th hole and beyond. I guess it’s really tough to grow the greens on the front 9 with all the shade, but the VIEWS!!! There wasn’t much in regards to amenities but the VIEWS. You’re there to enjoy the VIEWS and your playing partners and the golf comes last. Enjoy it for what it’s worth.

Was trying to find a course to play and seen the time of golf now. Called the course to see how busy they were. Man who answered the phone was great. Booked the time got there and was a few groups in the front. I received an escort to the 10th tee to show me where to start and played. Course was in good shape. Ocean and Mountain View’s. Staff was great. Would love to go back

Chose this course based on the photos and the fact that it's on the "Jurassic" side of the island. The surroundings and scenery were nothing short of amazing...and the main reason I would recommend this course, I just wish I could say the same for the course and facilities. The greens on the front 9 were barely playable (the back 9 was better, but not by much), fairways and bunkers were not very well maintained, restaurant and driving range were not available and the exterior around the clubhouse area was a bit rundown. The clubhouse itself and the staff were great...but we finished our round at 4 and everything was closed already. The saving grace for the day was my local playing partners Matt and Amber and Matt's visiting father Terry Morgan, truly wonderful people whom I would enjoy being around anytime. Terry is an Australian golf course architect (I looked him up...legit!) and getting his insights about the course (layout, design, etc) from a different point of view was great. All agreed there is so much potential for Royal Hawaiin that isn't being reached...it could truly be the gem of the island.

The golf course has a beautiful view, but the course itself is not well maintained. The grass and fairways lack landscaping, and all the greens were aerated. Additionally, the staff failed to mention this. If you're solely interested in the view, it can be a nice course to visit

The scenery was beautiful like entering Jurassic Park and the staff was friendly, but the greens on the course were in very bad condition. I just hope the greens are managed well. I will go again when I have a chance.

Have played this course many times, mostly in the month of September. Played yesterday on June 7th and the greens were some of the worst I have ever played on. The fairways were spars with very little grass to hit off of. I’m not sure if the course conditions are related to a particular time of year but if I ever decide to play it again I will definitely call and get a course overview before I book a tee time. You can pay $50 at a municipal course and have much better playing conditions.

Amazing course, even better scenery! Only criticism is that the greens were in rough shape. Could just be the season and overall didn’t have a huge impact on how much I enjoyed the round but they were rough.

Its location is absolutely beautiful. It is also a Pete Dye course which means difficult with risk and reward. That being said, The front nine is in bad shape. Many greens are not well maintained. They are bumpy and do not putt true. Even the fairways are just ok. The roughs are not evenly mowed. No drink cart. You have to buy drinks inside the club house. Range closed. I have seen this course in its glory days. It is far from it now. You would want to play it just because I am not sure how long it will stay open like this. Look at what happened to Koolau golf course just down the road.

I was there 6/4/2023. The green was horrible. Staff told me that there was something wrong with the treatments. I was told the fairways and greens are decent but it wasn't. Check reviews and with staff before booking. The surrounding was beautiful and I don't regret going there. But I think the golf course should have let people know that this is the case.