Royal Hawaiian Golf Club, Kailua

Wow. One of my new favorite courses on O’ahu. From the long drive up to the course, you become enveloped in the jungle. The staff was helpful, friendly and the marshal pointed out all of the nuances of all the holes that were going to be a challenge. The challenge is pretty much the entire front 9 and most of the back. It was awesome! There is an ample opportunity to lose balls so bring extra, I left my share if you find a couple. This felt more like an experience with golf to top it off. There are a few blind drop offs so the cart GPS with a flyover view helps. If you’re lucky enough to catch it on a cloudless day the views are spectacular. Even with the usual clouds that linger over the ridges it was beautiful . Front 9 is cart path only right now, not that big of deal but be prepared to hike the fairways. The cart path was in great shape and well maintained the entire course. In fact, the entire course was groomed, mowed and taken care of with quite an attention to detail. More like a resort. It was an overall excellent experience with golf to top it off.

We read all the reviews before going here and I’m glad we ignored them. This place was beautiful and the staff was great. They made sure we had everything we needed, and we’re super helpful. The front 9 is all in a jungle and you need a lot of balls, it opens up more on the back but still not a lot of room for error. If you’re looking to play the best round of you’re life and you’re not a professional, I would lower you expectations. The whole golf course is beautiful and the scenery is spectacular but you’re going to lose balls. Just have fun and take lots of pictures.