Heron Lakes Golf Club - Great Blue Course

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 |
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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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gold M: 74.2/146 | 413 | 560 | 333 | 168 | 566 | 205 | 396 | 466 | 428 | 3535 | 412 | 200 | 544 | 446 | 376 | 187 | 380 | 523 | 413 | 3481 | 7016 |
Black M: 72.5/142 | 403 | 515 | 324 | 150 | 520 | 179 | 388 | 428 | 402 | 3309 | 388 | 182 | 526 | 443 | 352 | 176 | 356 | 496 | 384 | 3303 | 6612 |
Blue M: 70.5/135 W: 76.2/144 | 381 | 501 | 307 | 133 | 503 | 161 | 348 | 413 | 366 | 3113 | 384 | 173 | 506 | 408 | 321 | 156 | 325 | 483 | 375 | 3131 | 6244 |
White M: 68.7/127 W: 74.3/140 | 351 | 461 | 286 | 126 | 475 | 136 | 312 | 388 | 335 | 2870 | 367 | 166 | 467 | 401 | 300 | 149 | 299 | 474 | 364 | 2987 | 5857 |
Yellow M: 65.8/121 W: 70.9/131 | 314 | 435 | 260 | 111 | 432 | 103 | 297 | 361 | 286 | 2599 | 346 | 139 | 400 | 342 | 274 | 122 | 259 | 439 | 338 | 2659 | 5258 |
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 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Food & Beverage
Bar, SnacksAccolades
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Golf Advisor: Top Courses in Oregon (2023 #17)
Reviews
Reviewer Photos
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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
Solid value for money on a challenging course
Great Blue presents a well designed course that is in great condition for the green fees. The greens are hard, fast, and feature challenging undulations. Fairways and roughs are in great shape as well. Only downside is that the course is adjacent to the Portland Speedway and the extremely loud drone of racecar engines zooming around is ever-present, which is a bit disappointing.
Great Blue
Great pace of play and course was in pretty good shape!

Always a Fun Experience
The greens were in great shape and rolling true. Only problem was the standing water from all the rain we've been getting (not a course issue) and the goose poop everywhere you go. For mid-March, we had a great day and experience playing here.
Winter sun
The sun brought me out and the course didn’t disappoint. Some plugging of drives but not terrible. Greens were amazingly fast and in great condition. Big plus was no wind which can blow you away.
My main complaint is the bunker conditions. When a course has a lot of bunkers it would be nice if they were well maintained.
Fun, beautiful course. Cool that you could hear the Portland raceway cars speeding by. I will definitely play again this summer.
Grounds Crew
I find it extremely rude that the grounds crew are mowing the fairway when you’re currently in it. To make matters worse, they don’t shut their mowers off when you are getting ready to hit. Maybe I’m just use to courses that actually value their quests but another typical city of Portland crew doing what they want when they want
Always a treat
I’ve played here many times. The Great Blue Course never disappoints. Love this course. Thank you! 😊
Dodger
Course is tough, but so fun. Greens are in great shape. One of my favorite courses.
Need work and goose poop
The par 3's are like a war field. They no longer put sand to fill the divots and it is hard to find a place to stand.
Need to send the grounds crew to fill all the divots and then put sand/seed back on all the par 3's
The goose poop is also out of control WOW