brettja

First, my background. I am an avid golfer from the U.S., a member at a private club and a 12 HC. We played on May 2, 2017. Overall, I would rate the courses at Moon Palaces as EXCELLENT. We played the Dunes and Lakes. Incredible layout and very challenging. We played from the blues (6,600 yds). Fairways, greens, rough, and tee boxes were in impeccable shape. Traps were pretty rough. Sand was very hard, almost like clay. However, this is a must play course if you are staying at Moon Palace.

Important notes:
We brought our own shoes, balls and gloves. Rented clubs (US $42). Bring your own balls. Buying a dozen on site will cost $80-$120.
You can use room credits to cover the greens fees, but you will have to pay the taxes (US $40).
Load up on waters before heading out...only two beverage stations are located on the course.
There is no GPS. Buy a yardage book at the pro shop for US $3.
We were a 3-some and our round took 4.5 hours. Course was not overly crowded. It was just a tough layout that took time to play.

I'll start my review by stating that I do belong to a private club and I'm an average golfer (14 HC). I played Blue Heron Pines with 3 other family members on Aug 4. To begin, the practice facilities are great...driving range, chipping area/green and a putting green. The course was in absolutely beautiful shape! Fairways were perfect, rough was decent (and lush) and the greens were fair (albeit a little bumpy, but still pretty good). It was a Monday morning, so the greens were probably still a bit bumpy from the weekend traffic. The layout is challenging, but fair. Club selection off the tee needs to be thoughtful, but you will still go driver on almost all holes. All in, this is a great course with some great holes and a very attentive, nice and welcoming staff. I would strongly encourage anyone to play here. I will definitely do so again. Only a 20 minute drive from the 9th St. bridge out of OC.

Con: The GPS's in the carts are not very good.