Heron Lakes Golf Club Great Blue Course Putting Guide
How to prepare your putting for Heron Lakes Golf Club Great Blue Course in Portland, Oregon.
Heron Lakes Golf Club Great Blue Course plays a 6,902-yard par 72 from the Black tees with a 74 rating and 139 slope. Greens are bentgrass. Practice green available. For most players prepping here, lag putting and 4–6 foot pressure putts are the highest-leverage focus.
3/5
Standard — build a steady putting routine
<cite index="35-4">The links-style Great Blue Course opened in 1992 and became an immediate favorite among low handicap golfers in the area.</cite> <cite index="35-5,35-6">The Great Blue features small, undulating greens and rambling fairways that carve through fescue style grass and Scottish mounds, with a 6,902 yard, par-72 layout that challenges golfers with more than 80 bunkers and abundant water hazards.</cite>
Why putting prep matters at Heron Lakes Golf Club Great Blue Course
Heron Lakes Golf Club Great Blue Course plays as a 18-hole par 72 from the Black tees at 6,902 yards. With a 74 rating and 139 slope, it's a course that asks for steady ball-striking and steady putting through a full round.
Robert Trent Jones Jr.'s design philosophy shapes the green complexes here. Strategic design rewards thinking about position before speed.
RECOMMENDED ROUTINE
20-minute pre-round putting routine
Adapt timing to your practice green availability and arrival window.
1
3–6 foot start-line check
Hit 10 putts from short range and watch your face control. Pick one ball mark or grass blade as a target — this is your line accuracy check before everything else. Bentgrass holds its line cleanly, so misses from this range are usually face-angle errors, not green reads.
5 min
2
15 / 25 / 35 foot distance ladder
Build your stroke-length feel for the most common lag putt distances. Three putts at each distance. The goal is getting the second putt inside the leather, not making the first. High-slope course — expect severe undulation. Practice ladder distances from both above and below the hole.
8 min
3
Uphill / downhill speed calibration
If the practice green has slope: hit 5 uphill and 5 downhill putts from the same distance. Hit at least 5 putts each direction. This is where the practice green tells you what the course will play like today.
5 min
4
Pressure finish
Make 8 out of 10 from 4–6 feet before leaving. If you miss two in a row, reset the count. The goal is leaving the green with confidence, not a number. Greens may have more wear around the cup at high-traffic courses — your last putts will tell you what the actual surface is doing.
2 min
What to track with TrueRoll
Four metrics worth watching during your prep sessions at home or on the road before playing Heron Lakes Golf Club Great Blue Course.