Riverdale Dunes

Don’t expect it to be pristine right now. Their website says it’s in great shape so I booked a tee time. I would say it’s in the worst shape I’ve ever seen it in. It’s clearly going to need a couple months to recover from their water project. I was disappointed with the condition of the course being that the website says it’s open and in GREAT shape

Riverdale Dunes in Brighton is such a bright spot. One of the best public conditioned golf courses I’ve played. From tees to greens, the place was immaculate. Not sure why everyone reports unfriendly staff. Never felt rushed. Started exactly on time. 4hours 15 mins to finish. Clubhouse is great afterward. Fairways were ample wide. Stay clear of the water hazards. Has to be one of the best deals around…60 dollars to walk with a ball token on a Sunday. A Dye classic that isn’t overly difficult. If you can catch a tee time, it’s worth the play!

Course was in perfect shape. The fairways were immaculate, and the greens rolled true. Staff was very friendly and accommodating. There were no marshalls on the course hounding us. Things moved along very smoothly. It was a beautiful day on a beautiful course. There were only a couple minor issues which caused me to rate it a 4: The cart had GPS and there were about half a dozen times when it would stall the cart because it said I was in restricted territory, when I was on the cart path. The other incident is they had a course maintenance guy who, I assume, didn't know anything about golf ettiquete, nor did he speak English. He saw that I had to chip up onto the green (I was behind a bunker), and he wouldn't move his bunker raking machine. Very frustrating. Other than that, I had a very enjoyable round.

Amazing course perfect shape. Terrible staff got rushed 3 different times by Marshall finished a 4 some in 4 hours and was being rushed then entire round. I could see if we were behind but it was rediculous to say the least. Awesome course, terrible Marshall not friendly and very rushed

The staff has a policy is to keep up with the group in front. The problem with us is we had a 4 some and played and finished at 4 hours an 20 mins. The group in front of us was a 2 some. You can not keep a pace with a 2 some when you have 4. The Marshall threaten us to revoke or 2nd tee time because we can't keep up the 2 some. The Marshall approach us 5 times during our round and we finished the 9th hole I'm 2 hours and 9 minutes and most courses they have a 4 hour 30 minutes policy. So being 6 minutes ahead of schedule and they are telling us to either pick up and go to the hole or lose your 2nd round tee time

The course speaks for itself. Great conditions, fun and challenging layout and some nice views. On the other hand, the staff is very pushy and unfriendly when doing so. We were approached 4 times on the front 9 by an employee about pace of play and again on the #10 tee box. All of this while playing at a perfectly normal pace, keeping pace with the group in front of us and being an entire hole and a half in front of the group behind us. Very unfortunate that the staff had to put a damper on a fun round at a quality course.

Staff in pro shop, at golf cart shack and Marshalls treat you so bad that make you think if you did them any wrong. Marshall harassing us for nothing, complaining we were behind even if we held nobody and finished in our time frame. I don’t recommend this course to nobody

This is the first time I’ve played the Riverdale Dunes course. I’ll list what my likes, dislikes, some unusual features and general comments of the course:

LIKES:

It was one of best conditioned public golf courses I’ve ever played. I played Murphy Creek several years ago in Aurora, which had the same excellent conditioning. The greens were perfect. The tees were large and flat.

All the holes are lined with 2-3 foot tall fescue on the borders of the holes. There is plenty of rough before the fescue, so you are not losing your ball every time you spray a shot. This tall fescue gives you the feeling you are the only ones on the course. Blocks out the other holes and golfers.

The starter was very enthusiastic and telling you who was up to the number one tee, just like a boxing ring announcer. I learned from another employee, this starter has ALS. What energy for an employee with this dreadful disease.

That had a 2-beverage cart system. You were seeing them all the time.

The cost was $72 for the weekend. I’m not an expert on Denver area golf prices but I think this is a bargain considering the condition of this course. I played Colorado National on Friday and it was $99 and it was not even close to the conditioning of this course.

I thought hole 15 was the best. With a view of the snow-capped mountains in the background. The only thing that took away from this view was the water tower.

DISLIKES:

When driving to the course, you know you are in an agricultural community. Once you arrive, you see what looks like the grandstands of the county fair. The smell of manure from the nearby farms is there when you get out of your car.

The course does not have the best backdrops. Very disappointing that only one hole has the snow-capped mountains as a backdrop.

Their 18 hole is a very weak finishing hole. Nothing special. You want your 18th hole to be memorable and this one is not.

UNUSUAL:

The tee markers are not color coded. They are geometric shapes. Diamonds, squares, circles & triangles.

No windshields on the carts.

On all the par 3’s, you will see bricks in a circle near the tees. I learned in the off-season, they place mats on these bricks to save their tees. Great idea.

GENERAL:

This place is a hopping place. The pub & restaurant were extremely busy. The course was full due to the conditioning and price of the course.

I thought Hole 5 was a tough hole. The second shot can be blind to the green. Holes 7 & 8 have water to the left. The green on hole 7, looks like an elephant was buried under it. Hole 8 is their signature hole you see on the Web. However, it actually looks better in the picture, than in-person. Love the feel of hole 10 and hole 11 has more humps and bumps you have ever seen on a hole. Hole 16 – you really need local knowledge to play this hole. It appears you want to cut the dogleg but that is not a good idea.

Get out and play Riverdale Dunes. The price and conditioning is worth the drive to Brighton, CO.

The course is awesome. The staff on the other hand can aren’t worth the experience. We were rushed although my 4 some finished within 4 hours. If you want to play with the Marshall breathing down you neck and ride go for it. I won’t be going back as the course staff are rude

Poor manner staffs at Pro Shop his name is Chris Sisneros. Mashall was rude yelling at us to pair with some people without any respect. It's county course that we are residential and pay high tax. The staffs earning from our rax but yelling and cursing at us!!.. Wrong!! Nothing good is cheap!!!... there are many affordable courses with nicer and professional staffs. Base from my experiences I gave them 0 stars out of over 50 courses I used to golf in the wolrd.! They need to retrain their staffs!

How is this course rated so low? Consistently in the best condition of any Denver area course, and at 44$ to walk it’s a steal. Not sure who spammed this page with bad reviews, but this is a great course, in great shape, run by great people.

I've been coming out to Riverdale for years. Never had any issues with the staff, they are always friendly and professional. I'm very surprised to read recent reviews noting negative interactions with the superintendent...In dozens of rounds I have never met the superintendent. If players were doing something to catch her attention on the course, I'm sure it was pretty bad. You might want to keep your cart out of the roped areas and avoid getting yelled at. What i do know about the superintendent and her staff is they are the best crew around. The courses are in incredible shape as usual this summer, and the Dunes recently finished a major irrigation project with no remnants of the digging they had to do to complete the job.

In regards to COVID related last minute cancellations. I understand that would be super frustrating if you had to pay for a round that you simply could not appear for. Thankfully i have not had to deal with that situation. It would make sense if the golf shop had some leniency as we all still deal with the pandemic and its effects on our lives.

If you are looking for a round on a beautifully maintained course with a lot of variety at a one of the best values in the area then you will never go wrong with a day at Riverdale.

Charged me for one of my players not attending due to Covid. Called them first thing in the morning and formed them but they still charged me even though the course was wide open. Incredibly rude staff at every turn. Starter called our group 15 mins early and when asked he told me “that’s how tee times work” then threw the cart key at me. Never had a experience like this at a golf course and I’ve been playing a long time. Don’t waste your time or money on this goat track. Would have given zero stars if possible.

We reserved a tee time for a group of 4, however, on the day we were scheduled to play it was raining and very windy so one of us decided he didn't want to play in those conditions which to me was reasonable given the weather.

When we were paying at the clubhouse I informed them that our 4th wasn't going to be playing because of the rain and wind and they insisted that we pay his green fees because they have a 24-hour cancellation policy.

If it was sunny or even decent outside I could understand their policy enforcement, however, it was freaking raining and windy. The weather got worse and we ended up only playing 4 holes due to lightning.

I find their enforcement of this policy in these conditions to be unscrupulous and won't be playing there again.

We had 1 of our 4some test positive for Covid that morning. We let the clubhouse know but were still charged a $67 no show fee because we didn't cancel that spot with a 24 hour notice.

Good layout very poorly managed.

Course superintendent yells and screams at people for inadvertently driving in areas, saying she owns the place and has worked there for 35 years. Time for a change. Super unprofessional rude nasty service.

A round at the Dunes is always a great experience. For your money, Riverdale offers the best public facilities in the metro area and 36 holes of great golf and a friendly staff.

If you want to score well on the Dunes you will need to hit the ball straight! Venture just slightly off of the mowed grass and you will have a tough time finding your ball. Even if you can track it down you may not have a playable lie.

The course is not terribly long and there are several holes where you will want to hit driver, but a long iron may be the right play. The Dunes offers a great variety of holes that should have you grabbing for every club in your bag throughout the round. The par 5 11th is one of the toughest 3 shot holes around, just keep it up the left side and you may be ok. Hole 15 is a standout and picturesque hole with water running down the entire left side and Dye signature railroad ties around the green.

The conditions at Riverdale are consistently the best in the area. You can expect lush fairways and smooth rolling fast greens. Even in the late season this course is still in great condition! I always enjoy my time out at Riverdale and I know so many golfers in the area feel the same way. Make a whole day out of it and play both the Knolls and the Dunes, you will love all 36.

Had an unexpected death in my family on a Friday, and they made the group pay for the two spots that didn’t get used, unbelievable, would have even been ok with rain checks, nope. Save your money and golf at Buffalo run, thorncreek, todd creek are all within 10 miles and much better management then this garbage management.