River Golf & Country Club, The

I have been playing this course for years. In the last year or so, they hired a new greenskeeper and things were improving. But then they fire the staff and jack up the prices ... and let the course go ... unbelievable. Weeds in the fairway, high grass in the fairway, traps that look more like weed jungles than traps, and greens that are going down in quality again.

Personally, I'm not going back to the River; whoever is running the show there does not have a clue how to run a golf course. This is sad; I used to like this course.

Slow death of a golf course. The course was in very bad condition. Lost balls in the fairway due to grass not being mowed. Sand traps with weeds and clay but no sand. Cart path so bad that there were new paths being made by golfers refusing to abusing their bodies on broken asphalt. The course is neglected. I don't recommend wasting your time or money.

greens need to recover from heavy-handed aeration and poor fertilization

played this course (out in the country) for years! recently let the Pro and some of staff go!? and looks like things are going downhill !! jacked prices UP... and condition of greens/course DOWN !! greens were really good awhile back (before Pro left).... TERRIBLE now! always been "a fun lil course out in the country"... good rates, good greens, nice pace of play, laid back. guess those days are over! **news to new management - you don't jack up fees $10 per rd., when your greens are terrible!

NICE DESIGN, GREENS ARE LIKE GOING BACK TO 1940'S. SLOW, SLOW, SLOW! THEY ARE GREEN THOUGH. I LIKED IT HOWEVER BUT I KNOW ALOT OF GOLFERS RATE COURSES VERY LOW IF GREENS AREN'T IN PGA TOUR CONDITION. FAIRWAYS ARE NICE. SOME PLACES NEED SOME LAWN CARE BUT TO BE HONEST, THOSE PLACES ARE AREAS YOU DON'T WANT TO HIT YOUR BALL. AVOID THOSE SPOTS WHEN PLAYING. ABOUT 4 TEE BOXES ARE UNDER REPAIR AND EVEN THOUGH THERE WORKING ON THEM, I DON'T THINK THERE REALLY KEEPING AN EYE OUT FOR THESE HEAVY THUNDERSTORMS WE GET AND THE ILL EFFECT OF THE HAY AND GRASS SEEDING. YOU NEED MORE THAN HAY TO PREVENT ERROSION LIKE THAT. THEN THERE'S A REAL NICE PAR 3 - 8TH HOLE AND THEY DON'T EVEN USE THE UPPER TEE BOX ANYMORE WHICH WOULD MAKE IT 184 YDS. IT'S A REAL NICE PAR 3 FROM UP WHERE IT USED TO BE. I THINK THEY NEED NEW WOOD ON THE STAIRS UP AND IT'S TOO DANGEROUS NOW. BUT THE GRASS HAS GROWN IN AND THEY JUST GAVE UP ONTH AT BACK TEE BOX. DON'T KNOW WHY? THE BUNKERS NEED ALOT OF WORK. JUST DON'T HIT IT IN THE BUNKERS. THIS COURSE HAS ALOT OF GREAT POTENTIAL. I PAID 13.00 ON GOLFNOW SO WHAT DO YOU EXPECT? FIX TEE BOXES AND REALLY - REALLY SLOW GREENS IS WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE. THEN IT WOULD BE A 27.00 COURSE.

Played a couple years ago and greens much imp-roved

This course is under new management and improvements are in the works. The greens are now the best I've seen at this course and the sand traps are much better. We played during the week and had no issues with the pace of play and the $12 green fee through Golf Now makes this a great deal.

Had a gift certificate through GolfNow for $10 off a Hot Deal, so a 10am tee time on a Sunday for $8 (before fees) was a no-brainer. It's a bit of a hike from Raleigh but it was tough to pass up the price and 80 degree weather. The range is garbage at best. There's no staked out area to hit, so the entire surface is filled with divots, which makes finding a good spot nearly impossible. We were paired with a guy and his wife, a beginner, and they were kind enough to let us go ahead. Aside from them, we didn't really run into anyone else on the course. There was a foursome several holes ahead that we didn't catch until hitting into 17 green. The layout itself isn't terribly challenging but it does help to be able to shape the ball both ways. The double green that works for holes 10 and 16 is extremely confusing if you've never played there. I found it weird that the course super didn't use turf dye on the greens, but those greens weren't in great shape anyways. They had some weird undulations and weren't as fast as the pro in the clubhouse made them out to be. There are no additional markers on the course other than the 200, 150, and 100 yard plaques, which is a royal pain. There are few ball washers on the tee box (and one was broken), and on an 80 degree day, they failed to put out any water coolers. Some of the tee boxes didn't have any grass whatsoever on them. The bunkers, save for the final hole, are (barely) filled with dirt that you'd find between 1st and 2nd base and not sand.

Overall, for $8 - and despite the 45 minute drive - it was worth it. I'm sure it'll be in much better shape about 2 months from now, so I'll probably give it a another go. If you don't mind the drive and can get a cheap enough tee time, give this place a shot. However, if you pay more than $20, there are better options closer to Raleigh that are in better shape.

Hadn't played The River since April. The greens are very good...no bare spots, roll true, a bit of grain in them. Fairways are good, rough not high but dense. If they can do something to get the sandtraps playable (add sand....hint, hint)....they could charge a little more for the greens fee.

Enjoyable round of golf.....back 9 is harder than it looks!

I'd like to congratulate Richard and crew at The River Golf. They have transformed the course this year. As with many other courses in the area they lost a lot of their greens but they work hard all summer long and they are excellent. Rough is very thick and a challenge. There is some ongoing and needed work on some of the tee boxes but this course has improved beyond my expectations.

Great course to play will challenge your skill good value for the money course in good shape.

What a great day to play golf. Got there and was greeted with a friendly face like always. They are really making this course better every time we go out there. The greens that they have been working on really look great. Thanks for your hard work looking good. I'm looking forward to my next round.

Played here quite a bit in the past the course was quite a mess. What I appreciate they really took care of their greens. The greens are in nice shape. The staff is friendly. Now that they have the greens taken care of, need to work on the tee boxes. Good value for the money whether on a hot deal of not. Probably deserve 3 stars but they are successfully trying to make the course better so they get 4 stars.

The course was in pretty good shape. There was 1 temporary green but the other 17 were quite good. I am thinking the course must be Bermuda greens since they are surviving in this long stretch of heat and no rain. The rough is quite deep since they are letting it grow due to lack of rain. I would do the same too.

understanding the long, very hot summer months and the toll weather like that takes on golf courses in this region, I didn't find much to rave about at this course. the condition of the course was marginal at best and the grounds crew seems to have simply allowed the summer to take its toll on the fairways and rough. for the price, however, there's not much room for complaints. I got what I paid for. pace of play was excellent however, as I had the course to myself given the time of day, weather and day of the week. I won't be making the journey to play this course again though. it is way off the beaten path for a reason.

I have been playing here for years. I find the course a challenge because the front 9 is much different from the back 9. New greens are starting to come in and overall the curse looks good. Where can you find this level of golf for $20 with a cart. Staff there are always helpful and friendly!

Not sure what is going on with this course, the greens were excellent, but the bunkers were in dire need of some serious attention...

A couple of yahoos in front of me that hacked it around made the round twice as slow as it should have been which drove me crazy. Course has potential yet obviously no budget. Every bunker is unplayable. Tees in poor shape. Worth $10 ($13.59 with GN blood $) but not much more