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Rating Index Rating
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3.9
486 Reviews (486)
5 Stars
145
4 Stars
175
3 Stars
95
2 Stars
37
1 Stars
34
Conditions
3.7
Value
3.8
Layout
4.4
Friendliness
4.4
Pace
3.6
Amenities
3.9
81.2%
Recommend this course
384 out of 486 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.0
22 Reviews (22)
5 Stars
8
4 Stars
9
3 Stars
3
2 Stars
1
1 Stars
1
Conditions
3.8
Value
3.9
Layout
4.3
Pace
3.3
Amenities
3.8
StaffFriendliness
4.7
86.4%
Recommend this course
19 out of 22 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.0
32 Reviews (32)
5 Stars
12
4 Stars
12
3 Stars
5
2 Stars
1
1 Stars
2
Conditions
3.9
Value
3.9
Layout
4.4
Pace
3.5
Amenities
3.9
StaffFriendliness
4.5
87.5%
Recommend this course
28 out of 32 reviews
Read Reviews
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AI summaries based on real golfer reviews
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Course Highlights
The course layout earns high marks, featuring tree-lined fairways with generous shade and a driving range equipped with top-tier ball-tracking technology. Friendly staff, clean carts, and a smooth pace of play make each round consistently enjoyable.

About

Holes 18
Type Public
Par 72
Length 6781 yards
Slope 130
Rating 72.9
Book a Tee Time at
The Links at Riverlakes Ranch
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Course Details

Year Built 1999
Greens Bermuda Grass
Golf Season Year round
Architect Ron Fream Kevin Ramsey (1999) David Dale (1999)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes
Pull-carts Yes
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Bunker Yes
Golf School/Academy Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard, Amex Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Walking Allowed Yes

Food & Beverage

Bar

Available Facilities

Clubhouse, Banquet Facilities
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Reviews

3.9
486 Reviews (486)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 12
Watching the Game 9
Patio Dining 7
Course Challenges Include:
Bunkers 20
Water Hazards 19
Undulating Greens 12
This course/club is great for:
Locals 15
Advanced Golfers 8
Entertaining Clients 6
This Course's Location is:
Convenient to the City 22
In the 'Burbs 7

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap Don't know
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
1.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Average weather
Used cart

Greens in VERY POOR SHAPE

Would not recommend this course until they have there greens fixed. the condition of the greens are Very Poor due to black mold few have grass and they are trying to water through it not just replant and p[lace new

Conditions Poor
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Beginner
Plays Once every three months
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Terrible Greens

Would be a nice course but the greens look terrible.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

Unplayable greens and sandless bunkers

Riverlakes was once a decent course and in fairness the fairways and rough are in decent shape despite the water shortages and blazing heat. The course also has a pretty decent layout for a flat track with no natural water. Problem is, more than half of the greens are totally unplayable and the bunkers are just mud. Starter didn't mention the conditions. I won't play again until they can get this sorted out.

Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Poor
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
1.0
Previously Played
Poor weather
Used cart

bad greens

Bad greens not a good price for the condition of the facilities.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Friendliness Poor
Pace Poor
Amenities Poor
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Previously Played
Average weather
Used cart

Dead Greens

Tee boxes, fairways, and rough were in great shape. Bunkers are well placed but could use a little care. All but one green on the back nine were gone, just painted dirt. I have enjoyed this course in the past but was shocked to see the condition of the greens. In my opinion it is not even worth the reduced price of $25 for green fees with a cart. Don't play until greens are replaced and established.

Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Putting on scabs.

Greens were absolutely destroyed. Only 3-4 greens had grass and were beat up pretty bad. When there was grass, it was in need of cutting. Super slow. Surprised they can even charge $ to play here.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Friendliness Fair
Pace Good
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
2.0
Previously Played

Greens are terrible

The greens are gone, nothing more than paint and sand on many holes. Very disappointing to hit good approach shots and have no chance to make the putt. Charging full price for these conditions will drive people away.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 38
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Good weather
Used cart

Greens in bad shape

Liked the course overall. Greens definitely need work.

Conditions Fair
Value Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing

Tough test, rough greens.

This course has a lot of potential. Currently the course is suffering from some serious problems on the greens. The two locals I played with said that a couple months ago they were in great shape. Hopefully the Grounds Superintendent can connect with a couple of the local private clubs' grounds guys and get things figured out. The problems are mild on the front nine, but the back nine has some greens that border on unplayable.
Unfortunately it's a vicious circle, they've reduced rates which (I'm assuming) has brought out a crowd that hasn't been taught proper etiquette. The result is the greens that are in decent shape are covered in ball marks that weren't repaired. This also appeared to affect pace of play. I did play in early evening so twilight rates could also be the culprit.
The layout gives this track great potential, the tee boxes were in great shape and for the most part flat. The sand traps tend to be on the sand-less side, more like solid dirt traps. Unfortunately that's a problem because there are lots of opportunities to find yourself in a bunker.
It appears that they are working on getting things together, where the rough is in bad shape the grass hasn't been mowed which I'm assuming is an attempt to get it to reseed itself.
Hopefully this fall it will be back to full health. Will definitely be back to give it another go. If you want to get out and swing 'em it's worth playing the front for sure, even the back, just don't plan on working on your flat stick.
Some tight fairways littered with bunkers, some longer wide open par fours give an opportunity for a true test. Lots of undulation on the greens could make for some fun putting, pending the improvement of the surfaces(and the mood of the guy placing the pins that day).

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 8
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Poor greens

The course has a ton of potential, but the greens are so bad, it is not playable. The staff, the food, the location are great but someone must be held accountable for the greens. This is the second year In a row, I have seen this problem with the greens, either the super has no idea or it's a money thing, but stay away from this course from July to November, unless you just want to give yourself an automatic two putt. There is no reason to putt on these greens, there might be 4 out of 18 greens that are average at best, the rest are a joke.
Someone should loose their job over this, or put up a sign that states, this is all we can do with the resources that we have. Look elsewhere for summer golf in Bakersfield.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
1.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Poor weather
Used cart

bad greens

The greens have a bad fungous.They spent a year fixing the problem and two weeks of heat and the greens are worse than ever.No sand in bunkers.Some yardage markers are off.The water in the lakes is green and smells bad.Staff will cut in front of u and just start playing making our round of golf all that much longer.Locals will not let u play throw. No marshal! they do have a starter siting on his butt doing nothing thou.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Friendliness Poor
Pace Poor
Amenities Poor
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Losing the greens again

Three years in a row lost some of the greens. Excuse is heat but the other local courses havent

Conditions Poor
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Greens need lots of help

Course was great, staff was great.. Greens have a fungus and needs help. Only complaint is the greens.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 19
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Previously Played
Average weather
Used cart

Greens are terrible

I play here often and really like the course, they problem is the greens are terrible. The grass that is on the greens is shaggy, uncut and very slow. The first 3 greens were very slow, but ok. From hole 4, the tough par 5, the greens got worse. A lot of bare dirt spots painted green. A lot of marks on the greens, not punch marks but some kind of slash marks looking like the were made by a machete or something. Hole 18 has no grass at all, just a lot of weeds but mostly painted dirt. They lost the greens last summer and it looks like they have again. The bunkers are all hard pan, no sand at all so forget sand shots, these suck so don't go in them. The fairway are good, rough is pretty tough which I don't mind, just hit the fairways. This is such a nice course with fair prices, too bad they seem to lose the greens every summer.

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Fair
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap Don't know
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once every three months
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

Very enjoyable.

I really enjoyed my rounds at The Links at Riverlakes Ranch. The course was excellent. The bartender was very nice., as well all the staff.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

RL is looking good...

I have not played Riverlkae in a few months. The greens and fairways are looking good and playing true. They have also invested in several new carts. Although youthful the staff is attentive and overall pretty good. The one piece of constructive feedback is with their bunkers. PLEASE put some sand in them and keep them graded. Most are hard packed and don't allow you to take a true bunker stroke.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 7
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Good weather
Used cart

Rake the traps

Why is it difficult for the staff to rake the traps. I hate being in a trap and the trap is as hard as hard pan.

I put that I would recommend the price, but for a discount. They are working on the greens.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 8
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Used cart

Riverlakes greens are getting better

This golf course does not manage tournaments well. We followed a shot gun start. we were 6 hrs. completing our 18 holes. Hard to get keep a swing with waiting so long. Instead of starting the tournament on front nine. They tied up front nines\ plus 10 and 11. They should have either played started 2nd group on 17 & 18 or even better behind the 2 groups on #1. Then the regular golfer could have started # 10. This was not that large a group. No one was telling them they should speed up. I have never seen even a large shot gun start take over 4 hrs.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Easy short course

The course is very short. Not much yardage difference between the white tees & the tips. Lots of green undulation. The greens are horrible. Ball marks everywhere. Fescue fairways & Bermuda greens.

Conditions Fair
Value Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 41
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

Nice course, snail pace!

Nicest local public course. Got a great deal on golfnow. Course was in good condition. Problem was it was Good Friday and apparently tee times meant nothing. It was first come first up. Mad Max on the course. We waited for 3 groups on EVERY hole on the front nine. We actually played behind a walking single! This is a links course. The holes are not always next to the next hole. This single was as slow as a fivesome! Playtime 5.25 hrs, ran out of beer!

Conditions Average
Value Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Poor
Amenities Average
Difficulty Moderate
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