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Rating Index Rating
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3.8
728 Reviews (728)
5 Stars
118
4 Stars
321
3 Stars
173
2 Stars
70
1 Stars
46
Conditions
3.7
Value
3.8
Layout
3.8
Friendliness
4.6
Pace
3.9
Amenities
3.9
80.8%
Recommend this course
585 out of 728 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.8
29 Reviews (29)
5 Stars
6
4 Stars
17
3 Stars
3
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
3
Conditions
3.9
Value
3.7
Layout
3.7
Pace
3.8
Amenities
4.0
StaffFriendliness
4.6
82.8%
Recommend this course
24 out of 29 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.7
45 Reviews (45)
5 Stars
11
4 Stars
22
3 Stars
6
2 Stars
1
1 Stars
5
Conditions
3.7
Value
3.7
Layout
3.8
Pace
4.0
Amenities
3.9
StaffFriendliness
4.6
80.0%
Recommend this course
36 out of 45 reviews
Read Reviews
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AI summaries based on real golfer reviews
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Course Highlights
The staff here consistently earns high praise for being welcoming and genuinely helpful to golfers of all skill levels. Tee boxes, fairways, and greens hold up well, and this classic course offers solid value for the experience.

About

Holes 18
Type Public/Municipal
Style Desert
Par 70
Length 6436 yards
Slope 124
Rating 69.4

Previously known as Trini Alvarez El Rio Municipal Golf Course

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El Rio Golf Club
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Course Details

Year Built 1934
Golf Season Year round
Architect William P. Bell Ken Kavanaugh (2004)

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, Discover Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Walking Allowed Yes

Food & Beverage

Bar, Restaurant

Available Facilities

Clubhouse, Banquet Facilities
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Reviews

3.8
728 Reviews (728)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 15
Course Challenges Include:
Bunkers 30
Water Hazards 10
Undulating Greens 7
This course/club is great for:
Locals 31
Beginners 26
Seniors 26
This Course's Location is:
Convenient to the City 44
Near Local Attractions 6

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Good weather
Used cart

Ok golf some sketchy conditions, but cheap!

I enjoyed the golf but I suspect this course has had better days, I am from the wet side of Washington so any day golfing in the sun is fun

Conditions Fair
Value Good
Friendliness Fair
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 18
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Fair weather
Used cart

worst tucson municiple course

Painted fairways. Not sure I need to say more. Bumpy greens make balls roll all over the place. the other municiples are somewhat decent but this one is nowhere near the others.

Conditions Fair
Value Poor
Friendliness Good
Pace Fair
Amenities Poor
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Excellent weather
Used cart

Slow Play

I really enjoy this course, but the pace is always extremely slow. The last three times I've golfed there I have been unable to complete a round in less than 5 hours.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

great course

Wonderful staff. This course is one of the best public courses in the area!

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Difficulty Moderate
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

needs some money pumped into it

fairways ok,,, greens had some bare spots,,restaurant closed---all in all a nice friendly cozy place to play

Conditions Poor
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Good value

After years of neglect, Tucson City Golf has restored El Rio to a semblance of its former glory. Greens are very fair, if not super fast. They appear to have elected not to overseed the fairways, a brilliant choice in Tucson I wish other courses would emulate. Staff was engaged and helpful. Beverage cart was prompt and reasonably priced. No, it's not Tubac or Dove Mountain, but it's about what muny golf should aspire to be: challenging enough, well maintained, fairly priced and accessible to the casual golfer. I'll be back as long as things stay this way.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 13
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

just a golf course

was cheap, got what I paid for!! just a golf course that was cheap

Conditions Poor
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Easy
Played On
Reviews 24
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Need work

Traditional course. Not maintained. With proper care could be a good course.

Conditions Poor
Value Average
Friendliness Poor
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Couse is in good shaope

The greens are a little rough post over seed. The bunkers are a little thin

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 15-19
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

It was a beautiful day to play golf

had a great time, THE MANY SAND TRAPS IN FRONT OF MOST GREENS WERE TOUGH.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 16
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Good course

Hadn't played ElRio in years; was in much better condition.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Actual course for play is good enough especially for begginers

Depending on the host, staff can vary in courdialness.
Major downfall and this is a constant there is the poor condition of their carts i've played there plenty and its always a problem, they're run down, raggity, poor shape carts.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Fair
Difficulty Extremely Easy
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Course was in great condition.

I would play this course again. The greens were in very good shape. Best it's looked in awhile.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 10
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Previously Played

ez course/rude staff

played on Sunday made sure it was early to be a head of the crowd... unfortunately the ranger put people in front of us on the back 9 which slowed us down so much that we lost a player due to time issues and being upset that the management did so..
and for the $$ payed that was definitely and issue.. and staff was rude. but course was in decent shape greens are always hard to read here course was really soggy all over. some bunkers where muddy.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Poor
Pace Poor
Difficulty Extremely Easy
Played On
Reviews 11
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

good for a practice round

course needs some work, tee boxes and greens weren't very good, play was slow probably due to the cheaper price.

Conditions Poor
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Fair
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Car Broken Into While Playing

Course was in the same condition as expected. Car was broken into during the round and a purse was stolen. Looked like this might have happened in the past as there was other broken glass areas in the parking lot. Staff did not seem to concerned with the break-in or relay anything they are doing to prevent such activity, which is too bad, because I like the course but will not probably play there in the future until something is done. Surveillance cameras, etc. The break in occurred during the middle of the day.

Conditions Poor
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

greens are getting roug

For a muni this time of year the overall condition is fairly playable.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Nice course, on the cusp of easy, but fun to play

I'm relatively new to golf, and had never played this course before. But I'll definitely go again. Since taking up the game, a few of my friends have invited me to play on a few courses so pristine that taking a divot seems like a crime against nature. This is not one of those, but it's in nice shape, and a lot more fun than those. The fairways were mostly well mowed, although a bit too long on the uphill slopes next to the greens. The rough was just rough enough to present challenges, without our losing every ball that landed six inches off the short grass. You can find most errant drives, but this is a links style course where you're likely to be on the fairway of another hole, and because this is an old course, the trees between you and the green are big and difficult to get through.

The course could perhaps get a bit boring for some; the doglegs of the holes that have them are mostly very mild. But there are also a few where a long hitter can gain a lot of yardage with a drive above the trees.

On the day I played, the greens had all been sanded, and any ball that landed there (as opposed to rolling onto the green from out on the fairway) absolutely would not stay on. So it's hard to really rate the greens based on that condition, but it did seem that they had a lot of gentle contouring that would make putting a nice challenge under normal conditions. As was, I was with a couple of golfers with really low handicaps who found it really difficult to chip onto these greens and leave a makeable putt. Pitching to them was truly impossible.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Fair
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

The course just the right amount of long holes and short holes

The fairways are very rough {ie} lots of pot holes. Its hard to get an even stance on flat ground. The tree lined fairways are very nice, and makes for forced accurate driving.

All in all it is a nice old golf course.

Conditions Poor
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Dog Legs and Bunkers!

Super fun course with dogleg fairways and bunker protected greens! Cup location made the putting a challenge and insured we were on our game. All in all a very fun course to play.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Difficulty Moderate
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Golf Packages

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TUCSON | Enjoy lodging accommodations at Tubac Golf Resort & Spa and golf at Tubac Golf Resort.
Tubac Golf Resort

Tubac Golf Resort Stay & Play Package

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TUCSON | Enjoy lodging accommodations at Tubac Golf Resort & Spa and golf at Tubac Golf Resort.

The Triple Down Stay & Play Package

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PHOENIX/SCOTTSDALE | Enjoy lodging accommodations at Gila River Resorts & Casino - Wild Horse Pass or Harrah's Ak-Chin Hotel & Casino and golf at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes and Whirlwind Golf Club - Cattail & Devil's Claw courses.

Whirlwind Golf Getaway Package

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CHANDLER | Enjoy lodging accommodations at Gila River Resorts & Casino - Wild Horse Pass and golf at Whirlwind Golf Club - Cattail & Devil's Claw courses.

Mesa Golf Around Package

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MESA | Enjoy lodging accommodations at Home2 Suites by Hilton - Mesa Longbow and golf at Las Sendas Golf Club, Longbow Golf Club & Ocotillo Golf Club.
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