Comstock/River at Empire Ranch Golf Course
About
Empire Ranch Golf Course, situated in the picturesque Carson Valley, features 27 holes of golf that overlook the Carson River. Located just minutes from downtown Carson City, Empire Ranch's three individual nines offer three different 18-hole combinations that have a convenient location but still provide a challenging golf getaway. The Comstock/River layout features lakes and wetlands coming into play throughout. The fairways are also well guarded by strategically placed bunkers. It provides a fair test, but the golf course is forgiving enough for beginning and intermediate players. In addition to the three courses, Empire Ranch also offers extensive practice facilities and a staff of PGA Professionals who can provide golf instruction.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 72 | 6840 yards | 71.4 | 125 |
| Blue | 72 | 6392 yards | 69.5 | 120 |
| White | 72 | 5923 yards | 67.2 | 116 |
| Green | 72 | 5409 yards | 64.9 | 107 |
| Green (W) | 72 | 5409 yards | 70.5 | 131 |
| Red (W) | 72 | 4854 yards | 67.3 | 122 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black M: 71.4/125 | 494 | 340 | 413 | 389 | 170 | 371 | 423 | 165 | 498 | 3263 | 341 | 523 | 444 | 207 | 355 | 542 | 434 | 194 | 460 | 3500 | 6763 |
| Blue M: 69.8/119 | 478 | 316 | 397 | 366 | 157 | 345 | 404 | 157 | 476 | 3096 | 330 | 487 | 407 | 198 | 313 | 511 | 403 | 181 | 444 | 3274 | 6370 |
| White M: 67.4/115 W: 72.9/128 | 454 | 297 | 368 | 352 | 139 | 302 | 371 | 144 | 452 | 2879 | 299 | 452 | 394 | 173 | 277 | 464 | 378 | 161 | 405 | 3003 | 5882 |
| Green M: 64.9/103 W: 69.9/123 | 416 | 265 | 350 | 324 | 128 | 267 | 337 | 117 | 427 | 2631 | 259 | 430 | 351 | 141 | 250 | 440 | 337 | 144 | 373 | 2725 | 5356 |
| Red M: 62.2/97 W: 67.1/117 | 351 | 241 | 313 | 289 | 112 | 235 | 328 | 98 | 407 | 2374 | 236 | 406 | 339 | 124 | 229 | 401 | 325 | 127 | 322 | 2509 | 4883 |
| Handicap | 12 | 18 | 4 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 16 | 17 | 13 | 3 | 9 | 15 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 1 | |||
| Par | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 36 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
| Handicap (W) | 2 | 18 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 4 | 16 | 6 | 17 | 5 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 7 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Food & Beverage
BarAvailable Facilities
Clubhouse, Banquet FacilitiesReviews
Reviewer Photos
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Photo submitted by nsipes92 on 10/12/2024
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Yup, that’s the fairway, OMG Photo submitted by PzL26bOnDUDiVUvhDsbA on 08/27/2024
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Fairway Photo submitted by alwolff on 07/13/2023
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Fairway Photo submitted by alwolff on 07/13/2023
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Fairway Photo submitted by alwolff on 07/13/2023
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Rough Photo submitted by alwolff on 07/13/2023
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around the green Photo submitted by alwolff on 07/13/2023
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Tee Box? Photo submitted by u000003302779 on 08/25/2020
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Bunker? Photo submitted by u000003302779 on 08/25/2020
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Middle of fairway....no joke Photo submitted by u000003302779 on 08/25/2020
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Photo submitted by SomeDuskyOne on 05/26/2020
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Empire Ranch Photo submitted by u971452162 on 05/10/2020
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Photo submitted by u000004096789 on 01/06/2020
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Photo submitted by nvnolans on 01/01/2020
Empire review
Played this course for years now. They are working hard on repairing and improving the fairways. I like the layout and challenging design. Location is nice for mountain views.
Get there early dont be late
Empire ranch has made some improvements over the last 4 years. This course is great for beginners and all golfers who seek to play golf. The rounds during the week take between 3 and 3.5 hours and on the weekends 4 to 4.5 hours. There are a few tricky holes with water on the sides. The food at the bar is delicious.
Slow pace
Not sure exactly why, maybe they have the tee times too close together, we spent 5 hours playing 18 holes. We had to wait past our tee time on the first hole, about twenty minutes late. Starter wasn't too concerned about our 11am tee time. No on course amenities other than two bathrooms. Many of the ball wash stations didn't have water. For the most part, the course is in decent shape, greens are in good shape. Play a round here if you have plenty of time to spend on the course.
OK But not a great Deal
Tha course needs some additional care and maintenance. The course is OK but it's not in the $40 - 50
Great Course
Excellent, I mean really excellent practice facility. Putting green, separate chipping green with sand trap, and driving range. While I didn’t use the driving range, it seemed up to par at least. The greens were immaculate. The fairways were a solid 6/10 and tee boxes were a solid 7/10. Can’t beat it for the value. Also, a beverage cart on the course to top it off.
Don’t waste your time or money
So first and foremost I will say don’t give this course your money. The course itself is in horrendous condition. The fairway is tore up with no margins between rough, ground under repair, and any discernible fairway. The majority of the course is overrun with weeds. If you attempt to tee off before 10am you are met with soppy conditions with greens being completely drenched. Sprinklers will be running as you attempt to navigate the course. The amenities, let’s just say are non existent. There is no cart girl. The driving range grass is nothing but tore up and you’ll be hitting out of divots and off dirt. The practice balls look like they haven’t been replaced since the early 2000s. The carts are barely operational. Torn seats with patches, brakes that hardly work. No charging ports and most don’t even have windshields. The cart I had today the roof was coming off and the bag strap on the back was busted forcing me to continually tighten it every few holes to keep my bag on. The Marshal/Starter on the course is the rudest, probably most arrogant person I’ve ever met. On a packed Sunday we were harassed about pace of place when we were on a standard 4:30 hour round. This place wants to take your money and offer you the trashiest round in the Reno/sparks/carson area. Don’t waste your money, go play any other course. You can go across the street and play a course in much better condition for less.
Improving
Lots of work being done at this course to improve conditions. A couple T boxes are still rough and some of the bunkers do not have soft sand but the fairways, greens, driving range, even down to the cart conditions are all vastly improved over the last 6 months. Staff is super friendly and the value is a win.
Fun course
The rental clubs aren't very good. I paid $24 to play, $16 for rental clubs and played alone. I really enjoyed the course. My only disappointment was that my wife is handicapped and the course wanted $20 for her to ride with me. She refused to pay that much so she sat outside at a table. I understand if we had 2 or 4 golfers, but the seat wasn't being used. Not angry, just disappointing. The rider fee was almost as much as the golf.
Fairways in terrible condition
I believe the flood a few years back has been detrimental to this course. It's not for a lack of them trying to repair it but it's gonna take some time and money before I would recommend this course for the current price of 40 bucks for 18. The price should be about 30 in my opinion.
Course is a little rough in spots. Sprinklers were running ona couple greens an tee boxes
For 40 bucks a person I guess it’s a pretty good deal but the course is a bit rough
Nice Greens
Greens were in great shape. Lots of bugs so I would bring bug spray
Played years ago
Course is in okayyyyyyy shape considering years ago flooding . My family played it many years ago.
Empire Ranch Golf course
Empire ranch offers 18 fun holes of golf, greens can be fast in the morning or slow. They've been pretty consistent this year compared to last 2 years, the 2 par 5s on the front are very reachable from the tips. When it is windy not so much, but the course is playing great. Not too busy on the weekends you should expect to finish in 3h 20minutes in the morning and after 10am 4 hour rounds depending on the groups around you. They are resending 3 holes on the back, these holes are marked not to drive on. Remember the 90° rule, drive straight across the fairway not up and down. Driving on the 2nd cut is allowed on holes that aren't closed for reseeding. 4.25/5 stars.