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Rating Index Rating
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3.5
476 Reviews (476)
5 Stars
79
4 Stars
204
3 Stars
111
2 Stars
46
1 Stars
36
Conditions
3.0
Value
4.1
Layout
3.8
Friendliness
4.3
Pace
4.1
Amenities
3.5
75.1%
Recommend this course
378 out of 476 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.7
23 Reviews (23)
5 Stars
3
4 Stars
10
3 Stars
9
2 Stars
1
1 Stars
0
Conditions
3.1
Value
4.2
Layout
4.0
Pace
4.2
Amenities
3.7
StaffFriendliness
4.2
82.6%
Recommend this course
19 out of 23 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.5
43 Reviews (43)
5 Stars
5
4 Stars
18
3 Stars
15
2 Stars
3
1 Stars
2
Conditions
3.1
Value
4.0
Layout
3.9
Pace
4.0
Amenities
3.7
StaffFriendliness
4.2
74.4%
Recommend this course
32 out of 43 reviews
Read Reviews
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AI summaries based on real golfer reviews
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Course Highlights
Empire Ranch offers strong value for money, with notably friendly staff making every round feel welcoming. Pace of play consistently impresses, with morning rounds often finishing well under four hours.

About

Holes 18
Type Public
Par 72
Length 6840 yards
Slope 125
Rating 71.4

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.

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Empire Ranch Golf Course
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Course Details

Year Built 1997
Golf Season Year round
Architect Cary Bickler

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

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

Food & Beverage

Bar

Available Facilities

Clubhouse, Banquet Facilities
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Reviews

3.5
476 Reviews (476)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 13
Brunch 9
Patio Dining 8
Course Challenges Include:
Water Hazards 17
Bunkers 10
Forced Carries 10
This course/club is great for:
Locals 19
Seniors 19
Playing Multiple Courses 14
This Course's Location is:
Convenient to the City 16
Worth the Drive 10

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

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Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
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Played On
Reviews 1
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Previously Played

Great course. Make sure you tell the club house you plan to play what you paid for

Probably the third time I showed up for my 2:30pm tee time to play 18 and on about the 10th hole the gentleman from the club house rolled up and said “I want to go home soon” and cut us short when we paid for 18. It’s fine and the course itself is awesome but just feel like maybe don’t allow someone to book a round of 18 in the afternoon when your workers “want to go home” so your paying customer gets shorted. Refund would be cool on the back 9

Value Poor
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Poor
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Very good

Swampy challenge, little shade, nice fairways and greens

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 27
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart

Good day at Empire

Just challenging enough to make it interesting, but not overwhelming. Conditions have improved over last year.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 27
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played

Empire

The course conditions have improved, and I really like the layout and challenges.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

I had low expectations

I had low expectations when I made our reservation to play Empire Ranch. I found many aspects of the round positive. I thought the lady running the front desk and acting as starter was very informative but firm. We were busy visiting with the strangers we were paired with and she had to prod us to tee off on #1. The driving range is grass and had big targets. There is nothing resembling a flat putt anywhere on the course. The greens were in great shape and challenging. It was a good thing they were not too fast. The rough is very lush and penal. There are deceiving visuals when teeing off on many holes. Lots of water around but not necessarily in play. The setting was serene and beautiful. Lots of wildlife. Lots of geese, an eagle or three, and a coyote even loped past us through the tee box. The biggest issue is that there is very little grass in the fairways. Which might have contributed to deceiving visuals because the green stuff was the rough and the scrabble was the fairway. They wanted us to use the 90 degree cart rule but why when there are no fairways? Our overall experience was good because of the setting and the company. We just had to find some grass if we hit it in the fairway. We weren't mad that we played here. I would really like the course if there were actual fairways. We would play it again but mostly as a last resort and with our eyes wide open. Forewarned is forearmed.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 67
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Value

The course has had damage in the past . Golfing there is easily a value compared to most courses . Not perfect but ok.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Previously Played

It’s cheap, golf is fun

Could be great if they took better care of it. Greens were probably around a 9, but true. Back tee boxes were unkept and the grounds crew was all over the course wasting man hours at 2pm waiting for us to tee off at every whole. They should probably get out there at 6 or 7am and save some money on labor costs. Grass was lush, rough is very thick, and when unkept off the fairways you’re lucky enough to find your ball let alone get club on it. Long rough conditions made chipping around the green extremely difficult. Because this course has no trees, I gladly accept the challenge of penalizing rough — but they still gotta cut it!

We had the bad fortune of teeing off behind a women’s club “tournament” on a Thursday and they snapped at us for asking to play through their 6.5 hour round pace. Eventually we skipped them despite the pro shop telling us not to.

All in all, seems like this place isn’t managed very well but for a budget course I honestly have more positive impressions than negatives despite the many complaints I have. It’s $25 to play golf and hit off grass. Doesn’t suck too much.

Conditions Fair
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Poor
Played On
Reviews 27
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Windy weather
Used cart
Conditions Fair
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 13
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Lots of improvement.

Course is working very hard at improving conditions. Our group plays there somewhat often and there has been significant improvement in the last 12 months in all areas of the course.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played

Way better.

This was the second time playing this course in about a seven days. As mentioned in my other review, the first time had terrible pace of play, this time. It was much better! There were a couple of slower groups in front of us, but we were always offered to play through. It was just two of us so our pace was super fast and we were playing best ball on most holes. Course was in much better shape in one weeks time. And for $25 per person, you cannot beat it! Finish the entire round in less than four hours. And had one of my best rounds of the season would definitely recommend super fun course thinking of going today actually!

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 31
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Poor back nine Fairways

The back nine is still recovering from a flood a few years ago. There are large dirt patches were the fairway grass should be. (But be very careful not to drive your cart on those dirt patches as the staff will yell at you - for damaging the dirt I guess). The greens are good.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Much improved.

The course was in great condition. 18 was playing as a par 3 instead of par 4.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 14
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Windy weather
Used cart
Conditions Fair
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Difficulty Fairly Easy
Played On
Reviews 27
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Windy weather
Used cart

Empire golf

I like the course layout and challenges. Plenty of variety for finesse shots. Course conditions are improving with the new crew. Restaurant is great.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played

Impressed

After not playing this course for 12 years because of the previous course conditions I am very impressed with how the course has bounced back. Please keep up the hard work course management.

Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 1
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Fair
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
First Time Playing

Decent.

It was early season courses a bit dry knew that was gonna be a thing. Pace of play was horrible 10 minutes before our tea time it was completely empty and then they put three foursomes ahead of us. We usually play basketball in our group so we move fast keep pace of play and only look for lost balls on occasion, but the group in front of us was horrible and when we realize there was no one in front of them, we started pushing a little bit and they actually started smoking our balls. Of course it was a problem and then within 45 minutes of sunset on the 15th hole, they kicked us off the course not just us but everyone we could’ve easily finished but for 25 bucks he can’t complain I guess

Conditions Fair
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Fair
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Previously Played

Great for beginners

Course is in terrible condition, but it’s a great value. So definitely play if you need practice or just starting golf. Really short and friendly for beginners

Conditions Fair
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Used cart

Tremendous value but needs some investment

For $30 it was a good value with beautiful views but the course and equipment could use some investment. Lots of effort around the course repairing turf which seemed to be working though there were many hard pack/ muddy/ rough spots primarily in fairways. Greens were in reasonable shape. Carts could use a deep clean but functioned fine. For a low cost round, it was fine. Clubhouse and bar/restaurant were good.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Difficulty Moderate
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