Riverside Golf Course

I've played this course a few times now and what I've learned is that this course puts a premium on the following:

- Being in position off the tee. You have to hit your drive to certain spots on the fairway, otherwise you will be blocked for your approach by the many trees that line every hole of this course.

- Keeping the ball in play on approach. It's not a long course, and one of its main protections are that there are no bailout areas around the greens. Chances are that if you miss your approach wide or long, you're making a big number because the ball is out of bounds or you have to get up and down over bunkers & mounds or with tree impediments. It's better to miss short because you'll have a pitch from the fairway or a bunker shot (and the bunkers on this course are not hard with excessive slopes or lips).

- Controlling your shot from tee to green. You're forced to play with control of speed, bounce, and certain shot types because of fast greens/many trees including near the teebox/doglegs/blind teeshots.

- Ball pace and speed around the greens since they generally play fast and hard where the only forgiveness is if you hit it to an uphill spot--it's very easy to hit a shot or putt and it will roll away a crazy amount. Also be aware that the greens will not roll true and some will have ground under repair with sand or bare spots.

- Knowing distances. I don't have a rangefinder and the distance markers on this course in the tee/fairway are not consistent. It's very easy to put tee shots and approach shots in bad areas because you have the wrong club and it's not easy to recover from out of position on this course.

You definitely have to think on this course and play with care, otherwise you will post big numbers and get frustrated.

Considering the massive storm that occurred three days earlier the course was in very good shape

Fun course layout! Great practice course and great value for money. Some greens are in rough condition unfortunately. Difficult to know if those greens fell victim to angry players or poor green management. All in all a fun course that is wide open, with limited chances of losing your ball anywhere. Will be back next weekend.

TEES -- As with my last outing at this course, the tee boxes had seen a lot of play. Just like before, I'll state that either players think that they're pros and taking divots while not using tees ... or they're just not good golfers. I'm betting on the latter. I don't think you should ever see a divot on a par-5 box? And a significant number of boxes put white and blue tees together; doubling up the amount of play for those most popular tees. To go along with the missing grass and tons of sand filler, almost every single box felt mounded. We couldn't buy a flat box.

FAIRWAYS -- These once again all appeared in quite decent shape. We did have standing water on several of them due to rain on the two (2) days prior to playing. Nothing they can really do about that; this isn't Augusta etc. But, they can and do need to start treating for fire ants. I saw numerous mounds on the back nine both in the fairway and first cut. We just had our first significant rain in a long time and this is the time of year that they reappear. Last time I played this course was in October and they had fire ants then too.

HAZARDS -- With standing water several inches deep in multiple bunkers, we opted not to play out of them. Maybe they can try to drain them ... or maybe they'll just let them dry out. Being the day after it rained, we expected it to be an issue; no fault on the grounds crew.

GREENS -- I'd say 2/3 of them were in good shape. A few, however, had serious spots from disease, burnout, or (?). Nothing like getting on a green to see several spots the size of a basketball hoop filled in with sand (like they're potholes). This same issue was present last time we played here ... so they haven't exactly fixed anything in the last 18 months. Maybe it was on a different green; maybe not. Who knows!? Flag placement felt like a Sunday tournament on a number of holes -- close to the edge, on a ridge, with an uphill/downhill putt no matter where you were starting. They definitely tested us and cost us a stroke or two.

CLUBHOUSE & SERVICES -- The clubhouse meets your basic needs. This is an old course stuck behind a community college location so we're not expecting any big fan faire. It was clean, cool (AC), and they have a grill but I've never stepped in to check out the menu; eating/drinking is just not really something I do at courses. There's a net if you wish to hit a few clubs to loosen up and a short little green for short pitches. These don't really see much use from patrons. The putting green by the clubhouse is a good size and lets you practice some of the undulation shots that you'll certainly encounter on the course. The carts are electric, newer, and have the big basket, four (4) large cup holders, and extra pockets for storage. But, they didn't have sand jugs, coolers, nor club cleaners. They were just void of any of those extras that I'd expect to see two out of three. Maybe we needed to ask for them. They were running a beverage cart on this Wednesday round. She was very pleasant and passed us three (3) times.

Took some clients that are typically not golfers. The marshal was so nice and patient for my clients who did not have any golf etiquette. This was a very inexpensive course with a great staff and some cool holes. I also don’t think we had to wait on one shot for a Friday noon tee time. Would absolutely recommend this place for anyone that doesn’t want to pay 100 for a round.

Playing golf in the area for the first time this week. My experience two days prior at a surgery course was a disappointment because the course conditions were terrible. Reviews were slightly better for Riverside but cost was similar, so I was skeptical if it would be any better. Besides, it didn’t have a range (just a big net) so how good could it be? Turns out it was much better. The greens were on the slow side but rolled pretty true. Fairways were a little patchy but we let ourselves improve them. The layout of this course was interesting and fun. Has some pretty good elevation changes. Has a couple of nearly drivable fours and some fours that are really stretched out. Overall, an enjoyable round.

Good value

Kinda short but not for us older guys.

Layout a little different but only for first timers.

I’ve played this course dozens of times over the last few years and right now feels like the best shape the course has been in since I’ve started playing it. The staff has always been very helpful, from the Pro all the way to the beverage cart drivers. Can’t recommend it enough!

Fun course nothing really to write home about. Younger crowd since near UT but good to get out if you have an open afternoon

Having not played but a 9 hole last year, it had been 5 years since playing. Could be my “ go to “ golf course!

Great friendly staff.

The staff was very friendly and helpful. They even introduced me to the gofer I was paired. The course was in great condition. It was have been nice if the drink cart appeared more than twice.

It’s only been two weeks since I’ve played Riverside and the greens are almost absolutely perfect. The guys in the pro shop are always super friendly and helpful and pay a play was under four hours even though the golf course looked very busy. With all the craziness going on with golf courses around the Austin area Riverside is always a treat and I look forward to coming back here every time.