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Rating Index Rating
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3.7
762 Reviews (762)
5 Stars
98
4 Stars
254
3 Stars
187
2 Stars
111
1 Stars
112
Conditions
3.5
Value
3.9
Layout
4.3
Friendliness
4.1
Pace
4.0
Amenities
3.5
80.7%
Recommend this course
489 out of 762 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.0
19 Reviews (19)
5 Stars
5
4 Stars
10
3 Stars
3
2 Stars
1
1 Stars
0
Conditions
4.1
Value
4.2
Layout
4.4
Pace
3.7
Amenities
3.8
StaffFriendliness
4.5
89.5%
Recommend this course
17 out of 19 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.6
37 Reviews (37)
5 Stars
6
4 Stars
18
3 Stars
7
2 Stars
3
1 Stars
3
Conditions
3.5
Value
3.7
Layout
4.1
Pace
3.7
Amenities
3.3
StaffFriendliness
3.9
78.4%
Recommend this course
29 out of 37 reviews
Read Reviews
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AI summaries based on real golfer reviews
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Course Highlights
Strategic water features, elevation changes, and well-maintained fairways make this layout a consistently rewarding challenge. Friendly staff and a brisk pace of play deliver strong value for golfers at every level.

About

Holes 18
Type Public
Par 72
Length 6775 yards
Slope 127
Rating 73.3

The Golf Club at Rio Vista is situated at the heart of northern California. With a scenic spot near the Sacramento River Delta, the course is even named after its scenic river view. The river delta meets rolling hills on this tough providing a unique setting equipped with distinctive water features. The skillfully crafted water holes are the trademarks of the design. The design mimics the natural lines carved by the river delta. The fairways are wide open but lengthy and generous greens can also be quite challenging as well. Rio Vista is a golf course that has appeal for players of all skill levels from novices to pros, whether it's the scenery or the diverse layout. Be careful on windy days though, the open course can be especially brutal.

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Golf Club at Rio Vista
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Course Details

Year Built 1996
Golf Season Year round
Architect Ted Robinson, Sr. (1996)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes
GPS 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

Food & Beverage

Available Facilities

Clubhouse, Meeting Facilities, Banquet Facilities
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Reviews

3.7
762 Reviews (762)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 21
Patio Dining 12
Brunch 6
Course Challenges Include:
Water Hazards 26
Bunkers 18
Forced Carries 11
This course/club is great for:
Locals 25
Seniors 16
Advanced Golfers 15
This Course's Location is:
Worth the Drive 14
In the 'Burbs 10

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

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Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
1.0
First Time Playing

DO NOT PLAY THIS COURSE

This course is awful. The fairways are practically pure dirt. The greens are kept in great condition but the rest of the entire course is in the worse shape I have ever seen a course be. They charged me $44.00 to play here and I ended up leaving by the 7th hole. I have never been more disappointed in my life when it comes to a golf course. They definitely need improvement. However I will never be playing here ever again.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Layout Fair
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Fair
Default User Avatar
Commented on 09/21/2020

ChappelleC16 you are correct. the greens were great but everything else was terrible. Very nice layout so when they are done with all the remodeling I think it will be a great course. They should put a disclaimer on here saying they are under remodeling conditions.

Default User Avatar
Commented on 08/25/2020

Your review is nothing but blanton lies. It's August and I have seen worse. They are doing a complete overhaul of the course and that doesn't happen overnight. Anyone who goes to their Facebook page will see that your "practically all dirt fairways" is nothing more than a bitter person's fallacy. Think before you try and disparage peoples hard work trying and succeeding in bringing back a course that was neglected for over a decade.

Played On
Reviews 8
Skill Beginner
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played

Good as Always.

Once again, I love playing this course. For the money, it is well worth it. Once they fix the course, you will not be able to play a round for the amount of money. It will be way more expensive.

Conditions Poor
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Excellent
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 5
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Tee boxes and sand traps

The tee boxes and traps need attention...also need to mow the rough- balls should not disappear in rough because of the weeds...hazards are understood but not fairway rough. Most traps are not sand , mostly weeds and most tee boxes are weeds as well and not mown or kept in good repair. Good course layout and great staff...work on the course maintenance!

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 25
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
2.0
Previously Played

Do Not Play This Course

I played here a year ago and this course was playable. Today, it is not. The tee boxes are ridiculous, over grown with grass and weeds. The bunkers are filled with grass and weeds and no effort has been made to take care of them for a long time. The course is home to 1,000 geese and all of the smell that goes along with that. No score cards or help from staff. We also saw many turkeys, rabbits, and bullfrogs. If you like animals and don’t care about golf, this is the place to go. If you like golf on a decent course, do not go to The golf club at Rio Vista.

Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Average
Friendliness Fair
Pace Fair
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
3.0
First Time Playing
Conditions Poor
Value Good
Layout Fair
Friendliness Poor
Pace Average
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 31
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Previously Played

What happened...

Needs lots of water! At one time was a great place to play. Over the years has fallen on hard times. Greens still decant. Good for a practice round because inexpensive to play.

Conditions Poor
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Default User Avatar
Commented on 08/16/2020

Thanks for playing, the course is under new ownership and management and while it is expected to take several years to restore the course it's getting better each week. Bunker renovations started last week and irrigation work continues. Thanks again and hope to see you at the club soon.

Played On
Reviews 8
Skill Beginner
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Previously Played

Great value

Course is in rough condition. But for the price, is worth it to to work on your game. This was my 3rd playing here in 2 weeks

Conditions Poor
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Excellent
Amenities Poor
Played On
Reviews 2
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing

Rough shape but...

This course is in rough shape. Most tee boxes are dirt. No grass in sight but the greens were very nice. And this course looks promising. I’ll definitely come back here in 6-8months. Challenging course but consider it practice.

Conditions Fair
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
2.0
Previously Played
Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Average
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 8
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Previously Played

Great Price for what it is.

This course in a work in progress. Do not expect Pebble Beach. Even with the course needing an unimaginable amount of work, playing here should be looked at as practice and practice only. With this mindset going it, it will allow you to work on ball lies that, hopefully, you will never be in.

When they return this course to it's former glory, it is going to be absolutely amazing! Until then, instead of complaining about how bad the course is, people need to appreciate that we have the opportunity to play a full 18 holes for such a cheap overall price!!! I got a "Hot Deals" deal for $22 for the round I played. I literally know no other place where this is possible.

So again, STOP complaining, and appreciate the opportunity to play at this course!

Conditions Poor
Value Excellent
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Amenities Poor
Default User Avatar
Commented on 08/16/2020

Thanks for playing and for your review. Progress continues as our bunker renovations are underway! Hope to see you at the club again soon.

Played On
Reviews 6
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
2.0
Previously Played

Current conditions are making this course as challenging as it's ever been; it was already hard. A lot of the fairways just dont have grass, there is certainly a lot of weeds and vegetation there, but the real grass is a scarcity. The winds can get very strong and this, [combinded with the infield fairways], can make keeping your ball in play a very challenging task. There are quite a few water hazards on this course and most will require a forced carry. With the tight lies, it can be very difficult to hit these shots with the required finesse needed to reach greens in reg. Subsequently, playing RV by the standards rules of golf maybe a bit difficult, but youd certainly feel very accomplished if you could(especially if u got up and down out of

those bunkers).

I played this course from time to time in high school(7 years ago) and back then it was one of my favorite courses around. It had all the aspects of a championship golf course but for a reasonable price! Plush fairways, discernible rough, level tee boxes, challenging layout, dynamic greens, SAND traps, and of course the surreal atmosphere of the windmills! It was midly disappointed to return and find that most of the things I enjoyed about the course seemed to have disappeared:/ It was such a great course, I would love to see it return to its former glory.

Conditions Poor
Value Good
Layout Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 8
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
First Time Playing

Decent

Currently this course needs A LOT if work. The staff says they are starting in a few weeks to make the course back to its beautiful form.

As long as you start on the fairways you will do just fine. The 18th hole is a great looking hole and difficult. Overall, it decent and with the money. Don't expect the course to look like pebble Beach, cause currently it's not.

Conditions Poor
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 13
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
2.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart

This course is getting better

This use to be a lovely course, but then they ran into management issues. At present they are on a 5 year plan to improve the course. This is year 2. The fairways are okay, and the greens are wonderful. Where you'll see the biggest issues are at the tee-boxes and bunkers. They are both weedy and there is no sand in the bunkers.

Note: One thing I've always liked about this course is the tee-boxes are fair to women.

Conditions Poor
Value Average
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Default User Avatar
Commented on 08/16/2020

Thanks for playing and for your comments. With four sets of tees and a combo option, you are correct, there are fair distances for all players. Bunker renovations started this week so all greenside bunkers are getting new drainage, liners and sand. Thanks again.

Default User Avatar
Commented on 08/11/2020

Actually it hasn't even been year one! Know your facts before you criticize the hard work going into the course.

Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing

Not Bad for the money

This course is nicely laid out and challenging, not in great shape but I found it a great value. I will be going back

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

The course is in bad shape, but to be fair there seems to be an initiative to eventually have a well taken care of golf course. I’ll have to wait on that before I go back.

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Average
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Work in progress

Overall course is nice and presents some challenging shots if you drive the ball 250-270 of the tee. There are well placed obstacles and you need to be deliberate on your tee shots or you may end up in hazards. It’s a nice change of pace instead of hitting driver off every tee box.

Bunkers are a work in progress they say. Well honestly no bunkers at all, just overgrown weeds. Fairways are average and some have random patches of dead grass or no grass at all.

Greens are well taken care of, soft and slower than I expected. And lastly staff was very friendly and up front and honest about course condition. Would recommend to play again.

Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
3.0
Previously Played

Course was awful

I was charged for 2 reservations at the same time. My card was charged v twice.

Course is in bad shape

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Amenities Average
Default User Avatar
Commented on 07/15/2020

Mervynn,

Sorry to hear about your experience. I would like to discuss this further so please feel free to contact me at info@playriovista.com or 707.374.2900 ext 5. Thank you.

Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Hot weather
Used cart

So much potential

Trust the reviews, but don't shy away from giving it a shot, there are positives to take away. Greens are in excellent conditions for one. Farirways need some TLC but are for the most part playable. The reviews on the bunkers are dead accurate and actually might be worse. They should either commit to fixing 90% of them or just grass them over and make collection areas so it's at least playable. The tee boxes were confusing b/c some were green and lush and others were like dirt. If I were doing the maintenance that would be my first priority as it sucks pulling back and snagging on some weeds. We are looking forward to a return next year when it's supposed to be in better shape.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Default User Avatar
Commented on 07/25/2020

Thanks for playing and for your comments. We are in the first year of a multiple year plan to restore the golf course. We're very excited that several projects including bunker renovations will be starting over the next few months. We look forward to your return visit.

Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Beginner
Plays A few times a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

Worse course conditions even for the price

This was a very well laid out course but unfortunately was borderline unplayable because of the conditions. Not a single one of the sand traps is playable out of. If you hit into a bunker, save your self a drop outside onto the fairway. The bunkers were filled with water and weeds as were most of the fairways. My other problem was, as a single golfer, the pace was painfully slow. Mostly foursomes, so jumping into a group is a no go. They also pile tee times on top of each other, which leads to major congestion. This is a last ditch effort course if you can’t book anywhere else.

Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Poor
Pace Poor
Amenities Poor
Default User Avatar
Commented on 08/11/2020

I suggest you stay out of the sand traps until the renovation is complete, which should be by November

Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
First Time Playing

Not as bad as they say

Course has a whole lot of character especially from the tips. Greens are the truest thru 18 I have played this year. Fairways are good for the most part when you find them. Bunkers are under repair but so are all of when you have that guy in your group. Looking forward to playing again cause I had trouble off the tee and want redemption. In my opinion it was a lot more fun and challenging than Diablo Creek Brentwood and lone tree.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Default User Avatar
Commented on 07/06/2020

Thanks for your review, Ryan. Glad you enjoyed your round and we hope to see you again soon!

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