River Oaks Golf Club - Otter/Bear
Rating Snapshot
About
River Oaks Golf Club in Myrtle Beach is home to 27 holes of championship golf. The course sprawls across a former nature preserve that sits just outside the Myrtle Beach city limits. In 2009, the course underwent a major renovation that removed almost 4,600 trees, burying the remaining stumps underneath mounds of dirt and sand. This opened up the layout while adding an interesting up-and-down to the course that it never had before. The holes are divided into three nines that provide different 18-hole combinations. Each of the nines is named after a different animal that makes up the course's resident wildlife: Fox, Otter, and Bear. River Oaks' Otter/Bear combination is the longest course of the three available options. You'll find water coming into play on nearly every hole and there are several strategically placed bunkers to be found along the greens.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 72 | 6877 yards | 73.1 | 123 |
| Blue | 72 | 6425 yards | 70.7 | 121 |
| White | 72 | 5836 yards | 69.2 | 117 |
| White (W) | 72 | 5836 yards | 70.2 | 119 |
| Yellow | 72 | 5389 yards | 66.1 | 111 |
| Yellow (W) | 72 | 5389 yards | 67.1 | 113 |
| Red (W) | 72 | 5001 yards | 66.9 | 109 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black M: 73.1/123 | 437 | 405 | 205 | 367 | 365 | 524 | 211 | 410 | 521 | 3445 | 460 | 523 | 377 | 165 | 409 | 387 | 341 | 223 | 547 | 3432 | 6877 |
| Blue M: 70.7/121 | 415 | 364 | 186 | 339 | 340 | 498 | 198 | 390 | 498 | 3228 | 433 | 497 | 355 | 153 | 379 | 358 | 313 | 193 | 516 | 3197 | 6425 |
| White M: 69.2/117 | 365 | 312 | 148 | 313 | 305 | 467 | 160 | 366 | 473 | 2909 | 348 | 484 | 371 | 120 | 360 | 328 | 294 | 152 | 470 | 2927 | 5836 |
| Gold M: 66.1/111 W: 67.1/113 | 267 | 310 | 120 | 304 | 300 | 468 | 145 | 296 | 431 | 2641 | 358 | 456 | 326 | 100 | 328 | 305 | 300 | 140 | 435 | 2748 | 5389 |
| Red W: 66.9/109 | 250 | 290 | 112 | 238 | 256 | 439 | 136 | 275 | 415 | 2411 | 342 | 440 | 310 | 80 | 312 | 288 | 275 | 115 | 428 | 2590 | 5001 |
| Handicap | 3 | 5 | 11 | 17 | 15 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 13 | 4 | 14 | 10 | 18 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 6 | 2 | |||
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 36 | 72 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Available Facilities
ClubhouseReviews
A fun round
Had a single tee time and was paired up with two other singles to make a threesome. Pace of play was awesome, finished our round in 4 hours. Fairways were in decent shape, rough was well maintained but the greens and tee boxes could use a little TLC. Overall, even though I lost a few balls, it was still an enjoyable round and I would recommend this course to a low, mid or high handicap.
First Time
I messed up my tee time using an app and they were kind enough to cancel and reschedule my correct day and time.
First time @ River Oaks
Great layout and from tee to green was awesome, a couple of greens were so so but for the price and staff being A+ it was a great time and have already booked another day
Average
Course was laid out really well. It was terribly dry. Tee boxes were tore up and very difficult to get your tee in the ground. The greens on the front nine weren’t in very good shape. Sand on the entire course wasn’t good either. Practically mud in the center. Loved the course design. It’s challenging and has its fair share of places to get in trouble either with water or trees. Back nine was in lots better shape, greens were good. Fairways and tee boxes too. Great staff and players on the course were friendly as well. The rate is a little high for the courses current conditions but that being said I’d still pay it to play again.
Amazing River Oaks
I played the 27 holes course years ago and it was a mess. Decided to give it another shot. So glad I did. The Bear 9 has fallen victim to developers so the Fox 9 and Otter 9 are the 18 holes now. Staff hospitality was off the charts with Randy at the Bag Drop, Scott in the Pro Shop, and “OB” the Starter. I’ve never met better at any course in MB and I’ve played them all. The course is a fantastic layout with great diversity. It was designed extremely well, challenging but fair. Hit the shots to the right spots and you score well. The tee boxes could use a little smoothing out but overall they weren’t bad. The fairways were absolutely perfect, with driving range mat-like club/turf interaction. The bunkers were full of sand and well maintained. The greens were a little on the slow side, compared to the upscale courses’ quick greens, but were in great condition and rolled true. The Cart Lady showed up 4 times during our 1:00-5:00 afternoon round which was unusual but showed how much the staff truly cares about their customers. Pace of play was spot on, just as OB suggested it should be. If you don’t want to waste money on upscale courses in the area, give River Oaks a try. You won’t be disappointed.
Fun day
First of all, i got turned around on my directions, so i called the pro shop and the desk manager was super nice and worked me in, I couldn't get off right away, because i missed my scheduled tee time, so i spent about 15 minutes talking with the starter Ron, he was great guy. i would love to play this course again in the future.
