About
The River Course at Alisal enjoys a scenic backdrop provided by the foothills of the beautiful Santa Ynez Mountains. Stands of mature live oaks, native sycamores, and elderberry trees sway against the vivid hues of the mountains. Though scenery abounds, don't get too distracted because the golf course demands a fair amount of attention. It's a challenging but not punishing layout that features a variety of hazards that will reward length and accuracy. Seemingly wide fairways are bordered by mounding and the large greens have subtle but tricky undulations. One of the toughest holes is the par-4 seventh, which has a challenge waiting for you everywhere you look. A beautiful vineyard runs the length of the hole on one side and on the other, there is a lake that runs all the way up to the green.
Course Details
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Available Facilities
Golfer Photos
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Photo submitted by u217656252 on 12/05/2025
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1st tee from the tips Photo submitted by RichMini2 on 04/04/2022
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Photo submitted by chrisleduc on 04/01/2021
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Vineyards and fairways Photo submitted by Robstnr on 06/15/2015
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View from the 1st tee !!! Photo submitted by Zimbotrini on 04/21/2015
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Photo submitted by Zimbotrini on 04/21/2015
Golfer Reviews
Great staff and community
Lost my putter and don’t think I would ever see it again. But surely enough it was return to the pro shop and gladly gave it back to me.
First time playing.
Great course and layout. Pace of play suffered due to a group of 7 playing in front of us. We called the pro shop on the 12th hole and they did nothing about it.
Solid
I ve plaid this course over 5 times in the last year. Always a good experience. Always in pretty good shape enough of a challenge without being too tough. Staff is friendly and the price is fair and pace of play is good
We enjoy playing The River Course but would like to make a couple of suggestions:
—provide an ice chest to guests. It was high 80’s and cold hydration was critical
—towels in the cart
—sand was more like dirt. The bees were abundant. Perhaps cultivating the sand would help AND would make it easier to get out.
Great course
Great course. Beautiful conditions. It is a little mundane. A lot of easy holes and not a lot of variety but super good conditions and beautiful scenery. Great for beginners but is not that challenging
CAncelled upon arrival because greens were punched.
The golf shop staff told us that they would notify Golf Now that we were not satisfied with the condition of the greens and didn't play. We asked for a refund because the greens were punched and we were not told this. We called the pro shop and sent emails the the head pro. All went unanswered. Horrible customer service!
Not worth the price
Recently played here on a quick 2 day vacation from LA. The course charged me 90$ at 9 am only to find out they let a 5 some and a 6 some out before us. Pace of play was horrendous not mention holes 10-18 were having all of their tee boxes repaired. So instead of having a 150 yard par 3 it turned into a 50 yard par 3 not to mention all the other holes were absolutely ridiculous. It felt like the back 9 was a pitch and putt. I understand that courses need to be maintained but the greed to charge almost 100$ a person only to have half of a golf course actually playable is completely ridiculous. Also, a 6 some really? I won’t be playing here again.
Back 9 under construction but no proce reduction
I play this course several times each year and I was shocked when I made the turn and found the tee boxes moved forward up to 100 yards! Hole 17 is only 40 yards in total length! The price should be reduced during the repairs to the back nine tee boxes. A great course usually and once this is behind them I will be back out there.
Great layout and features.
First time golfing here impressed with the staff , clubhouse,on course snack bar. The scenery and layout of the golf course beautiful. The only regret was the tee boxes on the back 9 we're under construction and you had to tee off on make shift tee areas. Other than that would play here again and recommend this course.
Temp tees
The entire back nine was on temporary tees, so the course was not playing the way it should be. 17 was a 40 yard par 3. Other than that, the greens were in pretty good shape as were the fairways.