River Course at Alisal

So my attempt at my 1st round was cancelled without notice because of rain. I called the course, but no one was there to answer. The Golfnow did not accept the course closure as refundable, and so I played it a week later. An ok course, not worth $50, but more like a $30-35 course. Slow play, and seen many groups of people old enough to have seen Jesus complete elementary school. The range isn't special. The "island" 17th was neat.

Great course lots of fun with strategic hole layouts.

Could use sand in traps but very nice course.

Nice course with great views of the surrounding mountains and vineyards. Good variety of holes with some elevation changes over rolling hills. The course was in good shape overall, I would play here again.

Somewhat challenging course with beautiful backdrops everywhere. Some wide fairways and good greens...fast and slow sometime. Finished in 3 hours due to no groups in front in extreme heat. Definitely would play it again in better weather condition.

I like the greens which are a little faster than average and in excellent shape. Both tees and greens are kept in very good condition. Ed who works in the pro shop is cordial and efficient. I rate him superior at doing his job and dealing with the general public. The golf carts are in excellent condition and work well. They have an above average driving range but use mats which I do not prefer.

Rode the Blues (6451/71.1/122), averaging 3H, 15M per round for 36 holes on an UP voucher with GDR23. Clear and 70ish. Breezy in the a.m. round, windy in the p.m. round.

Tees had okay coverage but were bumpy, unlevel and could use divot repair. Weak link of the course, the par 3's in particular were fairly chewed up.

Fairways were semi lush and usually good to play from, but also had several thin lies.

Rough was not overly tall but was consistent and well maintained.

Sand traps were okay considering no rakes. Decently maintained with thick, medium sand.

Greens putted smooth and were very consistent from green to green. I see the lines well here and really like these greens.

The customer service was excellent, the pro shop got us out ahead of our tee time. No on course services or water available with COVID-19. Basic carts do not have GPS and the course is not well marked for yardages. Food good but pricey at the busy restaurant. I like this course, it has been above average very visit in the last decade. Recommended.

We had never played this course and needed a break from LA golf. The weather was warmer than by the coast but not as hot as the valley - just perfect! The course was in good condition and the pace of play was pretty good. They have a great patio area we would've liked to sit at, but no time. The food was ok, not the best. We would definitely recommend the course to friends as the staff was friendly, the price was affordable and it's a fun course!

The course is well maintained . The greens run trueand are consistent from hole to hole.

There’s no denying that The River Course has an unmistakable beauty to it. There is a lovely parkland feel to many of the holes. But there are some very peculiar quirks about the design. You absolutely must play the course with a laser rangefinder and/or some sort of GPS device. There were absolutely no yardage markers on the course other than the tee boxes. No 150 marker or sprinklers—nothing. The tee markers look very similar—perhaps because of sun bleaching. They all have have a white square on them with the course logo. At multiple times in a two-day tournament, someone in our foursome nearly hit from the wrong tee box. Silliness—as it would be so easy to just paint all the markers. Bunkers didn’t seem to have very much or any sand in them—more like a fine powdery dirt. The greens were less than their best. They looked to be recovering from aeration. All of us struggled to read them with any consistency as we found them to be a bit hairy/shaggy. In my opinion, they should have a more detailed course map on the scorecard. Routing of holes seemed very strange. Several times you will play a hole and then trek quite a distance backwards to the next tee box. Things like this make one scratch one’s head and wonder what the architect was thinking. Oftentimes green side bunkers aren’t actually greenside. They may have several yards of apron between the bunker and green. Again we ask why? The small driving range looks to be an after thought. It runs parallel but in the opposite direction to the 18th hole—a rather bland par 4. No hitting off the grass on the range at the time of year we played. The mats were nice to hit off, however. The fellow at the snack bar at the turn was an absolute gem. Lovely sense of humor. In the end, there are some interesting holes. One sees the great potential this course has if someone were willing to invest in the course and give it a bit of an update/make over.

In the interest of full disclosure I live in Solvang. So, easy to get to is big... Wrapped in the Santa Ynez Mtns. one only needs to look up to see the beauty. While most CA courses are probably in good shaped after the rains... it particularly helped the River Course. The front is not too exciting, several of the holes parallel each other so if it had been busy (it wasn't) it's easy to see other groups hitting into your fairway. If you hit a decent drive at around 220ish many of the fairways are bunkered left and right, so you just can't swing away, unless of course you don't mind coming in from the opposite fairway... the greens are a combo grass(?), sort of like a few days growth on your face, even after they're cut so while looking straight forward they can trip you up. The green traps are not difficult to get out of, holding the green 'stubble' is another story. As you work your way around the heart of wine country it's hard not to smile... especially if you got a good deal. The pro shop staff is quite friendly the bar & restaurant good. Worth the money... Enjoy!