River Course at Alisal
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.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 72 | 6830 yards | 72.7 | 125 |
| Blue | 72 | 6451 yards | 70.9 | 121 |
| White | 72 | 6099 yards | 69.5 | 118 |
| White (W) | 72 | 6099 yards | 75.7 | 132 |
| Red (W) | 72 | 5710 yards | 73.8 | 128 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold M: 73.0/128 W: 80.2/139 | 570 | 385 | 420 | 227 | 580 | 396 | 437 | 357 | 173 | 3545 | 428 | 538 | 147 | 393 | 521 | 353 | 398 | 128 | 451 | 3357 | 6902 |
| Blue M: 70.9/123 W: 77.7/134 | 558 | 366 | 398 | 201 | 560 | 376 | 405 | 332 | 151 | 3347 | 408 | 524 | 135 | 357 | 494 | 331 | 369 | 115 | 373 | 3106 | 6453 |
| White M: 69.4/119 W: 75.7/130 | 524 | 350 | 380 | 182 | 550 | 356 | 396 | 311 | 131 | 3180 | 398 | 464 | 125 | 340 | 481 | 313 | 358 | 95 | 354 | 2928 | 6108 |
| Red M: 67.3/114 W: 73.2/125 | 458 | 336 | 367 | 136 | 511 | 338 | 377 | 299 | 123 | 2945 | 381 | 450 | 108 | 323 | 471 | 251 | 343 | 80 | 309 | 2716 | 5661 |
| Handicap | 13 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 17 | 2 | 14 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 16 | 12 | |||
| Par | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 36 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
| Handicap (W) | 7 | 9 | 5 | 15 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 13 | 17 | 2 | 10 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 14 | 6 | 18 | 12 |
Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Food & Beverage
Bar, GrillAvailable Facilities
ClubhouseReviews
Reviewer 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
Great course, very scenic !!!
The Wife and I have wanted to play here for sometime, booked into our timeshare, WorldMark, and killed two birds with one stone, spent 3 days at the Solvang Food & Wine festival and got to play this great golf course. The course was fantastic, we played early morning so traffic was minimal. Pro Shop staff were very friendly & helpful. We will definitely be back !!!
Great value
I am a mens club member, but used golfnow as the price was about half of what a member pays in the morning. It was a little earlier than I usually play ( 7:20 ), but the weather was perfect. The last time I used golfnow at this course there was a frost delay. I enjoy this course, but usually play another because I get a better price for morning tee times. The course was in very good shape and the greens ran very true.
Always in great shape
Been there doesn't times, love the greens, food is great, beautiful view, can't wait to go back
Wonderful Course
I have not played here in a while. The day was great playing with my wife and another couple that we met that play here quite often. The course is in excellent condition and I would urge everyone to play here. The viewa are beautiful and the weather is perfect. The course could not have been in better condition, the greens are pure, the restaurant was also great. I will return and play more often and it is only 45 minutes from where I live.
Good Course, Great Marshall
Had a nice round at the River Course. We were frost delayed for about an hour and somehow, instead of going out as a 4-some, we ended up as a 2-some, behind the first 4-some. The marshall was adamant that we pass the group on the first par 3 (4th hole) given we were waiting on the first few holes. He came back on the 8th hole to make sure we were ahead of the group.
We ended up finishing in just under 3 hours and it made me wish that golf courses were more pro-active about rounds going smoothly...the starter could have put us out before the 4-some and saved some trouble. Lots of easy ways to "fix" the game.
Course was in great shape and in a great setting. The holes are fine, but the location is what makes this place nice.
Wide open
Beautiful and wide open. Got a golf now deal at $35 I think. Can't beat it for that price. Wide open so great for beginners but challenging enough that good players can still get in trouble and need to make good shot selections. Will definilty play again.
River Course at The Alisal
Teed off @ 7am with RGM2525 on a GolfNow Hot Deal for $27.49 including a cart. We played the blues, (6451/70.9/121) in 3H, 30 minutes as the 1st group out this a.m. We played the front 9 in a dense fog and it was cold. The back 9 was in beautiful, much warmer weather.
The greens putted medium fast, maybe a little slower than they looked and I expected, but they putted well.
The sand traps were in excellent condition, nicely maintained with medium sand.
The fairways & rough were generally lush. however, there were far too many unfixed divots on almost every fairway. The rough was usually not too penal. However, there were areas of the native stuff that was waiting to swallow any errant shots.
The tees were OK, not as good as the rest of the course. The par 3's in particular were fairly chewed up.
The customer service was excellent, the pro shop got us out 1st since no other groups were ready. I like this course, wish it were not so far away. It has been above average the 3 times I have played here over the past 5-6 years.
Just keeps getting better!
I played Alisal River when it first opened up. The trees were scrawny and the fairways were thin. This course has matured, and matured beautifully. It's been over a decade since I played here, but it is in great shape, the greens roll true, and the pace of play was fantastic. Happy to give them 5 stars. Well deserved!
River Course Review
Nice course to play if you can get a discount. Tourist prices if you pay full price and not really worth it. Pretty wide open but plenty of trouble if you are not hitting the ball straight. Overall its a nice course but overpriced unless you use Golf Now or other discount. Beautiful place to have lunch but the staff is pretty bad. Beautiful scenery and usually nice weather with minimal wind.
An awesome sunday
It was an awesome Sunday to play on this course. My colleague and I enjoy very much. The next time I play here, I will bring my daughter here and for sure she will have a blast.
Scenic
Great course but can only afford to play with deals like this
Fun course
Beautiful views, great course - challenging, without beating yourself up. Reschedule if the men's club is in front - slow play due to $$ skins game.
Excellent Value For the Money
7:45am tee time on a Saturday, nobody before us and very few after us. For $34.00 on Golfnow, this place was unbeatable. Course conditions were excellent, especially since the day before was heavy rain. Would recommend this course for moderate to upper skill levels; however, don't shy away if you're a beginner. This is a very friendly course with excellent maintenance and friendly service. It's definitely one everyone should give a try.
straight fowerd, not tricked up course
Fair course, excellent large greens,fairways in great condition,not long however enough character to challange.
Very nice layout
Great place to play if you're in area. Nice layout, great for walking. Very scenic.
River course...
Teed off @ 7am on Sunday 9/7 with RGM2525 on a GolfNow hot deal for $30 including a cart. POP was 4H, 15 minutes, we were a 4some and let two 2 somes play through.
Second time playing here, nice layout, enjoyed the course just as much as the first time several years ago. A few holes where accuracy is even more paramount than normal where you really had to thread the needle. However, there were other holes where there was a very generous landing area. FAIR was a word I'd use to describe this layout, good shots are rewarded and getting crooked can be death on many holes. The short par 3 17th where water surrounds the green 270 degrees is visually intimidating with a gusty wind blowing partially in your face and partially sideways toward the water front and right... yet if you over club, the water in back comes into play.
Greens were a medium fast, maybe little slower than they looked and expected, but they putted well considering they were not mowed on Sunday.
The traps were in excellent condition, nicely maintained.
The fairways & rough were generally lush. Usually the rough was not too penal, however, there were areas of the native stuff that was a lost ball or broken wrist waiting to happen if you found your ball and tried to whack it out. We had multiple members of this group take 3 whacks to advance the ball out of the deep stuff.
The tees were OK, the par 3's were fairly chewed up.
An anomaly for this round. They were setting up the course for sectional PGA Qualifying and had all 18 pins placed in the middle of the green to save the parts of the greens they were going to be using for the qualifier.
Customer service was good, I would highly recommend this course based on my two rounds here over the past 4 years.
Solid Course all around.
Course was in great shape even in this drought! Greens rolled great. I will be playing here again!
Nice complement to your wine tasting tour!
A morning round at this course is a Great complement to your wine tasting tour. It's a nice setup and in great conditions for this time of the year. A bit pricey for this level of golf course. I definitely recommend it if you're looking for an activity that complements we'll with touristique visits and wine tasting.