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
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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
Fantastic value
Great value for the money. Fantastic views if the mountains. One a few courses that remains green in the drought stricken California. Excellent outing!
Good value for location
Enjoyed playing here and would definitely do so. Compared the cost of other courses in the area this represents a good value. I found it to be challenging but very playable.
Well maintained Golf Course
I made a 7:20 tee time on Golf Now. I got to the course about 6:15 (first light) hoping I could go right out. The starter arrived about 6:40 and after getting organized, told us (one other had the same idea of starting early) the course opened at 7:00. We joined up as a two some and teed off a tad early. First ones out and pace of play was of course excellent. Greens mostly large and flat. Very smooth and rolled nicely. Signs of our drought throughout the course but still very nice.
Alisal River Course...Great layout, a little dry, good greens
Played here four times and keep forgetting that you need to give this course it's due respect. Wind kicked up in afternoon, making the back tough. Lots of weddings in the summer so a lot of nongolfers made it slow. Course was in decent shape during the summer and in a drought. Some dirt spots outside of normal landing areas but if you can play decently you will not encounter. Greens were good, rolled true. For $45 it's a great value..Solvang is a great weekend retreat.
Summer time at Solvang
Focus on the course played and your individual experience
Sideways - the Movie
This is a nice course in Solvang/ Santa Barbara wine country. Course conditions were green and were irrigated. The layout was interesting. The course was used in the famous film, Sideways. I'll definitely play there next time I'm in Santa Barbara.
Scenic setting
I feel this course is worth the short drive from Goleta/Santa Barbara area. Although the course is basically flat, it is in a scenic area of the Santa Ynez Valley. It has everything for any skill of the golfer. There is plenty of trouble to be found, but a very fair course. I always look forward to a round here!
Nice Course close to Solvang
We played on a Friday morning and the course was practically empty. I waited in the pro shop to buy tees for 10 minutes but the guy didn't interrupt his phone call to serve me so I can't rate the friendliness of staff very high. Otherwise it was a nice course which provided a bit of challenge, especially when you hadn't played it before and couldn't see where the hazards were.
Fun day
Men's club member Golf Now deal better then member price early morning tee time. Brought friends who had not played course before. Great day
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.