River Vale Country Club

Pace of play wasn’t awesome but to be expected I guess

River Vale has a friendly staff, the course is well maintained and the pace of play was good. I finished an 18 hole round in just over 4 hours.

Course closed due to lightning in the area causing completion of only 12 holes. Enjoyed what we were able to complete although storm never materialized and would have been able to finish round without incident.

When I checked in at the pro shop, I happened to notice a sign that read “Please fix your ball marks. If you need a tool, please help yourself”. What a great idea! I will say that it seems to work, as the greens were perfect, and I didn’t spend time fixing ball marks in my putting line. The course overall was really good and in great condition. The layout was pretty creative with a good mix of challenging and forgiving holes. The rough was thick, but cut at a length that didn’t slow down the pace of play.

Great course. I stunk up the place with horrible play so I’ll be back for a revenge round soon.

Pace of play was was pretty bad with no attempt to speed up slower groups. Sand was ok near the greens but the fairway bunkers were terrible. Definitely not worth the cost.

Overall, the course is good. For the price, however, the pace of play is far too slow. A five hour round is terrible. Additionally, the greens were in terrible condition- nobody repairs divots, it seems. Because the pace of play was so slow, I found myself repairing at least 6-7 divots per green (except the par threes, ironically, as nobody was hitting the green from the tees, I suppose.).

The people playing in front of us had NO sense of pace of play, and the marshal did nothing to speed it up. The group behind us blasted crap EDM music that can be heard as we were teeing off. Finally, I had to say something.

Sadly, the course would be great if not for the people playing there. The staff, starters, crew are all quite nice and friendly.

Nice lay out, couple blind shots but course and greens are in very good condition.

Fun old track. Staff is friendly and attentive. Most tee shots are blind and both greens and fairways have significant slope. Cross overs in middle holes and tee boxes are crowded but that is typical of old golf courses. Green conditions were good the day I played and fairways are tight. Admittedly the vibe of the people playing (I assume members and regulars) is a little funky but if you can ignore that you will have a good time. Course is not overly hard or long and puts emphasis on course management and accuracy. Greens are well bunkered, rough is long and there is a good deal of natural long grasses.