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This course is in the Oakcreek Canyon area of Sedona with lots of picturesque views of red rock formations. The tee boxes and fairways were well maintained. The greens were recently aerated that made putting extra challenging.

This is a 9 hole course, but there's some distance between some of the holes. You wouldn't want to walk. I played 18 holes, so I went around the course twice.
The staff was very friendly. They filled up the cooler on the cart with ice and let me start earlier than my scheduled tee time.
The fairways are narrow with a fair amount of trees. It's challenging, but a very enjoyable course to play.

The course is very challenging with trees, elevation changes, and water along the fairways and greens. Holes 17 and 18 mirror holes 17 and 4 at TPC Sawgrass on a smaller scale.

There were goats, chickens, turkeys, and geese on the course.

It was like the sprinklers were left on too long, so there were mud spots in different areas on the fairway. Some of the bunkers also got watered, so there were puddles in the center. Some of the ones without water were hard packed dirt. There were a couple with nice sand.

It was cold and a little breezy, but the course was in good shape and the pace of play was comfortable.

I was allowed to start about a half hour early and was able to take my time. I let the single behind me catch up and that provided good company.

The beverage cart appeared several times during play which was nice.

The snow course has water in play on a few holes including the 18th. The greens are tough to read. They tend to break to the city, but not always.

The course was in good shape and I thoroughly enjoyed my round.

I met Garrett at the bag drop and told him I wanted to play Dinosaur, but could only get a tee time for Sidewinder. He told me that they could get me on Dinosaur. It was my first time at Gold Canyon and a friend of mine raved about Dinosaur, so I was ecstatic to switch.

The starter got me playing as soon as I was done warming up, and that was the start to a wonderful round of golf. The weather was beautiful and so was the scenery. It was sunny with no wind.

The course takes you into the hills next to Dinosaur Mountain. That creates substantial elevation changes on several holes. The greens are fast so you should target the area below the hole on your approach. The fairways are wide enough to accommodate a little fade or draw. Water is in play on only one hole on the back 9.

I look forward to playing this course again. I played in the afternoon and 10 deer strolled across the course after 4:30 pm.

If you've never been to Gold Canyon, it's located 27 miles East of the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport off HWY 60.

Merry Christmas!

I had a noon tee time but got out just after 1100. I played as a single and did not catch up to anyone, It was like having the course to myself.
The beverage cart came by three or four times. I was able to take my sweet time and enjoy a few drinks.
The course has some nice elevation change and a couple narrow fairways off the tee.
The third hole is a bit challenging. You need to be long and on line with the flag or slightly left. Short or slightly right will put you in the gully. The alternative is to go far right and pitch to the green over the gully.
The 18th is challenging as well. You can hope to hit it long over the water (250 +) and then another 100 + over another pond to the green, or you can hit it long along the right of the first pond and then 180 yards over the 2nd pond to the green. There can be a head wind which adds to the difficulty.

BLUF: River Island is a small operation with limited amenities. However, it's a nice place to play golf. The course is challenging and near water.

I drove in from Sevierville, East of River Island, and the course wasn't easy to find. It was a good thing a friend drew me a map.

It rained that morning so the ground was wet with puddle areas on the fairway. This meant carts on the cart path only. I was still glad I played, because there was a three hole spacing behind and in front of me.

The course is challenging with a couple narrow fairways and greens close to the water. It also got a little breezy so that made it even more challenging. Despite the rain, the greens were surprisingly fast.

There were no beverage carts on the course and the cafe at the ninth was closed. Jerry at the pro shop warned me about this and told me to bring water at the start. The grille at the pro shop was also closed.

Jerry was very personable. The staff was also very courteous.