christk1

From January until the middle of April every year snowbirds come down and clog up our golf courses. It's a fact of life. The good news in my opinion is that the owner Tony is putting money back into the course to continue to improve it. You have 3 choices: Get over it, join a private club, or don't play in the winter time. River Club is a well designed, challenging golf course. The course is actually in pretty amazing shape considering the amount of play it gets.
If a tee box is bad. Let them know. If they are getting fungus on a green, let everyone know. No one wants to play on a bad golf course. But to give a course a one star because you're angry about having to wait in the middle of winter, that's ridiculous.
In this area, River Club is a 4 star course all day long.

I was invited to play yesterday with some long time friends. My first question was : Are you sure you want to play there ? We get there. We were greeted nicely. I asked the guy in the Pro Shop how things were. He said the greens are putting great. I said ok and thought well maybe they were trying to fix things up some.
The putting green was in good shape. Then we played. Ugh... The tee boxes were ok. The green were fine. But everything in between Is BAD ! No sand in traps. Weeds everywhere ! The ground around the lakes were just weeds and knee high. Bunkers have been completely let go.Weed killer around greens turned the fringes white. (At least they are trying to keep the greens from being over run by weeds.) Just nothing that resembles real care. I would put the blame squarely on the course superintendent. If I owned a home in Heritage Harbour, I would be PO’d.
The track is good . So it’s just a shame. I don’t get mad about price or anything. . I chose to say okay I’ll play there. I just won’t play there again until they fix their mess. Most courses have an MO. This means they probably won’t do anything unless the property sells again. Just know you are getting a poorly manicured golf course.

Course is in good shape. The track is terrific. They spent a lot of money cutting down some trees. Put new sand in bunkers. (Although they put too much sand. It’s way better than no sand.)
Greens are in good shape. Their driving range is the best in the county. The clubhouse was/is an odd design. But the people are friendly and the food is very good. I don’t know what else you could ask for other than maybe some creative membership plans.

The greens are excellent. The tee boxes are good. Fairways are very good. Bunkers need attention. In fairness, we had some extreme downpours of late. Plus the whole COVID thing. The bunker on 15 needs to be rebuilt. Rain washed away some of the front. But overall, I would recommend River Club to anyone. The track is really good. Number 16 was the first island green the area. Try it.

I am a life long resident of Manatee County and the course is an utter embarrassment. They have had over a year to grow grass. It's Florida for God's sake, It's just not that difficult to do if you actually give a hoot. The real shame for residents is Manatee County does not have a decent facility, whether publicly or privately owned, in all of West Bradenton. IMG is fine but caters to their students and winter residents. ( As well they should.) We all know that it pours out east every day. That's why many courses were built closer to the coast/ farther west.
In addition, the cart barn guy/ supposed starter is a jerk. I feel bad for the young lady
in the pro shop. She is very nice. Sincerely. Kenneth M Christy

Listen. The course was in bad shape when these folks bought it. They have sunk some serious money in the course. It's not quite there but they are really trying. The greens are really good. It's definitely worth whatever the summer rates are. It's at least a 3 star..

It's tight but not long. It is very well manicured. The greens are receptive . They putted well considering they were verticut only a few weeks ago. A little slow but not much. We had lunch in the clubhouse afterwards. Madeyou feellike a member for the day. Just an A plus.

It was Saturday morning. Therefore it was busy for the summer time. The first nine is the same as it always has been. The back nine has been changed as the are building new homes around the back nine. The back nine is easier than the front. But it does have some very interesting holes. The greens are very plush so they are a little slow for my taste. But the person that gave the course a one must have had sour grapes for something. I shot 78 and thought the course was in pretty good shape.

I have not played this course in a long time. It is not long but makes you hit the ball straight of suffer the consequences. The greens were pretty nice and the ball rolled week for me. The were a couple of greens where they are working some areas but overall the course is very well manicured, We had a fun afternoon.

I read some prior reviews that the new homes were a distraction and some of the negative comments but everyone seemed to agree the greens were very good. So I said what the heck. The course could use some manicuring but overall we had a great day.
The greens are the best in the area. If they would put a few bucks into the course it could be great again.

If you consider the amount of play Buffalo Creek has seen in the last 3 months, the condition is remarkable. The greens are newer and putt well. The tee boxes have been over seeded with rye nicely. And look good. It was busy but it's winter in Florida. We still finished in 4 hours and 15 minutes. A good day of golf

The fairways are a little dry but we haven't had any rain lately. The greens are overseeded with rye. They are a little slow but roll true. The greens are small but if you hit them in regulation, you have a shot at birdie. I really enjoyed the track. They have 27 holes. so pace of play is really good for this time of year.
A real good value for the money.

I'm a life long resident of Manatee County. I have played this course since it opened.
This is the worst condition EVER! The greens are painted on. And it's not just the greens. The whole course looks like its in dire need of water. It also looks like someone put weed killer down but killed the grass instead. There are plenty of courses around the area. Don't play here for a while.

Greens are slow because of overseeding with rye grass. They punched the greens 3 times this year and it was too much in my opinion. But. It's your typical public course.

I know we have just finished the winter season. But I was surprised at the condition of the course. Especially the first 4 holes. There was little or no attempt to manicure the course. And I know the difference between trying to keep the course natural and just not doing your job. The course is in dire need of water too.
Still a nice track. Just hope they step up the maintenance.

I played the course a year ago and it was in terrible condition. This year the greens are slow. But I would rather have slow greens that have grass on them than fast greens that are mostly dirt. It's not expensive and it's not crowded. So overall it's okay. It does look like they are trying to improve the course.
The par 5 around the lake is a great hole. Very similar in design to 18 at the Players Club.

The management must have taken notice of some of the prior reviews. They are working hard to inprove the quality of the course. The greens were punched but are noe growing in. They are not real fast but putt true. Its well maintained as it should be. I really had a good time playing it.