Dino2015

It's been a couple of years since my last review of this course so it was time for an update.

Highlights:

Course conditions have improved. There are some notable course improvements with the addition a new tee box on No.11 plus improvements to drainage and curbing on some other tee boxes.

The green were in really good shape having been aerated approximately 1 month ago. Rolled true and were pretty quick ...I'd estimate about 9 on the stimp which is pretty quick for this time of the year.

The course improvements are slowly coming but at least one can see signs of improvement which ought to be commended.

The Practice Range has seen some improvement as well. There is a more consistent placement of flags, targets and distances for players to practice their alignment and distance control.

Another thing is that the range has added some launch monitors so that for $6.00 for a 15 minute session, golfers can get some feedback on things like club head speed, ball speed, carry distance, spin, etc. It's not a Trackman or FLightscope that uses Doppler radar, but it uses camera technology to capture the basic data and uses the CPU to calculate the data.

All in all, its nice to see more improvements at Riverway. It's becoming the premier municipal course in the greater Vancouver area.

This is the first time that I have played this course in over 25 years and the first time that I played it since the "prestigious" private Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club bought the course.

One common theme that will be running throughout my review is the issue of drainage and wet, damp and soft playing conditions.

Here is my review:

TEE BOXES. 2.5 out of 5
The tee boxes were average. Good size to the boxes, multiple teeing options for players of different skill levels.

The tee boxes were soft.

FAIRWAYS. 2.0 out of 5
The Fairways were abysmal. The lack of proper drainage meant that the fairways were very soft and many good tee shots resulted in plugged balls.

In addition, the length of the grass on the fairways averaged a minimum of 2 - 3 inches in length/height. I suspect that this is mostly due to the inability to mow given the soft turf conditions.

The fairway rough was even worse with grass length in excess of 4 inches in length -- and despite it being long enough to lay down, any balls that strayed into the edge of the rough were either lost of consumed time to find the balls.

A suggestion to the course management is to widen the fairways this time of the year to allow for players to find their balls quicker. This would undoubtedly, assist in speeding up the pace of play.

GREENS 3.0 out of 5
Like the remainder of the course, the greens were a bit soft, but with better drainage, they were firmer than I thought that they might have been.

The grass length was long and as a result the greens were very, very slow. The green complexes are small and often have a crown on them to aid in the drainage.

I gave this a 3/5 rating and that is mostly on the potential that these greens have when course conditions improve in the summer.

AMENITIES 2.5 out of 5
There are short game practice areas for both chipping and putting. They are nice greens and both have plenty of room to accommodate golfers. There is also a warm up cage for players to take full swings with their clubs prior to tee time.

There is no practice range on site, but there are two practice ranges within 1 km of the course.

On this occasion, I did not get to sample the hospitality rooms/restaurant or lounge areas.

OVERALL
The course in my opinion, is not what it should be given that the ownership is Shaughnessy Golf & C.C. with great facilities. Green Acres does not need to be at the same standard as Shaughnessy of course, but it could benefit tremendously from drainage improvements and some improvements to the fairways and tee boxes.

It has a very promising layout and is a good place for new golfers to learn the game and develop their "on course" skills. As such, it does represent a good value for golfers in that category. It is for this reason that I recommend the course to others.

SUMMARY
This is a great little EXECUTIVE COURSE. I enjoy coming here to play with some older friends that find the distance here to be challenging enough or with friends and companions that are newer to the game and looking to play where the distances from tee to green are more welcoming than on a traditional Championship style course. I quite like it for the opportunities to focus on my tee shots with my irons and with my short game skills of chipping and putting. The course is very pretty with lots of nice flowering trees, shrubbery, and flower beds. In the warmer months, (May to September) they do a really nice job of keeping the course looking well.

TEES (3 out of 5)
Being an Executive Style course with PAR being 58 with 14 PAR – 3 holes, tee boxes become very important. The Tee Boxes here could definitely be improved. Far too many of them have become sloppy with uneven lies, strong slopes off of many tee boxes, etc. that make it more difficult to find flatter footing for the all-important first shot.
The tee boxes need some rebuilding, improving subsurface drainage and new top turf with leveling of the playing surface. Some slope for drainage is to be expected but that lack of drainage results in very sloped tee boxes as a result. While every tee box requires some work, the major offenders are the tee boxes on holes #5, #6, #7, #10, #11, #15, #17.
In the winter months, they will use mats and boxes and as such they have become ratty and old. They definitely need to be replaced ASAP and with improvements to leveling of the tee boxes would be of greater benefit to the course.

GREENS (4 out of 5)
The Greens are generally the bright spot at this course. The greens a fairly generous for an Executive Course, but they do come with some very nice undulations, allowing for different pin placements. The greens are typically slower (probably less than 9 on the stimpmeter), but in the summer months, they do roll quite nicely and true.
The biggest challenge for the greens is that they are starting to get infestations of moss in some spots which is really affecting the quality of the greens. Significant maintenance and restoration needs to be performed asap if they wish to keep the green from deteriorating further. This could be accomplished with improved maintenance and agronomy practices.

FAIRWAYS (3 out of 5)
The fairways are not really the focal point of this course and nor should they be on an executive course. However, for those golfers not able to reach all of the greens in regulation (ie: off of the tee box for 14 of 18 holes), then the fairways area more than adequate. They typically are well maintained in the summer months and offer picturesque views with nice trees, shrubs, ponds, etc. located along many of them. The grass is fairly well maintained and they don’t have a significant problem with geese droppings like many other courses in the greater Vancouver area seem to have.

PRACTICE AREAS (2.5 out of 5)
They have a really nice putting green that offers golfers a chance to roll some putts in advance of their games – allowing you to gauge the condition and speed of the greens, etc. It is generally well maintained as a practice green. They also have a small area for warming up with your irons, woods, etc. in an area adjacent to the practice green. You bring your own balls, hit off of the practice mats and loosen up for your game. There is also a small chipping area near the first tee but it is not well maintained at all and at times is obscured with the surrounding grass. Being an executive course, this again is not a major area of focus.

FOOD & BEVERAGE (4 out of 5)
The clubhouse, while showing its age on the outside, is a nicely designed building with gables, turrets, and a look reminiscent of Edwardian architecture. The food is generally good as is the selection of the beverages – both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. The staff are generally friendly, but sometimes not the quickest in terms of service. Better training of the staff would go a long way towards improving this category and lifting it from 4 to 5 stars.

SUMMARY -- the course is well suited for newer golfers with its wide fairways and low green fees.

The fairways are generally wide enough for most tee shots, but they are very uneven and on some holes have sever inclines or declines. This means that it is all the more important to have good tee boxes so that you will have one good lie per hole. Unfortunately, tee boxes need major work.

TEES (2/5) -- as noted the tee boxes are in poor shape. They are very uneven and the crowning lacks any cohesion or consistency. It makes for poor footing/stances and poor lies for tee shots.

On a course with very uneven fairways, this is all the more important. Rebuilding the tee boxes should be a priority for capital funding as should be constructing shorter tee box options as well.

GREENS (3/5) -- the greens are fairly well constructed with good undulations. The grass is primarily poa type grass -- but does roll fairly well. They generally are large and receptive and in the summer months roll fairly true. Same cannot be said of shoulder seasons as they become more bumpy and lack of ball mark repairs.

FAIRWAYS (3/5) -- the fairways are generally well maintained. They are generous in width and should accommodate all but the wildest hook or slice! Careful alignment off of the tee box is needed to find the better landing spots to set up approach shots. They are also very uneven and as such, you rarely find a flat or even lie. Be careful in taking your stance and your alignment!

PRACTICE AREAS (4/5) -- this is an area in which the course scores very well. It has one of the best practice facilities of all of the semi private and public golf courses. Very good range area with lots of hitting bays on both floors, heaters and well lit to accommodate the entire year.

FOOD & BEVERAGE (4/5) -- no on course beverage cart, but a good 19th hole option. There is a good patio for an apres golf drinks and appetizers. The staff are very friendly and a real plus to the facility.

I wanted to provide a follow up to my previous review to provide a more recent assessment.

I found the course to be in an improved condition. The greens were in excellent shape -- they seem to have beaten back the fungal infections that had plagued the greens in the previous year.

Despite an unseasonably dry year, the fairways and tee boxes were in really good shape. The tee boxes should still be renovated in the near future to be more level and more friendly to the recreational golfers.

Again, the only major drawback is the food and beverage service provided -- great facility, good staff, but the focus is still on weddings and special events rather than golfers or individual non-golfing patrons.

Summary ...the course is one of the oldest in the metropolitan Vancouver area and is on the edge of the University of BC campus (their main Point Grey site). Nice views, great older growth forest surrounds the course, gets lots of traffic. Would be a good place to play in the warmer Spring - Summer months. The staff are all fairly friendly and golf knowledgeable...right down to the food and beverage staff -- which is a great sign!

Tees: 4/5 ... the course offers multiple tees, though they can be spaced fairly close to each other, there is enough variation in distances to accommodate the different skill levels. The overall condition of the tees were fair, they could be better, but they are in decent shape, especially given the time of year in which I am basing this review (March 30).

Greens: 4/5 ... the greens were in good locations relative to the fairway(s), and had a good mix of bunkers and undulations to guard par. The grass though is a bit inconsistent with lots of foreign grass intruding into the greens. It looks like rye grass has invaded the original grass of the greens (the original grass appears to be bent grass).

Fairways 3/5 ...the fairways were pretty fair and offered a good test of golf requiring you to size up your tee shots, find the best landing areas for approaches, etc. A good mix of fairway bunkers and hazards (lateral)...not much in the way of forced carries. They were a fair bit soft during our round, but should firm up much nicer as the weather turns warmer and drier.

Food & Beverage: 3.5/5 ... I found the food and beverage service to be quite good...the staff were friendly and outgoing...the quality of the food and drink was quite good too. Seems like a good place to perhaps have a beer or wine and watch a game on the television there. They also have on-course food & beverage area between the first and second nine.
Practice areas: 2.5/5 ... just an average rating here as the practice range while offering a decent size, is not really maintained very well. Far too many cobwebs, dirt, and poor mats and lighting suggest that they use this area as their cash cow. There is a small putting area but not too much more in the way of practice areas.

Summary - all in all a pretty good municipal course. It gets lots of traffic so during the summer time, there are lots of fairway divots, and the tee boxes/greens get lots of traffic. Some capital investment could turn this course into one of the premium courses in the Metro Vancouver region.

All in all, a good place to play within the city. Rounds are slower, averaging about 4.5 - 4:45 hours.

Tees - 2/5 the course offers multiple tees, but there really is not much difference between the two middle tees and the forward (red) tees. I often play with seniors and intermediate women who find the length discouraging. The condition of the tee boxes needs investment to refurbish them. They need better drainage, leveling and maintenance.

Greens - 3.5/5 ...the greens have struggled with disease/fungus and it has compromised them in several areas. They try hard to rescue the greens, but it needs work too. It gets so much traffic that many people don't repair their ball marks.
The greens themselves are nicely positioned, with some good undulation and a good size.

Fairways - 4/5 ... the real strength of this course is that their fairways have really good drainage for the wetter months (November - February). When it is dry, the fairways are a good test of golf with some undulations, decent target/landing areas and a good mix of forced carries, narrowness, and bunker/hazard placements.

Food & Beverage: 1/5 ... this could be a major strong point...they have a beautiful facility, good kitchen and good food...but alas, they are more focused on weddings and special events than they are with serving the after golf crowd.
More consistent hours, and a more customer friendly focus would easily escalate this to a 4/5 rating in my book.

Practice facilities - 3.5/5 ... a good practice range, serves night time and daytime, winter months are made bearable with good gas heaters. They have a "bonus bucket" program during special hours (ie: extra balls). They also have a practice green, short chipping area and a practice bunker.

Summary:This small course offers great value in the winter months as it is very dry with greens that are in summer-like condition. Not so much value in the summer as the course is more expensive for the experience and short length. The course offers you chances to go for the green or to play a "safer" route. Excellent par three variations in terms of length from the various tees. Some of the Pro Shop staff are not the friendliest or most considerate of the customer.

Tees: 4/5 ... the course offers multiple tees for various handicap levels. Well spaced out so as to make sure that there are a set of tees enjoyable for all skill levels.

The tee box conditions are pretty good, and will be better once the warmer - drier weather arrives. Well positioned and generally level with good drainage.

Greens: 4.5/5 ... this is the strong point of the course. The greens are in really good shape, not only for the time of the year, but in their overall design. Being a shorter course, the greens are the course's best defense against par. They are fairly generous in size, with good undulations. Great drainage means that they stay firm and dry throughout the wet months and the grass is healthy and usually cut short for a fairly fast green speed.

Fairways: 3/5 ...this is a bit of a mixed rating....the course, particularly on the fist nine, is somewhat narrow meaning that you need to be mindful of wayward tee shots. However, they are generally well design, particularly on the second nine, offering good landing/target areas and options to either "go for it" or to take a "safer route". The second nine, plays much more open and has that "links style" feel given the lack of trees and the wind that can kick up from time to time.

Practice areas: There is a very small practice range that is being upgraded to cover some of the tee areas from the elements. A small practice green but no chipping areas. The practice range is only open during daylight and is limited in the number of spots.

Food & Beverage: there is none at the time of writing, but there should be in the next month or so as they are constructing what seems like a gorgeous clubhouse, pro shop, restaurant, fitness area and more. It will overlook the 18th green and will offer a great vantage point for watching the finishing hole!