Jmike4212

Friendly staff. Noseums were really bad in the morning, and the staff went out of their way to make sure we had bug spray. Bugs were gone 3-4 holes in to the round. Course was in amazing condition. It is a very challenging setup. You have to drive the ball well. Greens are very fast and smooth, with a good amount of undulation. Overall this is one of the best courses in the Lakewood Ranch/Bradenton for being a great course setup, and seemingly always being in excellent condition.

If you’re looking for an inexpensive quick round in the off season there’s nothing wrong with choosing this course.

Positives are it is a fun layout and the driving range is really nice. I think they do about as well as they can on whatever minimal maintenance budget they have. Pace of play was just fine.

I played on an $11 Hot Deal, and that deal is the only version of me going back to River Club. Greens have some sort of disease and need to be ripped out and redone. For being disease ridden they keep them in decent enough shape, but it’s obvious these greens have outlived their useful life. Several tee boxes are not flat, which of course means those need to be redone.

If you’re looking for a nice course to play this is not your choice. But for a low cost quick round it is just fine.

Great layout. Course in really good shape given the recent weather. Greens are always good since they shut down 9 holes at a time during the summer for to punch greens... you never have to worry about playing on bumpy greens, which is probably the best thing about this course.
Downside is pace of play is always extremely slow here. If you go here with less than 4 people they always want to pair you up with others, which at this course can be unbearable. With the forced membership with home purchase in the neighborhood you get a lot of members that took up golf late in life, and unfortunately just aren't familiar with basic means of playing quickly. They are never ready to play their shot when it is their turn, etc. The best thing they can do is hold clinics for their members on how to be ready to hit your shot when it is your turn. This problem is no fault of the course staff, but it would be nice if they helped their members understand how to play faster.
If you're lucky enough to get out to this course on a day when not many members are playing you won't be disappointed at all. It's one of the best courses in the area.