jayastout

Made an online reservation as a single. Other group, same tee time, coordinated by phone with the pro shop to bring a foursome. I was pushed out, with no other good options. When I asked to be comped for a round (my day was now trashed), the pompous little manager accused me of trying to "work them.," when the only thing I had "worked" was my personal schedule so that I could ply a round of golf.

Shortsighted management. Rather than a mollified customer, they now have an angry one. And this was the second time in a year that I've experienced this sort of mismanagement at this course. .

Off the tee box, you've got big opportunity to lose your ball on every hole. Leave your driver in the bag--you don't need it.

Once you figure that out, this course is a lot of fun. Fantastic views. Fairways are in good condition as are the greens which can be quite challenging. Some real interesting layouts.

Fortunately the course doesn't clog up the place with "back-niners"--nine-hole patrons who slow the pace of play. On the other hand, the course is not set up to allow the marshal to get around and hurry folks up.

Anyway, the is a pretty well run and maintained course with a lot of interesting holes.

Firstly, the course is well-maintained and fun to play.

Unfortunately, golfers and tee-times are poorly managed. Fivesomes on Saturday morning make no one happy. A sixsome (I'm not kidding) makes a golfer angry. Ten minutes behind on tee times before 7:00 is...well, you have to try hard to make that happen. Moreover, locals/members often insert themselves in gaps on the course when they don't think that doing so will bother anyone...much. The pro shop has a laissez-fair attitude about all of this which makes playing here a frustrating experience.

Riverwalk has placards all over the course and on every tee box to remind players to keep up the pace of play. This is great. On the other hand, they allow five-somes of walkers. This is not only stupid, but also self-defeating and inconsistent with speedy play. And it indicates that management's commitment to pace of play is...well, non-existent. When I pointed this out to the starter his response was, "Well, they're here every Sunday morning."

Ah, well that makes it better.

Fairways are a wet, moldy and torn up mess. Greens are really nice. True and fast. Nice view. Friendly staff.

I tried this course after hearing about all the good changes made since it had been Lake San Marcos. Having never played it regardless of its name, I was curious about what I would find.

First, the staff was really friendly and helpful. I played on a Saturday early afternoon and the place was really busy, but I started on time. The course is fairly wide open--tough to lose a ball. A couple of really interesting holes and a really tough, sharp dog-leg 550+ yard, uphill par 5. From the whites.

Fairways were okay--typical for the area. Greens were super-hard and super-fast. Had a hard time keeping the ball on the green. Missed four-foot downhill puts ended up twelve feet on the other side.

Biggest downside was the pace of play. 5+15 is too long. Second, was the lack of yardage markers. A few on the sprinkler heads, but seriously scarce otherwise. People were walking all over the fairway trying to find them which slowed pace of play. How much can some PVC pipe and paint cost? Finally, no water on the course. It's almost a safety issue on hot days. OTOH, the cart girl made it past our group several different times.

I'd rate it as average for the area...which I guess is an improvement over what it was earlier.