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River Course At the Alisal
2 reviews for River Course At the Alisal
2 reviews in English
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Review from Mike M.
Costa Mesa, CA
10/23/2011
Does this course belong on a SoCal list? Maybe, maybe not. But I enjoyed it so much that I would tell any of my LA friends to drive up to Solvang for the day or even a long weekend and make a mandatory stop at the River Course.
The Course: If you've ever gone wine tasting in the Santa Ynez Valley, driven the San Marcos Pass or checked out Solvang you know how beautiful it is. And golf nerds like me always think "how great would a course look right here."
Well this one fits the bill. About a 2-hour drive from LA and within walking distance from downtown Solvang, the River Course is firmly entrenched in my favorite west coast courses.
There is just so much to like about the property from the beautiful views, cool breezes, fun layout and wine country setting. This was same course featured in the film "Sideways".
Everything was in great shape when I played here and it was nice to get away from the overseeding that is necessary for more southern courses.
The River Course isn't the most difficult track, but there are definitely opportunities to get in trouble, especially off the tee. If you can hit the fairways however, you can definitely score here. Some very big greens and some pretty short par 4's.
I really enjoyed the last 4 holes too. Some people hate short par 3's, but #17 is a very fun 105 yarder backed by a cool stone wall and lake. #18 is a "hit this tee shot as hard as you can" straight away par 4.
Facilities: Really nice clubhouse and busy grill room. Looks like it gets a lot of use from non-golfers which is always a good sign (I didn't eat there). Also a really cool staff in the pro shop who let us out early and even gave us free sunscreen when we forgot ours.
Pace of play: This might have been the best part of the round. I played with my wife on a mid-day Saturday and we finished in 3 hours and 40 minutes! There were other people on the course but it moved along.
Value: Once again GroupGolfer came through with a great course but from what I understand the regular rates are plenty reasonable and I will gladly play this course again when I'm in the area.
Apparently the Central Coast is loaded with courses just like the River Course. Beautiful, not overplayed and a great value. Definitely worth the trip. -
Review from Richard K.
Manhattan Beach, CA
9/14/2007
The River Course is a challenging but a really great course. A lot of trees, changes in terrain, etc. A lot of the course opens up in a lot of spots, so you wont lose a ton of balls. The conditions have always been good as well. The holes wind through a number of homes, past a vineyard on one hole. And best of all, not that expensive. (I posted the rates below)
Thank goodness, this one location in Solvang that has NOT been overrun with Sideways movie fanatics.
RIVER COURSE GREEN FEE RATES
EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2007
DAILY FEE: MONDAY-FRIDAY $60.00
DAILY FEE: SATURDAY-SUNDAY $72.00
TWILIGHT: 2:30 DAILY $45.00
SENIOR FEE: (55 AND OLDER) MON.-FRI. $45.00
JUNIOR FEE: (7-17 YEARS OLD) MON.-FRI. $39.00
