Played River Course at the Alisal in Solvang on Friday April 14th. It was our anniversary so we wanted to play this course again, we played it 2 years ago with 3 other couples but just my wife and me ... Continue »

Played River Course at the Alisal in Solvang on Friday April 14th. It was our anniversary so we wanted to play this course again, we played it 2 years ago with 3 other couples but just my wife and me this time. Had a 9am tee time and the course was empty so we got out at 8am. POP was 3:35 for my wife and I. We like this course allot, and being this empty was just really relaxing. There are interesting holes, dog legs, and such that make it interesting, and the scenery is great. The course was in good shape and the greens were fast and smooth. The wind picked up after about 4 holes and there were allot of holes that you teed off into the wind, so it played longer that the score card said. We live in Norco CA so this course is 188 miles from home, really too bad because we really like it. If you are looking for a "Pebble Beach" type course this is not for you, but it is soooo relaxing and beautiful out there it was worth the drive for us.

Played here Saturday 5/7, late afternoon, as I found myself with a few hours to kill, while in Solvang for the weekend. If staying anywhere in Solvang, you could consider walking to the course. Less t... Continue »

Played here Saturday 5/7, late afternoon, as I found myself with a few hours to kill, while in Solvang for the weekend. If staying anywhere in Solvang, you could consider walking to the course. Less than a mile from the east part of town.

Start with the good.

Location while in Solvang.

Customer service inside pro shop and bar was great. Pace was great, but I was one of two players on the course. Started at 4pm, and done by 6pm.

Conditions were good to poor in some areas. Greens were punched about 3 weeks ago, but are really no where close to being healed. Still sand filled punches, kind of hairy and slow. To the credit of the guys in the shop, they made me aware before I paid for my round. Very friendly. (I also knew going out, the greens were going to be less than ideal, as this outstanding website provided me the information, before I considered the course) Quite soft, so at least approach shots stuck nicely. Very little chance to make any putts over 4-6 feet.

Fairways were average. Course had "Winter Rules" posted, and with that relief, could find a decent lie.

Only found one bunker (greenside), and was in good condition.

Found that several tee boxes were riddled with divots, and some slightly unlevelled.

Not a particularly challenging layout, but still an interesting layout. A couple of awkward green to tee transitions, but nice scenic course.

I knew going in the conditions were not going to be very good, but still enjoyed the course, and will give it another play when cleaned up a bit.

played 2/17 and 18 using under par stay and play $220 for 2 nights at king fredrick inn and 2 rounds of golf. ist day out as a single at 1000 am play thru 2 walkers on 3 front nine in 1-30 caught th... Continue »

played 2/17 and 18 using under par stay and play $220 for 2 nights at king fredrick inn and 2 rounds of golf. ist day out as a single at 1000 am play thru 2 walkers on 3 front nine in 1-30 caught the rest of the walkers on 10 but still finished in less than 3 1/2. course has a lot of walking golfers but they are there to play and dont mess around so the pace is quite good. 2nd day was out early finished in 315
great customer service
fairways were mostly green but still a little thin or clumpy i places but still provided decent lies. no rough (except along left side of 10 which was about 3 in deep) and some areas of mild rough around some of the greens
greens looked crusty but rolled very well and true
tee boxes in good shape.
greenside bunkers are filled with groomed fine but firmly packed playable sand consistent through out the course. fair way bunkers were generally a little firmer but softer than on many courses which required a very precise strike.
course is quite playable with with mostly wide landing areas but the bunkers can come into play off the tee and often around the green. water can be in play on 5-6 of the holes.
played as a single and really enjoyed the outing mostly hit 2 off the tee and got to practice pitches and chips as well as extra putts.

Alisal is usually overlooked when we plan an visit to the Santa Barbara County area. Not a terribly impressive layout, but considering all the water issues that have faced the local courses (we drove ... Continue »

Alisal is usually overlooked when we plan an visit to the Santa Barbara County area. Not a terribly impressive layout, but considering all the water issues that have faced the local courses (we drove by Rancho San Marcos and the track is 100% brown, so sad) The River Course was a pleasant surprise.

Sort of a resort-like vibe and pricing. The staff was great. The course has very much of a "muni" feel to it but worth an occasional visit. Unless we find some discounts on-line won't be back on a regular basis.

Played for the 1st time Saturday May 2nd with 3 other couples, Men in front and women behind. We knew going in that they punched the greens monday so we just played for fun, no posting scores, and 2 p... Continue »

Played for the 1st time Saturday May 2nd with 3 other couples, Men in front and women behind. We knew going in that they punched the greens monday so we just played for fun, no posting scores, and 2 putt max on greens. Course had great scenery, some cool holes. Service was great at club house. Over all a very nice day. I was glad my wife and I were invited.

Day 2 of our golf weekend brought us to this course on a sunny yet very windy day (according to locals it was abnormally windy).

layout is nothing exciting, but still a nice looking course. Bunkers... Continue »

Day 2 of our golf weekend brought us to this course on a sunny yet very windy day (according to locals it was abnormally windy).

layout is nothing exciting, but still a nice looking course. Bunkers had quite a few small pebbles. Greens were in great condition. no real signature hole to speak of, but just a nice track and certainly for the $40-$50 PP we paid.

nice clubhouse.....warm up area was basic and small.

Played 2-10-15 first out in the fog with Nickesquire in a cart in 3 1/2 hours. Tee boxes were in good shape, a few could use a little leveling. Fairways were semi-lush with good coverage. Rough was no... Continue »

Played 2-10-15 first out in the fog with Nickesquire in a cart in 3 1/2 hours. Tee boxes were in good shape, a few could use a little leveling. Fairways were semi-lush with good coverage. Rough was not that long and in good shape. Sand traps were in nice shape with plenty of sand. Greens were rolling pretty good with medium speed. Overall course is in good shape. Pro shop very nice and friendly.

Teed off @ 7am with RGM2525 on a GolfNow Hot Deal for $27.49 including a cart. We played the blues, (6451/70.9/121) in 3H, 30 minutes as the 1st group out this a.m. We played the front 9 in a dense fo... Continue »

Teed off @ 7am with RGM2525 on a GolfNow Hot Deal for $27.49 including a cart. We played the blues, (6451/70.9/121) in 3H, 30 minutes as the 1st group out this a.m. We played the front 9 in a dense fog and it was cold. The back 9 was in beautiful, much warmer weather. The greens putted medium fast, maybe a little slower than they looked and I expected, but they putted well. The sand traps were in excellent condition, nicely maintained with medium sand. The fairways & rough were generally lush. however, there were far too many unfixed divots on almost every fairway. The rough was usually not too penal. However, there were areas of the native stuff that was waiting to swallow any errant shots. The tees were OK, not as good as the rest of the course. The par 3's in particular were fairly chewed up. The customer service was excellent, the pro shop got us out 1st since no other groups were ready. I like this course, wish it were not so far away. It has been above average the 3 times I have played here over the past 5-6 years.

Played Black Friday on a Golfnow hotdeal for $45 at 7:20. Unfortunately, mother nature didn't cooperate and threw an hour and 10 minute frost delay at us but the guy in the pro shop was on top of thin... Continue »

Played Black Friday on a Golfnow hotdeal for $45 at 7:20. Unfortunately, mother nature didn't cooperate and threw an hour and 10 minute frost delay at us but the guy in the pro shop was on top of things and everything went off without a hitch. POP ended up around 4.5 hours I believe.

I thought the course was in very good shape. Fairways and rough were solid with good coverage most everywhere. Greens were very good and rolling well. A few divots here and there but hardly anything to complain about. Traps were good as well with solid sand coverage for the greenside bunkers. Fairway bunkers looked a bit on the fluffy side. Tee boxes weren't very level but that was probably the only problem I had all day. Enjoyable layout that definitely becomes more difficult when the wind kicks up. I wouldn't pay the rack rate, but good deals can be found.