Played Riverbend this morning, teeing off just about 7:00 am and finishing in about 3:30, walking it with another single at a very nice pace. Conditions were just about what I expected. The greens loo... Continue »

Played Riverbend this morning, teeing off just about 7:00 am and finishing in about 3:30, walking it with another single at a very nice pace. Conditions were just about what I expected. The greens look horrible, but actually putt relatively well at a medium speed. They were very soft as there was a little rain the night before (I even found some standing water on the 16th green) and would hold most any shot. Unfortunately you could always find plenty of pitch marks to fix. Some of the tee boxes were decent, others were really bad. Fairways had some seriously burnt out areas and were a little thin, but every now and then you got a great lie. Rough was very consistent, short, and not really a penalty. Best part of the course was probably the bunkers, I found at least 5 today, and they were very consistent. They're just a little bit thin which made greenside shots tough, but playing from the fairway bunkers was quite pleasant.

I think the layout here is pretty fun, with a lot of good holes. None of them are anything you'd call great, but I don't think any of them are bad either. For an average golfer there's enough challenge, so while there isn't a whole lot of "wow" you can still have a good time. I do wish the conditions were a bit better, as that's the thing the keeps me from coming here more than once a year. I never regret playing here, but I just never feel the need to rush back.

Played at Riverbend this morning, walking the course in 4 hours on the dot. Teed off at 6:30, about 5 minutes ahead of our scheduled tee time as a twosome. At the 3rd hole we caught the two in front o... Continue »

Played at Riverbend this morning, walking the course in 4 hours on the dot. Teed off at 6:30, about 5 minutes ahead of our scheduled tee time as a twosome. At the 3rd hole we caught the two in front of us and finished the round with them as a four. It felt a lot slower than 4 hours, as we waited on many shots, but the waits were never very long.

Conditions were a bit of a mixed bag. The greens were very nice, quite firm, a little quick, and really only holding well struck shots. They putted relatively true, and although I had trouble reading the breaks today, speed seemed pretty consistent. Fairways were ok, when in the short grass I had good lies, and got lots of roll. Things got pretty sketchy once you're off the fairway, sometimes you'd get a reasonable lie, but for the most part the rough could give you just about anything. Lots of bare spots here and there, just really inconsistent. I found 3 traps, two greenside and one fairway, and they were a bit on the thin side, especially the fairway bunker I found on #18. My buddy found a couple of greenside bunkers that he felt were extremely thin, the couple I found were playable. Tee boxes for the most part were uniformly awful, tons of divot damage. Most are pretty level, but there aren't many that have healthy grass on them. Even holes where you would always hit driver had craters all over the place.

In general, Riverbend just doesn't drain very well, and I pretty much avoid the place if there's been any rain. You can tell that there really hasn't been any rain at all lately, because this place is just bone dry. Everything felt very firm, and it was a pleasant change of pace from how it normally is here. Lots of places are just about fried, however, but thankfully they've marked the majority of the worst spots as ground under repair. At $32 to walk it, it was worth it, and I can see me getting back here before we get to the wet season.

Played an 18 hole and had the best round so far this summer (Shot 78). Guys that work in the club house are great, specially "Jake". His costumer service was top notch and got us checked in on time. O... Continue »

Played an 18 hole and had the best round so far this summer (Shot 78). Guys that work in the club house are great, specially "Jake". His costumer service was top notch and got us checked in on time. Our tee time over the weekend in somewhat in the late morning and we expected it to be busy and finished about 5 1/2 hrs (it's Father's Day weekend). Riverbend can be very busy at times specially in the weekend(s) but the Marshalls are very good about moving Golfers. New forward Tee boxes helped as well. Riverbend now have Tee box moved forward so that Beginners (Hackers =), Ladies, Juniors and Handicaps can play shorter yards to make to game faster. I'm a bit surprised on their roughs, greens and fairways this year. Over the years i've played here, the rough, greens and fairways are somewhat poor and not maintained very well. This year, totally diferrent course. Greens are now smooth and fast, fairways are now well maintaned and running, rough is also now maitained constantly. I'm not sure if they have fixed the drainage but by the looks of the course, i can say that it is awesome condition. The only thing i would recommend to make this a GC, is to add Beer Cart. I did not see one when we were playing. What happened? Overall, this a great GC to play!

Walked on at Riverbend yesterday morning, 3/13/14 and found the place to be a bit frustrating. At $26 to walk the price was right, and I played as a single behind several groups that kept up the pace,... Continue »

Walked on at Riverbend yesterday morning, 3/13/14 and found the place to be a bit frustrating. At $26 to walk the price was right, and I played as a single behind several groups that kept up the pace, so that was good as well. Course conditions were pretty forgettable though, the greens were fast but extremely bumpy, tee boxes reasonable, and rough good. A few fairways were insanely waterlogged, however. I wasn't expecting much, as this is March in the Northwest, but I didn't realize how bad this place could be. Riverbend has a reputation for not draining, and I now know that this reputation has been earned. I'll be back in the height of summer, but until then there are many other similarly priced courses that play a bit better.

Played Riverbend yesterday morning (Sunday, 10/20/2013) and walked the course in about 4:20, which felt a little slow to me. I think this is the latest in the season that I've ever played here, and I ... Continue »

Played Riverbend yesterday morning (Sunday, 10/20/2013) and walked the course in about 4:20, which felt a little slow to me. I think this is the latest in the season that I've ever played here, and I think I'll keep it that way. Even though it has been quite dry, the conditions were pretty bad. The greens always look awful here, and yesterday the putted pretty badly, tons of bumps even though its been about a month since they were punched. The fairways though were the biggest disappointment, as they were really thin, and had lots of spots that just had hardly any grass. Even with the ball in your hand you weren't going to get a good lie. Bunkers and tee boxes were ok, but I think it'll be some time before I play here again.

Walked an insanely fast round this morning (5/19/13) at Riverbend. Was one of the 1st few out around 6:00 am, played as a single behind a foursome in carts and never had to wait on them. Played all 18... Continue »

Walked an insanely fast round this morning (5/19/13) at Riverbend. Was one of the 1st few out around 6:00 am, played as a single behind a foursome in carts and never had to wait on them. Played all 18 in about 3:15. Greens look absolutely awful, but still putt relatively well. They're a bit slow, and they hold shots very well. Fairways and rough are very nice, tee boxes ok, and the 1 bunker I found was a little thin but not real bad.

The layout's pretty straightforward, but still nice. A few places are horrible for drainage, so I would stay away from here if it's been raining. When the weather's dry though, this place is worth the visit.