Played the Victoria Lakes Course at River Ridge Golf Club this afternoon and had a blast despite a howling NW wind. I heard the greens were coming back from some issues of a couple months ago and I’m ... Continue »

Played the Victoria Lakes Course at River Ridge Golf Club this afternoon and had a blast despite a howling NW wind. I heard the greens were coming back from some issues of a couple months ago and I’m happy to report they have recovered. They do have some patches of poa in the predominately bent surfaces but the poa did not affect the smoothness of the greens to any large extent. The greens were slower then in the past but still played nicely holding shots well and holding the lines. The fairways were in good shape and recovering very well from what looked to be some deep verticuting. They were applying or had applied a lot of green dye fertilizer so I will not be surprised if the fairways continually improve as time passes. As of now, the fairways are already providing great lies. The rough was short and dormant. The sand traps were excellent with high quality sand and well maintained. The Tee Boxes level and mostly lush (also treated with green dye fertilizer). NOTE: The fertilizer was NOT rubbing off on my clubs or shoes.

Overall I liked the condition of the course. As for the layout, I teed it up from the blue stones and feel this course is certainly UNDER rated. While I agree with the 130 slope, 72.3 from the blues should be more like a 73.3. The tee shots are very demanding with OB and water hazards on most holes. The greens are extremely undulating, large and well protected. I’ve played Olivas Links and Rustic Canyon from the tips and the Lakes RR is just as tough…maybe tougher. What I love about the layout is not so much the challenge, but the variety. Hilly, Level, Elevated Tees, Doglegs, Long/Short par 3’s, trees, water, OB’s, forced carries, large undulating greens, tight fairways, wide open fairways…the course is VERY interesting on every shot. (see photos). Also, it seems most golfers at RR are playing the easier Vineyards course leaving a lot of space for a FAST round on the Lakes. Longball23 and I where hitting practice shots/putts all day and still finished in just over 4 hours. We could have easily got around in under 4.

The think RiverRidge is a great golf experience and recommend it to anyone. (BTW – try the breakfast burrito in the grill…very tasty!)