Walked the Blues (6761/72.0/129) in hot, humid occasionally breezy conditions with GDR23. POP was 3H, 50M walking, we only occasionally waited for the group ahead to clear. The tee boxes are decent... Continue »

Walked the Blues (6761/72.0/129) in hot, humid occasionally breezy conditions with GDR23. POP was 3H, 50M walking, we only occasionally waited for the group ahead to clear. The tee boxes are decently maintained. The tee markers have been regularly rotated & divots patched recently, the only one that was kinda thin was #18. The fairways & rough are good overall. They both have good coverage everywhere, more thin than lush. Both have occasional drier areas. The sand traps were filled with medium brown sand, fairly hard packed in the fairway bunkers, much softer around the greens. You could tell they were well maintained overall even though they had not yet been raked today and had sprinkler runoff. The beautiful dark greens look immaculate and they putted as well as they looked. Medium fast speed, firm/smooth and held iron shots well. Better not be above certain pins or you were looking at 6' coming back on putts that seemingly died at the hole. I was impressed that the ground crew had been lightly sanding in old ball & pitch marks so the entire surface was relatively smooth/uniform. Easily an 8 on the GK scale, these greens are flat out good! While Vineyard is not overly hilly, it can be a challenging course to walk in the wind. Big climb from 2 green to 3 tee and it's a long walk from 13 green to 14 tee and from 18 green back to the clubhouse/parking lot. The customer service is always excellent here, very friendly staff. Marshall very present and vigilant in keeping POP consistent. Using the GK $36 voucher to play here includes walking fee, range token and a lunch item/drink. Nice range that was unfortunately closed today. The tri tip sandwich is excellent!

Played 13 holes here on Sunday evening before it got too dark. We used a replay for $8.00, including cart, passing a few groups who noticed my buddy and I on a mission to golf quick and get in as many... Continue »

Played 13 holes here on Sunday evening before it got too dark. We used a replay for $8.00, including cart, passing a few groups who noticed my buddy and I on a mission to golf quick and get in as many as possible. One group let us through on the short par 4 6th hole, then someone launched a drive past our cart as we approached the green. WTH? This course was set up for some kind of City Championship, but it did not seem all that good. The greens were somewhat slower than the Lakes Course. Fairways and rough have always been thinner and in poorer condition also. That being said, it is still a lot better than most courses in the LA area. Greens were lush and medium speed; a little shaggier than the Lakes Course. Fairways looked a little dry, but had great lies everywhere. The rough was about the same. Tees were level; a few par threes had a lot of divot damage late in the day. It got much cooler as the sun went down and low clouds moved in. Great times away from the Valley heat.

I must lead by saying that whoever decided to mess up this solid course with a foot golf course intertwined throughout much of the front nine, AND thinks it's okay to have both regular and foot golfer... Continue »

I must lead by saying that whoever decided to mess up this solid course with a foot golf course intertwined throughout much of the front nine, AND thinks it's okay to have both regular and foot golfers out there at the same time, should be dragged out into a field and pummeled with soccer balls. What a cluster-fudge! Anyway, this was the third of our birthday deal rounds in Ventura County. We called ahead and they slotted us in on the Vineyard course as it was less crowded in the afternoon. We paid our $15 for a cart here, though it is not mandatory (completely free if you walk using the bday deal). The starter was nice and urged us to jump ahead to the 4th hole to get out ahead of some foot golfers, but there wasn't really anywhere open we could fit in, so we got very creative with the routing, playing only a couple front nine holes, then the entire back and then looping back around to pick up what we missed. It seemed like it took forever and the way the foot golf is set up intertwining with the regular course is very disruptive for players of all types. Still we were able to get our way around in a little over 3 hours thanks to some aggressive moves. It was a shame the experience was so frustrating because the course is in great shape right now. The fairways are lush and green (some fertilizer/dye has been applied to boost the color presentation) and great to hit from. Rough not much of a factor, but pretty good coverage in the places it matters. Bunkers good. Greens excellent, rolling much quicker than they looked as usual at River Ridge. This was my second time playing Vineyard and likely my last until they do something different with the foot golf thing. I understand why they have it as another revenue-generator and something different to offer, but they should not allow it and regular golf to be played simultaneously. It is dangerous and silly. Designate certain hours/days for one or the other to be played and then everyone can be happy. The marshall was out there directing a lot of traffic, so I applaud him, but it was still a bit of a craziness going on. This also seems to be driving more players onto the Lakes course, so that gets more crowded. I enjoy the course. Nothing amazing, but a solid layout all around. They do have the 13th hole playing as a temporary par-4 because the Cowboys training camp area has expanded. It is kind of a wacky lay-up hole when it's normally a really fun par-5. We were told that is only temporary, though, and will go back to normal as soon as the team leaves town. I guess this is the last year for them in Oxnard anyway. In an ironic twist of fate, we took advantage of one more free birthday round at Lindero CC, where they now have foot golf as an option. Just to satisfy our own curiosity, we decided to play foot golf with our free round. It was kind of fun (and harder than you think), but this is not a good course for it because of the water hazards and the drainage ditch in play. It was a brutal first attempt, but we couldn't resist after the complaining we did at River Ridge!!! To be perfectly clear, I have nothing against foot golf and RR easily has the best-looking foot golf course I've seen. I just think there may be better ways to manage tee times to avoid overlapping play and dangerous situations. I feel the same way about courses with disc golf integrated. It is a popular trend that isn't going away, especially at struggling short courses, so hopefully more regulations and etiquette can be established at all such facilities.

I was invited to play by GKJohnny and I have to say that I was impressed with the course. My first time playing it and it is a nice little challenge. Between the elevation change and the wind it made ... Continue »

I was invited to play by GKJohnny and I have to say that I was impressed with the course. My first time playing it and it is a nice little challenge. Between the elevation change and the wind it made you work for every shot. The greens have to be the largest I have ever played on and with multiple tiers. Hit the wrong side of the greens and you can find yourself with a 75 foot putt or longer. The fairways were not to bad, but are starting to turn brown. The signature hole is the 18th hole. From the Blue tees it plays 191 yards to an island green and most of the time in to the wind. On this hole the only thing in your favor is a very large green. Even though I played my worst round in a few years I really like this course.

Thanks again to GKJohnny and everyone else that was there. I look forward to the next outing with all of you.

Played the Vineyard course for my first time on Sunday 7/12 in the inaugural GK plays event. Tee'd off from the whites (70/116/6299y) a little after our Tee time due to a very nice starter and some p... Continue »

Played the Vineyard course for my first time on Sunday 7/12 in the inaugural GK plays event. Tee'd off from the whites (70/116/6299y) a little after our Tee time due to a very nice starter and some pictures taken. On hole 10 we learned there had been a tourney that started "... a little past 8, with the last group teeing off around 10:40." Got held up on a few holes, like 4 and 18 (the only that come to mind), but each time I was able to speak with some of the other GKer's behind us! Pace was just over the 4hr30min mark.

Everything was in pretty good condition. The Tee boxes were level and lush, and the fairways were well maintained, providing great lies for hitting fairways! The rough was not too penal, HOWEVER, don't be short on number 15. Obviously there is water short of the green, BUT the rough leading up from the water to the green is some nasty stuff! IF the whole course had second cuts of rough like that, this would be NASTY, in a good way, that is. (making the course more difficult!).

Despite the vericutting, the chipping areas from about 90 yards in were very nice. The sign at the starter read the greens at 10 ' 2. I do not know much about the STIMP system, but the ball rolled at a fairly medium-fast speed. It was my first time playing Vineyard and have seen the Lakes course greens much faster. The greens were very receptive to short wedges and mid irons, however I found it difficult keeping my longer irons on the green

Anyways, I figured I would end on some miscellaneous notes: there are a good amount of blind tee shots on this course, so a little course knowledge would come in help (or perhaps the GK Tips section you can check out). However, there are sufficiently marked white and black striped poles for reference points. There is a little bit of water that comes into play on this course, and if I remember correctly, the few hazards are potentially blind off the tee, so pay attention to hole to hole layout provided on the scorecard and the granite displays on the tee box (or local knowledge).

Check it out, I recommend this course! Great rates, great staff, top facilities (grass range, tons of holes on practice green, etc.) great café, and best of all for this time of year, the location of this course makes the weather perfect for the summer temps!

Tom (sorry for late review)

Once again a big THANKS to everyone that came out to our first GK Plays at River Ridge Golf Course this weekend.

I played in the Sunday group on the Vineyard Course. It is a longtime favorite of m... Continue »

Once again a big THANKS to everyone that came out to our first GK Plays at River Ridge Golf Course this weekend.

I played in the Sunday group on the Vineyard Course. It is a longtime favorite of mine with the “Island Hole” still my dream hole-in-one. Well no ace on the "Island Hole", just a donation to the lake, but what a great time it was. Played with GK’ers hbtim1967, kviser and DKnight. Also hung out with GK’er tooBaked and his friends before teeing off (no - not what went down before teeing it up).

I thought the course was still in great shape but you can see areas where it’s starting to dry out more from when I played it last month. Greens were running smooth, as always, but not as fast as expected. Still a pleasure to play. The fairways provided good lies all day with only occasional thin spots. The rough was as kviser described 2 inches of lush grass to less than an inch of tight, thin grass. Tee boxes in good shape, level and lush. Bunkers well taken care of with quality sand.

Pace of play, despite an outing out in front of us, still finished in 4 ½ hours. They always do a great job with pace of play at River Ridge.

Friendly service and excellent practice facility. I always enjoy my rounds here and am thankful the course is only 35 min from my house.

As fellow Gkers have stated, the course is in great shape with lush fairways and rough. The greens showed very little balls marks if any. Greens rolled medium fast to fast. The bunker had ample soft ... Continue »

As fellow Gkers have stated, the course is in great shape with lush fairways and rough. The greens showed very little balls marks if any. Greens rolled medium fast to fast. The bunker had ample soft sand. Staff was friendly and helpful.

This was my first GK Plays and will not be my last. Special thanks to John and River Ridge for organizing this. Loads of fun with fellow GKers, Kevin, Tim and John.

The course is in great shape right now. Generous landing areas in most fairways and the rough ranges from 2" of lush grass to less than an inch of tight, thin grass. The fairways were in excellent sha... Continue »

The course is in great shape right now. Generous landing areas in most fairways and the rough ranges from 2" of lush grass to less than an inch of tight, thin grass. The fairways were in excellent shape and almost always gave me a good lie. I saw only a handful of divots in the fairways and never had to take time out to fill a bunch of unfilled ones, unlike other courses nearby (I'm looking at you, Olivas Links). I was in a couple of bunkers and they both had generous amounts of soft beach sand. Very challenging conditions with a steady 13 m.p.h. breeze out of the west. Great downwind shots for holes 6-10, but coming back into it on some of the holes could be an adventure if you're not hitting it straight. Really, it's only 11, 13 (both par 5's) and 18, the island green. The last hole can really make you or break you, score-wise: totally exposed with a stiff ocean breeze in your face to an island green is a challenging way to end your round. Great times with GKers, Johnny, Tim, and Dean.

Played 06/27 with a 7:15 tee time. The group in front of us was running a little late, so the starter got us at around 7:06. Played as a twosome with a buddy of mine in a little under four hours.

T... Continue »

Played 06/27 with a 7:15 tee time. The group in front of us was running a little late, so the starter got us at around 7:06. Played as a twosome with a buddy of mine in a little under four hours.

The prior reviews are spot on and the course is in excellent shape.

The greens being probably the best I have played on in years and would rate as a 9/10.

Fairways all had great coverage and wonderful lies. 8/10. Rough was similar to the fairways with maybe an inch and a half to two inches in length.

Bunkers were groomed and fluffy, which I really like except when in a fairway bunker that I found myself in. (My fault not the courses but the condition was great.)

Tee boxes were lush with minimal to no divot damage. Don't know if it was just me, but they seemed to be raised towards the fairways leaving what felt like a slight uphill lie. But I didn't consider it problematic.

I will be back soon, and only hope that the conditions, and POP remain outstanding.