Riverside Golf Club Review

Texas Outside Rating: 8.5

Golf - Public Course · 18 Holes · Par 72
Grand Prairie
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Riverside Golf Club Review

Review and Rating of Riverside Golf Club

Riverside Golf Club is situated along the banks of the Trinity River just south of DFW Airport and it is consistently ranked as one of the top courses in the Metroplex.  Over the past few years, Avid Golfer rated it  #20  in the Top Courses in the Metroplex, Top Value Priced Course Under $55, #4 in Value Price Category, and #2 Best Cart Girls. We didn't rate the cart girls, but we sure agree that Riverside is one of the best in the Metroplex and an excellent value.

Each of the holes on this links-style course is unique and the holes include plenty of dog legs, water, and bunkers. Club selection and specifically your iron approach shots are critical if you want to score well - water, narrow approaches, island greens, and steep-faced bunkers (do whatever you can to avoid these guys or you may be in them for a couple strokes) protect the greens.

When we played, the greens were in above average condition, about average speed, and most had some undulation or gentle slope. The greens vary in size and shape with most of them a little smaller than average.  Bump and run is tough because the greens are raised.

The fairways were in excellent shape for the time of year we played.  Most of the fairways are flat and some are tight. Strategically placed traps and water, can cause a problem if you can't hit it straight. Use of the GPS can help with club selection

Watch out for the bunkers - most are huge with steep faces (some are so steep there is a graded walk-in walk-out section) and you'll find them in the fairway as well as guarding the greens.  The good news is the sand is excellent - soft, thick, and fluffy. 

What makes Riverside Golf Club a must play is the variety of fun hole and some enjoyable par 3s. Some of the holes that we really liked included:

  • #2 is fun 504-yard par 5 with a sharp dog leg left at 250 yards out leading to a raised oblong back to front skinny green guarded by front and left bunkers
  • #7 is the #1 handicap hole and it's a beaut - 434 yard dog left par 4 with a carry over a natural area off the tee box to a tight fairway with the Trinity River along the left side - a great risk-reward shot if you want to try and carry more the natural area and flirt with the River
  • #14 requires some precision to par - 3 huge bunkers are waiting for your tee shot and forcing you to play safe left or try to carry them - that's followed by a zig-zag right than back left leading to a green guarded by a left and right side bunker and a hidden bunker off the backside

Bottom line - a fun course to play and challenging for all skill levels coupled with reasonable rates, good service, and good conditions. 

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Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box Yardage Rating Slope
Black 6,957 74.4 132
Blue 5,783 68.4 119
White 5,447 69.5 113
Gold 6,389 71.5 126

Course Information

Greens Type:
Champion Bermuda
Greens Condition
8.0
Greens Difficulty
7.5
Fairway Condition
8.0
Bunker Condition
8.5
GPS:
Yes
Walkable:
Flat and Easy
Scorecard
Beware of water on 11 holes and the 32 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:
8.5 out of 10
Beauty:
8.5
Difficulty:
8.8
Variety:
9.8
Fun to Play:
8.5
Value:
9.0
Condition:
8.0
Front Nine Rating:
8.6
Back Nine Rating:
8.2
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FEES & AMENITIES

Approximate Weekend
Rates: $20.00 to $49.00

Service is good and when we played on Monday afternoon, there was even a friendly cart lady. The pro shop is well stocked, the practice range is good, and the grill has dogs, pre-made sandwiches, candy and drinks including beer. The staff is friendly and courteous and everything is well maintained.

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Here's How Texas Outside Determines the Scorecard Rating

The Texas Outside rating scale ranges from 1 to 10 – a perfect 10 course would be something like this:  links along a cliff overlooking the Pacific ocean and bordered by tall trees; lush fairways on rolling hills with lots of natural hazards; water (which is crystal clear) on most of the holes; immaculate greens (but they are undulating and tough); lots of variety and character (each hole is completely different and includes blind shots, elevation changes, doglegs, and significant challenges); perfectly manicured traps with the whitest and prettiest sand you’ve ever seen; a nice club house with great food and a 19th hole; a GPS; plenty of beverage carts or your own cooler and ice; and it only costs $40 bucks! What this means is that you probably won’t find any 10s in Texas – try Cabo San Lucas, Pebble Beach, or some of the Hawaii courses! 
Texas Outside rates courses on the following:

  • Beauty – tall trees, rolling hills, beautiful houses, waterfalls, and similar stuff would score high; a 1 would be flat, bushes or cactus instead of trees, and some grass but mostly weeds
  • Difficulty – a straight, 300 yard par 4 with no traps or hazards, no out of bounds or water would probably get a 1; if it is a 460 yard par 4 over two ravines, with water along one side, natural hazards on the other, strategically placed traps or that dreaded tree right in the middle of the fairway, we are talking a 10. 
  • Variety – what would you give a course where all the holes looked and played exactly the same (“I thought we just played that hole!”); were side-by-side, which is good for finding or dodging other people’s balls, but not much fun; and you can see the flag from every tee box?  That’s right, it gets a 1.
  • Fun Scale – a 10 is where you walk off the course and say “now that was fun” and you can’t wait to get back, or you immediately turn around and play another 18 holes
  • Value – a 5 is $50 to $60, a 10 is $20 to $30, and 1 is $200 or so – of course all of this is dependent upon how you liked the course.  For example, if a run down, boring municipal course, with six players on each hole was only $10; it would still get a value rating of 1.
  • Condition – this one’s pretty easy – what condition are the fairways. A 10 commands very lush perfectly manicured fairways, compared to a 1, which has fire ants, weeds, and more dirt than grass!
  • Condition of Greens and Difficulty – very hard to read greens with lots of undulation and tough pin placement, rate very high on the difficulty scale.  Condition is self-explanatory.  

All of the above determines the overall score for the golf course.  In other words, we like courses that are pretty, fun, very challenging with a lot of variety, and fairways and greens in excellent condition – all for $40.  We also tend to play the courses that are affordable for the masses, which means in the $30 to $80 range. We rate hard and we haven’t found a 10 in Texas yet – don’t worry we haven’t given up and we’re still looking.