Riverside Municipal Golf Course Review

Texas Outside Rating: 8.1

Golf - Public Course · 18 Holes · Par 72
San Antonio
Website · Locate This Course

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Riverside Municipal Golf Course Review

Review of Riverside Golf Course in San Antonio

Riverside Golf Course, just south of downtown San Antonio, is one of San Antonio's oldest golf courses.  The front nine opened in 1929 and the back nine was added in 1961.  The San Antonio Rivers splits the two nines and thanks to being built at two different times by two different architects, each nine offers you a little different experience.  The front nine is an "old school" very traditional layout that's a little shorter than the back and has tight tree lined fairways - spray the ball and you'll be in some trouble.  The back nine is easier with wide open fairways, a lot less trees and trouble, and more birdie opportunities.   Riverside is also home to a nine hole par 3 course.  Riverside Golf Course is one of seven courses on the Alamo Golf Trail - click on the link to read our reviews of all of the courses on the Alamo Golf Trail. 

In January 2013 we visited Riverside but at tee time it was 28 degrees without the wind chill, so we decided to go drink some hot toddies and play it on another day when it was warmer.  Some of the comments in the review are from the head pro, the pictures are from the course website, and our rating is based on talking to some people and what we saw when we visited the course.  We hope to play Riverside within the next few months, so please come back. 

Here are some comments from the website: the first hole is a challenging par 5 that entices many golfers to "go for it in two", however the green is guarded by a large pond down in a valley, hidden from the fairway. One of Riverside's signature holes is the par 5 #16 - a double dogleg with a large water hazard. Overall, the course is very forgiving for beginner golfers and makes for a fun day of golf. 

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Course Slope & Ratings

Tee Box Yardage Rating Slope
Blue 6,222 69.5 112
White 5,939 68.5 110
Gold 6,717 71.2 114
Red 5,556 72.6 121

Course Information

Course Architect:
Harold Hink/Vernon Schmidt
Greens Type:
Tifgreen 328
Greens Condition
8.8
Greens Difficulty
8.0
Fairway Condition
8.8
Bunker Condition
8.8
GPS:
No
Scorecard
Beware of water on 6 holes and the 36 sand traps.

Texas Outside Rating

Overall Rating:
8.1 out of 10
Beauty:
8.0
Difficulty:
7.5
Variety:
8.0
Fun to Play:
8.0
Value:
8.8
Condition:
9.0
Front Nine Rating:
8.3
Back Nine Rating:
8.0
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FEES & AMENITIES

Approximate Weekend
Rates: $25.00 to $43.00

Service is ok, the pro shop has a limited supply of the basics, and food is limited to microwave burgers, premade sandwiches, dogs, and snacks. There is a putting green and par 3 nine hole course but no driving range.

 

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.