Appreciated the conditions of the course being managed well tho I wish it was clearly stated where all the water stops were on the course..but overall I had a great experience. Best cart girl Liz, very diligent, professional, was nice to see her often. Great cook staff

Very good and challenging course.Its been under new ownership since September 2018 so a lot of improvements. The course is well maintained and looks better every time I go out .There is a beverage cart circling the course with plenty of refreshing options for a hot day: from sodas and Gatorades to domestic and imported beers to a few options of excellent mixed drinks. The restaurant offers a good variety of tasty food, with lots of specials throughout the week, wonderful customer service and the full liquor bar.

Way oversold, terrible customer service, bad attitude towards customer, and they nickle and dime you for everything. The course is well kept, but I had the worst experience ever golfing, and I play regularly. I wouldnt recommend it because of this.

Tony is a great manager who obviously cares a lot about his golf course and customers. He has done an excellent job turning this course into a wonderful place to play

Solid 4.5...Would have rated a 5 if not for early departure of the courtesy cart and snack bar (at #11) closed. To be fair, both weekdays I played I teed off at 2:30. The staff is extremely courteous and friendly, the pro shop is small but well stocked, they have an excellent clubhouse and bar, a top-shelf instructional training program, and last but not least, the course is very challenging (7/10). The panoramic beauty of the landscape and architecture is well worth the price of admission, and the Friday night buffet is a value, not to mention, #prettydmgood!

From 8/4/20 This is a lovely and exciting course. I have to give credit to the owner and his grounds crew the transformation is really quite great. I am excited to see the continued progress. Cart staff was very friendly and the Prohhop (which is upstairs now) was well stocked and the staff was great there too. After the round we went and ate at the Grille. The waitress was very kind and the food was tasty. My only knock is that the cook came out and interrupted our meal and conversation asking about her food and then hovered around until she got the answer she wanted. The waitress already asked if everything was good so that was a bit off putting. Overall I cant wait to play it again and eat again as well. Great job on the course guys!

I played here June 20, 2020 and wrote a fair and accurate 2 star review of my experience playing this golf course. The owner, as he probably does with most negative reviews, said I reviewed the wrong course and flagged my review, which was removed by google. I know of at least one other person in the community this has happened to. I deducted a star for a complete lack of accountability and censorship.To summarize my prior review, the course was in fair shape at best. The fairways were in fair shape, the tee boxes were in poor condition. The course is a bit challenging, so the poor conditions made it an unpleasant round. The biggest issue was they had just begun an aerification process on the greens but failed to update their website to alert guests or offer discounts. The greens also make the course difficult, as they are all very small. Greens are tough to hit and the surrounding area around the green was also fair at best.Also, I want to emphasize other reviews and issues, many of which could have been addressed if the owner took accountability, rather than berating his guests who criticize the course. The round started poorly simply because of staff interaction. There is a sign at the front driveway to stop at bag drop, which was a foldaway table unattended. I took my own bags out, set them down while staff watched from a short distance away (There was no bag stand). I parked, put shoes on, and walked up to my bag, still sitting there, and still had to ask someone to put it on a cart. Then I paid my green fee and went to my cart, again no one to be found and no key in the cart. I had to wait until an attendant was back so I could show my receipt for a key and go to the range which is not a short walk from the clubhouse.I will also add, if you want to write a review, save that receipt and upload it. You can guarantee that the owner response will be that you are reviewing the wrong course. This course will not improve if the owner doesnt take accountability and most, if not all of my issues had already been raised by other guests and clearly left unaddressed.

The people where nice and the course is in good shape even though the greens have recently been aerated.

Nice. Course. Enjoyed a lot. Had the evening buffet wonderful ribsBBQ sauce was too near the desert. I heard of several people who thought it was extra chocolate sauce. Ruined a great chocolate cake experience

Great staff, always helpful.Taking measures to provide a safe environment during the crisis of covid come enjoygreat course

Great golf course. New owner has made some very positive changes. We love golfing here. They also have a great restaurant and bar area with very good food and drinks!

What a treat. Priced very fair,great staffCourse was in excellent condition. Will gladly play again soon.

Course is in good shape. Played it last May and it was not. Greens and fairways are nice but some tee boxes are rough. The biggest negative was the slow pace of play. Almost 5-1/2 hours for the round. They need to fix that before I go back.

The course is in excellent condition this year. Greens were smooth and fairway grass was in great shape. Sand in the sand traps varied in texture.

Course was above average. Very challenging at times too. Fairways, greens, and rough were very nice. Teeboxes could use some TLC. Overall a solid course to play for the price.

The pro at this golf course is a joke. Dont waste your money. Cart girl was rude. Bag guy was no where to be found. Only upside to this place is there food. Had a cheese burger and fries very good cook.

Not sure how I feel about it, left after the 10th due to slow play. A ranger regulating pace of play would’ve been helpful. Course was in fair shape, tee boxes needed leveling and a cut. Challenging layout that requires a lot of focus and a steady tempo between shots. Would consider playing it again out of season.

Congratulations are in order to ownership and maintenance staff at River Club. I just played the course after being out of town for 6 months. I found the course to be in great condition. The greens are much improved and comparable to many of the private courses in the area. The fairways are in good shape and all of the nasty and unnecessary palmetto bushes are gone. It is obvious ownership has invested significant $$$ in the course. The best condition I have seen in five years. Keep up the great work. Great value and great condition!!!

Very nice wait staff, good food, pleasant atmosphere

I can’t believe that they don’t allow coolers on the course when there is no beverage cart and very little water stations! I can see checking the coolers for alcohol but water should be allowed!Also the cart I had was terrible stop and go all day! Won’t be back!!!

Beautiful course full of beautiful nature. Its a course where u want to stay on the fairway. Good times.

Love going there for breakfast great service good food. Wednesday 9 and dine is just fabulous, all you can eat Italian night is my favorite.

Good layout found it challenging as a intermediate player. Fairways were in very good shape despite all the rain that weve had. Would have given a 5 star but was not informed most greens were sanded. Definitely a place to be played. Had a great sloppy Joe and mixed drink kodos to you all.

Hey Tony, just wanted to drop you a note regarding your property. We have been playing Greenfield for quite a while as one of our favorite courses. Due to T time restraints, we decided to try out the River Club last Friday. Wow, what a course. The condition was fantastic. Your staff is very courteous and helpful. We remember Kim as the cart girl at Greenfield, pleasure to be around. We played again this Friday and will hit it again on Sunday. Also, we appreciate the reasonable prices you charge. As a local, couple times a week adds up. We are warriors and take advantage when we can. I did not notice any membership options but would definitively consider it when available. Keep up the great work. We do appreciate it!!!

Course is playing long because of the rain. Greens are rolling well and in nice shape. Love this track. Good meal after in the clubhouse. Nice and helpful staff.

Course not cut. Greens too slow. Play much too slow. Insufficient water available. 5 plus hour round. Will not be back until there are improvements.

I believe River Club should put more thought into having handycap. Grass on fairways were terrible. Fairways super low cut, was like hitting on matts..very slow group in front of us were holding up our group and 2 behind us. They never had rangers come out

Awesome semi-private club! Yes, they allow public to come enjoy this well maintained course. Not a blade of grass out of place, new carts with gps, nice range and potting green. Wonderful people ,from cart staff welcoming you in the driveway to pro shop and restaurant employees , to local residents .It is truly a diamond in the rough on its way to being perfect. The course itself is very challenging and still fast paced with plenty of mature landscaping with winding cart paths, hills and lakes. Very reasonable fees. As of right now the course is in such a great condition I think it’s much better then some of the more expensive clubs here in Lakewood Ranch - definitely a lot has been done since we’ve been here last time, so we will be coming back. Definitely recommend !!!

Course was in good shape. Price was good.

Great place to play golf. Staff is friendly. Challenging course. Restaurant is ok.

Hi Tony we played last week and the week before,the week before course was great love the fairways with plush grass on it,greens were fast,actually we were behind 2 foresomes they were ladies now I will say there are a lot of men golfers could learn a lot about playing ready from these ladies they move quicker than 90% of the guys that we play behind so great job ladies!!Then we played this past week and was a whole different game right off the first tee we had a foresome of men playing the blue tees first guy hits and ends up in the middle of the driving range,then the next guy hits dead left in the trees,next guy hits 40yrds in front of hims hits the trees. Then they all tee up again and do the same thing. We started at 1pm did not finish until 5:30,we did call the ranger but nothing got done. I really wish people would learn to play there tees or let you go thru, golf now a days has changed because everyone thinks they are a pro.But will say Tony the course in awesome shape,it’s just sad to play for that length of time because it really take the fun out of playing.

New owner is trying hard to bring the course up to playing standards. 4 to 5 greens are excellent, the remaining ones are fair. Some fairways are good some not so good. Staff is very nice. I will return next year to see progress.

Will not be back. Can not get keys to golf cart until 5 minutes before tee times.

Booked a tee time at 2:04We arrived 45 min early like we usually do at courses..We went to check in and was told we couldnt until 15 min prior to our tee time.So we asked if there was a driving range, yes there was, we got a bucket of balls for $9.00.. which were old and dirty, but we couldnt take the cart..So we went and hit a few balls then went to get our cart and check in, got to the first tee, was 6 people there..Remind you when we got there 45 min ago, no one was there..I couldnt believe it..they just picked us up and we had to wait..We could not drive out on the fairways, so we had to walk to our balls..Not good conditions..We wont be back !!!

The course, both fairways and greens, is in very good shape. The numerous large bunkers make this a fun a challenging place to play. We will definitely be back.

New ownership is doing a great job! Enjoyed Taco Tuesday and trivia last night. Maintenance on course vastly improved. If the old owner ran you off, give River Club another try.

Needs TLC! Tee boxs not in the greatest shape, fairways are so-so and some of the greens have sandy patches. Layout of the course is great though and its a nice change of pace to have some undulations instead of always being flat.

Golf courses really good upper management not so

Course in fairly good shape. No waiting. Played quickly. Cheese burger was good server friendly.

Played this course with a good friend of mine who lives in Lakewood Ranch. We have played a few times before and for the money it isnt bad. Course is kept up fairly well, drinks are poured strong, and its convenient. Also the driving range is nice. The problem came that on this occasion they mentioned we would have to be done around 6:30p. We were literally the only ones on the course for the majority of the round and had the ranger constantly driving past us. It was strange that on every other hole we had him sitting in his cart watching us (from 3p-6:15p). At 6:15p the ranger said it was time to head in. When I asked why since we had until at least 6:30p, and it was still light out, he said it takes 10 minutes just to get into the clubhouse. which is true since the course does not circle around on the 9th hole. When I told him I had never been kicked off a course when there was still plenty of light to play at least a few more holes he said We all want to go home. So basically we were asked to get off the course because the ranger and clubhouse guys wanted to get out of there early on a Saturday. They were getting paid to be there and we had paid to be there so that didnt make sense to me. Next time we are in the area we will definitely find a better and more accommodating course to play on, even thought this one is so convenient to my friends home in Lakewood Ranch.

Hidden treasure in this area. New owner has made allot of positive changes for a great experience. A must play to appreciate.

Terrible greens, wet as usual

The Not For Long Hidden Gem of Manatee County Golf Courses . If you havent played at The New River Club you are truly missing out in a Re - Birth of a Beautiful Scenic Experience. With New Ownership in less then 3 months this Course is Not only a Challenge for the Experienced Golfer, but just as Welcoming to the Not so experienced. With Various Clinics to improve your game, to the New Menu & Specials on Wednesdays & All You can Eat Fish Fry on Friday Night.After over a Decade of being not open , the River Club ,Half Way House/ Concession Stand is now Open ! Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, Fresh Coffee & a Warm Greeting by The Staff make for a Enjoyable Day.Looking forward to New Golfing Memories as the improvements just keep getting Better !!!

Excellent food service for our Club’s events!

Up and comer. New management is doing wonders. Service is much better and course is already showing improvement. Keep up the good work

Love the many tee box choices. New owner has made nice improvements. Dinner menus are great and prices are reasonable.

Under New ownership, A great work in progress, This is going to be the next hot spot when it comes to golf, a beautiful layout, the pro shop is being upgraded, the club house is getting renovations. Definitely a must on the play list.

Was on vacation and needed to rent clubs. 20$ no problem. Was told that some sets were this years Wilson clubs and some were last years Wilson clubs. Get to the course and not even 1 out of 6 sets were new or a year old. Hell most werent even wilson I had a Wilson putter and a Wilson 6 iron and the rest were 1970-1980 pings. Course layout was good but course was in better shape years ago.

Pretty good course, needs a little work in places.

I live in the neighborhood, have for more than 5 years now. Have played golf here- course is okay. The staff were very disorganized and could not figure out which carts to take to the range, then switch out for the course, etc. The staff were not very nice either- it has a poor flow now with checking in, getting a cart, etc- staff should be more helpful with this process and not just assume everyone knows their odd way of doing things. My bigger issue is with the new owner. He has told neighborhood residents who have walked their dogs along the ponds for years, that they are not welcome to do so anymore. He also had a lady and her kids kicked off the tennis courts due to the insurance risk per the employee he made go down and kick them off. The employee said this is all the new owners decision. The courts were open and nobody playing there- should not be an issue. As a business owner in a community such as this, not very smart to upset the people who support and feed your business. We will not be supporting him anymore.

The cart guy was smoking and ignorant . The man at the front desk was watching tv and I had to wait 3 minutes before he saw me. Good course though if only management was better.

OK....not Grrrreat! Great wait staff though.

Im really looking forward to playing here again, after Tony, the owner of Greenfield Plantation Golf Course, has taken over.Tony has transformed Greenfield into one of the best, well kept, courses in central, west coast Florida. River Club needs almost as much care as Greenfield did. While River Club is a very well laid out course, and has beautiful landscaping, some of the bunkers had water so deep, one couldnt find his/her golf ball. Furthermore, some of the concrete golf cart paths were in desperate need of repair.Once Tony takes over, Ill bounce back and forth between the two courses, and watch/enjoy the transformation River Club experiences.

Tony is the man. Great course, crowded now. He has done a miracle.

This review is not about the course. The course is fine, this is about the staff. Had a tee time at 2:00. Got there early to hit balls and warm up. It took them 15 minutes to check me in. System error that almost charged my payment method twice. Luckily I checked my mobile banking app to identify the pending transaction. I had to physically show them my bank account as proof.From there, I went to driving range. 5 minutes before tee time they requested my presence via a speaker system to the pro shop. I was told that we (myself and playing partner) were to play with another single. Which of course I gave push back b/c I had booked a 2some. Was told that b/c it was booked on golf now they were pairing us. Ironically, I didn’t book the tee time via golf now-it was booked via a chat agent on their very own website. Tried to explain that but, it fell on deaf ears. At this point, I was worn out, frustrated, and I had yet to take a swing.Then, another single showed up out of nowhere and he was to play with us also-per the pro shop. Now I am forced to play with two other people I don’t know. This is complete tee time/course mismanagement b/c the two singles should have been paired together. There were 2 twosomes behind us, so it made NO sense to pair a 4seome ahead of them. Moreover, they should have at least offered to comp my range balls (small bucket) at a minimum. This place is a joke and I will not return. To many other courses in the area were you don’t have this nonsense. Isn’t golf suppose to be enjoyable and relaxing? Not here.

Great for golf and B Trivial!

Either the previous posts are from the competition or are just trolls. 5/1/16 just played. The course is not in bad shape at all. No, its not a 4 or 5 star track but it is every bit a 3 or 3.5 course. Like all courses this time of year, it has some burn. The bunkers could use attention but overall it was just fine. A really fun layout and great price point. Staff were friendly. A great layout and fun to play.

Great challenging course that is fair with excellent greens. There is plenty of water & sand on most holes. Each cart has its own GPS. Great summer rates & easy to get tee times. I will definitely play this course again. Its a bargain.

I play this course mostly in the off season. I love the layout and the staff. I am always treated nicely and taken care off. Yes, there is repair maintenance the needs to be done since last fall. There are is no reasons to keep someone from going to play at this course. Its still a great challenge and fun course at a reasonable price.

First let me say the condition of the course was fine. But the actual layout of the course and the flow of the holes was the worse Ive seen. I had never played the course and these are the things I wish I would have known beforehand. 1) there was no river at the river club. I may have driven over it at one point on the road but not sure. 2) its the tightest, most claustrophobic course I have ever played. Each hole has out of bounds on each side. Winds through houses. After most holes you have to cross streets to get to the next hole. Some of the tee shots require you hit through openings about 20 yds wide. 3) the second nine does not start back at the clubhouse. Would have stocked up at restaurant beforehand. 4) You have no idea where you are at. Some of the signage is packing to get to the next hole when crossing streets. I had to pull up the map to make sure I was going right way after 18 back to clubhouse. 5) some people may describe course as challenging but it was plain not fun. Claustrophobic, most holes you cant hit driver and you have to layup. No opportunity for recovery shots.Lesson learned

Getting better but a long way to go.

Good test of your golfing skills. Or lack there-of in my case, but a good time and course.

Nice course.

Good enough golf course to enjoy a round. The greens were slow the time I played. Some large distances between holes. Great bar food to end a round.

The only reason I could give this track a 2 star is because it was a nice layout. The downside is the course really needs a lot of work. I dont need a super nice clubhouse but the course has to be kept well for a $55 round at a 1pm tee time. Practice green was 80% dirt and most greens on the course were barely any better. Tons of weeds throughout and just a trashy looking lack of maintenance throughout. Course is maybe worth a $25 afternoon round at best. Highlight is the island green and layout of course. This could have been a nice place if they would spend money to get it back in shape. While I always have fun when I have a chance to get out and play it was disappointing to be charged what they did for what is clearly a last option course if nothing else is available. For this cost you can try Misty Creek, Bent Tree, Rosedale, and a multitude of other courses that will offer a great experience and a course worth the money. I wont be back.

Well run course in great shape

Beautiful course layout, but the condition has gotten a bit ragged. The price, however, is adjusted to take that into account. It may be better in the rainy season (summer and fall). Good alternative if you play a fair amount of golf but are watching the pocketbook.

Just got rained off the course. Played 12 holes. No rain check. So many better options in the area, this was the last time I play 12 for the price of 18. Come on guys, no 9 hole rain check? Time for a customer service upgrade.

My 3rd year playing this course in JanuaryBest shape ever. They over seeded it this year. Courteous staff, GPS units on carts, and reasonable pace of play make it worthwhile.

Much improved with excellent pacing and much improved conditions. Breakfast was also worth it.

Liked it. Nice layout. Would like to experience it in the prime season when greens are fast.

I dont play golf but the Club House is horrible and the pool looks like it has not be used in years! I was actually going to buy a house in the neighborhood and enjoy the pool and club house. It literally was so disappointing that I decided against buying the home in River Club.. I cant believe such a beautiful neighborhood has such a poor facility and that the owners dont insist on a total renovation of this clubhouse.

Golf Course is beautiful, Fairway is beautiful and green. The green around the pin on every hole was awful .Ive never seen anything so bad.

Jen the bartender was very friendly. Food was good too!

Nice course, great value. There are a few negative reviews here that seem unfair. Ive played here several times and never had an issue with any of the staff. They have always been pleasant and accommodating. I usually play early afternoons and have never been harassed by an overzealous ranger! During the summer there are several other courses with excellent hot deals which may be a better value for some of the nicer area courses. (Like Waterlefe, Legacy, or River wilderness) but during the busy winter season when prices get inflated, this is my go-to track. Conditions are typically good (7/10) and usually very consistent. Greens and fairways are always nice, while some of the tee boxes get a little beat up, but thats to be expected. The course does get a little crowded as it is no secret that this place is a good value. I have had to wait on the group ahead sometimes, but pace of play was still around 4 hours which I think is pretty good. Overall-excellent value, nice lay out, and pretty good conditions make this one of the must play (and re-play!) golf courses in the Bradenton/ Sarasota area.

Its a tough course and very skinny with a great layout. Course isnt in the best of shape and isnt maintained properly, but its not bad for 18 bucks off golf now.

Very friendly staff, fair rate, and the course was in very good shape. A little bit of standing water probably caused by a bit of over watering but over all I highly recommend checking out this course.

Personally, I think these reviews do not give the course justice and are WAY to critical. Its a nice course close to home. You can always improve almost any course.

A little run down but good cheap golf!

Been coming here for years. Its great for a beer after a round of golf.

Course is in rough shape and it was too expensive for in season. The bartender was a bit agressive too. She was a bit bossy even though I know she was joking around.

Great course

Great course. Very friendly staff.

Elegant colf club near Sarasota

We had a 2:30 tee time. Upon arriving we were told there is no way we will get 18 in. There was 32 golfers in front of us. There were two of us. We only got 16 in. In my opinion they should not book an 18 hole round at 2:30 knowing that one cant finish. They should only book a 9 hole round at this time if the course is loaded. It becomes a matter of misrepresentation.

Wet & difficult. The rain must be delaying some maintenance.

The food is good and the service is as well.

Slowest security ever!! I understand and respect the TSA jobs however the gentleman said my 2 year old is too old to bring a sippy cup. I have flown many times with it and they just test it. This is our 10th flight why is it a problem now? They also said it was ok for me to bring on my contego bottle then after they said I couldnt? Get your communication lines straight and let people know ahead of time so Im not throwing away $20 cups.

The course was not in good shape the sand traps were terrible the greens were bumpy and rough would not recommend it right now

The course was in great shape.

A beautiful neighborhood in Lakewood Ranch.

Dont waste your time going here! We booked a time after 2:00 PM. We were charged the wrong rate which was corrected later. They book so close together we had to wait for two groups ahead of us for at least 6 of the first 9 holes. It took over 3 hours to 9 holes. We asked for a rain check since we knew we could not finish after 9 holes and were told No, we should know we cannot finish when we start that late! The manager at the desk was very rude! They have lost three full time residents from golfing there again, and when told that the manager really did not care.

God golf course with a decent restaurant and atmosphere. For the cost its a score.

Played there again. Greens are not good. Look nice and green, but do not roll.

Good challenging course, deep rough

Ive been to a lot of golf courses in the Sarasota/Bradenton area, and the River Club is one of the better golf courses in the area. Its not THE best, but for the money...you cant beat it. I try to schedule a tee time at least every other month.

Beautiful golf course, and friendly staff.

We had a tee time just after 2:00 PM and first of all the bag helpers could not figure out who should play with whom.Secondly, when we finally was asked to start we had to wait some time as there were four sets of 4-balls on hole 1.When we got to hole 2 it was the same. 8 carts on the hole, 6 at the tee, and 2 midway to the green.It took more than 2.5 hours to finish the first 9, and we could not make all 18 in 5 hours. Disaster.Maybe there is a new owner, but if you only think of money and of how many can be squeezed onto the course, it will go wrong.Will not do this again.

Course looks like it was made in 1927. Roots coming through the tee box/greens. Even the workers are older than dirt. Never come to this course unless you want to play on an ass course and be serviced by ass workers.

Good food, in clubhouse but service was not as good.