-
Discover new ways to elevate your game with the updated DGCourseReview app!
It's entirely free and enhanced with features shaped by user feedback to ensure your best experience on the course. (App Store or Google Play)
River Bend Park reviews
11
0
Wooded Tight with Gaps
Reviewed:
Played on:Dec 31, 2021
Played the course:once
Pros:
-A 9-hole city park where the course meanders thru moderate to heavy woods with tight gaps off the tee, and a few holes along a creek and a few other holes along the Tar River. There is one elevated tee, the rest of the course is flat.
-There are two concrete tees per hole, and one basket. The Dynamic Veteran baskets catch great! Baskets are well protected by guardian trees and a few placed close to water. I played long tees.
-Navigation is counter-clockwise, and tee signs have hole number, par, and distance. Most tee signs can be spotted from basket played.
-As a collective group 8 of the 9 long tees are a grind to get off the pad with either tight gaps or tighten fairways, or a combination of both. Long tees 4-7, and 9 will have your attention.
-#9 long tee with its elevated tee to elevated basket across a fairway depression with woods ranks a personal #2 for the 9-hole courses I've played as a finishing hole.
-River Bend Park DGC ranks #3 in the 9-hole course's I've played behind The Lambs at Lake Marshall and The Bear at Midlothian, Virginia.
-From the bag on the tee putter, mid's, fairways, and driver. A good mix for the best disc to hit gaps.
-Beginner and Recreational will be extremely challenged, but using the short tees are doable. Intermediate and Advance should be challenged with disc selection. Woods golfers will love it!
-The portion of River Bend Park that doesn't include the course is beautiful and where the Tar River is moving faster with some rapids and light woods, there could be room for another 9-holes?
-There are two concrete tees per hole, and one basket. The Dynamic Veteran baskets catch great! Baskets are well protected by guardian trees and a few placed close to water. I played long tees.
-Navigation is counter-clockwise, and tee signs have hole number, par, and distance. Most tee signs can be spotted from basket played.
-As a collective group 8 of the 9 long tees are a grind to get off the pad with either tight gaps or tighten fairways, or a combination of both. Long tees 4-7, and 9 will have your attention.
-#9 long tee with its elevated tee to elevated basket across a fairway depression with woods ranks a personal #2 for the 9-hole courses I've played as a finishing hole.
-River Bend Park DGC ranks #3 in the 9-hole course's I've played behind The Lambs at Lake Marshall and The Bear at Midlothian, Virginia.
-From the bag on the tee putter, mid's, fairways, and driver. A good mix for the best disc to hit gaps.
-Beginner and Recreational will be extremely challenged, but using the short tees are doable. Intermediate and Advance should be challenged with disc selection. Woods golfers will love it!
-The portion of River Bend Park that doesn't include the course is beautiful and where the Tar River is moving faster with some rapids and light woods, there could be room for another 9-holes?
Cons:
-Hole #8 is an odd ball hole compared to the other 8-holes on the course. Its open from tee to basket where the other 8 fairways are wooded. I don't think much could have been done to match #8 with the rest of the course.
-On most to the holes would have been nice to of had a tee sign map. A few baskets not seen from tee, and UDisc navigation not much help in obstacle location such as guardian trees and water location.
-Easy enough to navigate the course, except between basket 8 and tee 9. Without UDisc app would have been difficult to locate tee 9. The #9 tee sign is missing. I didn't see next tee signs on course.
-It's possible after heavy rains the course could flood on most fairways, the tell-tale signs were there from previous years. When I played on New Year's Eve the fairways were very firm, no evidence of any recent flooding, and had fairway skip on some shots.
-Any type of standing water is going to attract mosquitoes, and likely other nuisance bugs.
-Lost disc potential is high. There is water on most holes where a tree kiss or deflection can put you in the drink. There is heavy brush off a few holes. This is a course where you need to keep your eyes on your fries.
-On most to the holes would have been nice to of had a tee sign map. A few baskets not seen from tee, and UDisc navigation not much help in obstacle location such as guardian trees and water location.
-Easy enough to navigate the course, except between basket 8 and tee 9. Without UDisc app would have been difficult to locate tee 9. The #9 tee sign is missing. I didn't see next tee signs on course.
-It's possible after heavy rains the course could flood on most fairways, the tell-tale signs were there from previous years. When I played on New Year's Eve the fairways were very firm, no evidence of any recent flooding, and had fairway skip on some shots.
-Any type of standing water is going to attract mosquitoes, and likely other nuisance bugs.
-Lost disc potential is high. There is water on most holes where a tree kiss or deflection can put you in the drink. There is heavy brush off a few holes. This is a course where you need to keep your eyes on your fries.
Other Thoughts:
River Bend Park was a joy to play! Starting from long tee #1 your introduced to wooded golf with gaps and some tight fairways, but fair. I like the progression as you continue your round each hole gets a little nastier, and #4 gives you a big hello from the tee and gets more nastier as you continue. It's the type of challenge I enjoy, the only interruption was #8. It seemed to me that in the 5-years since the course opened, it's been beaten down with the traffic from rounds played and looked great. River Bend was the opposite of the 18-holer Owens Park that I played earlier in the morning. If I had to pick one of the two courses to play on a return visit, it will be River Bend. My personnel con is #8, with its openness from tee to basket it just didn't fit with the rest of the course, but still a challenge going off fairway left into heavy brush or to the right the river awaits you, and I saw no other reroute option for the hole. As I was driving home thinking about the course a Sesame Street rhyme popped into my head "one of these holes doesn't belong with the other, one of these holes are not the same…."
My overall rating is anchored on excellent wooded golf with some difficulty long tees, and a fun factor at a 4.5. My time to play was 35 minutes.
Notable Tee Pad:
-#6 a straight away par 4 long tee is a tree hanging over just 8 feet in front of the pad, and about 7 feet high. Theirs skinnies waiting for you down fairway, and a tree kiss to the right will send you to the creek. It's the closes I've had an overhanging tree to a tee pad, and a very scenic look.
Notable Holes:
-#5 Par 3 long tee at 222 feet is a straight away hole with two tree gaps about 70 feet out in the middle and to the left both gaps about 12 feet wide. At the gap is spillage ditch from the creek which runs all the way to the basket on the right. There are skinnies scattered thru out the fairway, and the basket is protected by skinnies with the creek just outside C1. As a lefty I went for the left gap and deflected off the inside tree.
-#7 Par 3 long tee at 290 feet a straight away hole that slightly meanders left. At about 60 feet is a cluster of skinnies with one gap of about 8 feet that seemed reasonable compared to others more difficult. On the left skinnies, on the right heavy brush with trees, on the other side of brush the Tar River. The brush on the right bends into the fairway past the gap at about 100 feet out. The basket is protected by skinnies. For a lefty it's a nightmare, I threw an easy pig to get myself a little more than halfway to the basket.
Signature Hole:
-#9 Par 3 long tee at 276 feet is a straight away hole with the basket middle left and elevated, the tee is also elevated but both only about 5-6 feet. About 20 feet out is a gap 8 feet wide, past the gap the fairway drops to depression circular in shape all the way until about C2. Inside the depression are trees cluttering the fairway with gaps as small as 6 feet, and a few mounds about 3-4 feet high. The depression is cleared of brush but could hold water if there's spillage from the Tar River which runs on the other side of a bank to the right. The basket is protected by guardians to your left. A tree deflection from the tee over the bank could take you into the river. The hole has a crusty look to it and scenic, reminded me of a few holes a Dorey Park in Richmond, Virginia. I faded into the bank with a Mid.
Trouble Hole:
-#4 Par 3 long at 250 feet is a fairway that meanders left then back to the right with a blind basket from the tee. The meandering to the right starts across a spillage ditch from the creek on the right side past the turn. To cross the ditch is about 150 feet, at the crossing are two gaps middle left and middle right. These gaps are about 15 feet wide, on the right heavy brush and trees that block sight of the basket from the tee, turning the hole into trouble. The basket hangs to the right towards the creek on the border of C1 and has a layer of guardian trees not seen from tee. The left gap is the safe play, but the right is very inviting, and a tree deflection could send you towards the creek or into the brush not seen from tee. I took the right gap and was very pleased until I saw the wall of guardian trees blocking my birdie run.
My overall rating is anchored on excellent wooded golf with some difficulty long tees, and a fun factor at a 4.5. My time to play was 35 minutes.
Notable Tee Pad:
-#6 a straight away par 4 long tee is a tree hanging over just 8 feet in front of the pad, and about 7 feet high. Theirs skinnies waiting for you down fairway, and a tree kiss to the right will send you to the creek. It's the closes I've had an overhanging tree to a tee pad, and a very scenic look.
Notable Holes:
-#5 Par 3 long tee at 222 feet is a straight away hole with two tree gaps about 70 feet out in the middle and to the left both gaps about 12 feet wide. At the gap is spillage ditch from the creek which runs all the way to the basket on the right. There are skinnies scattered thru out the fairway, and the basket is protected by skinnies with the creek just outside C1. As a lefty I went for the left gap and deflected off the inside tree.
-#7 Par 3 long tee at 290 feet a straight away hole that slightly meanders left. At about 60 feet is a cluster of skinnies with one gap of about 8 feet that seemed reasonable compared to others more difficult. On the left skinnies, on the right heavy brush with trees, on the other side of brush the Tar River. The brush on the right bends into the fairway past the gap at about 100 feet out. The basket is protected by skinnies. For a lefty it's a nightmare, I threw an easy pig to get myself a little more than halfway to the basket.
Signature Hole:
-#9 Par 3 long tee at 276 feet is a straight away hole with the basket middle left and elevated, the tee is also elevated but both only about 5-6 feet. About 20 feet out is a gap 8 feet wide, past the gap the fairway drops to depression circular in shape all the way until about C2. Inside the depression are trees cluttering the fairway with gaps as small as 6 feet, and a few mounds about 3-4 feet high. The depression is cleared of brush but could hold water if there's spillage from the Tar River which runs on the other side of a bank to the right. The basket is protected by guardians to your left. A tree deflection from the tee over the bank could take you into the river. The hole has a crusty look to it and scenic, reminded me of a few holes a Dorey Park in Richmond, Virginia. I faded into the bank with a Mid.
Trouble Hole:
-#4 Par 3 long at 250 feet is a fairway that meanders left then back to the right with a blind basket from the tee. The meandering to the right starts across a spillage ditch from the creek on the right side past the turn. To cross the ditch is about 150 feet, at the crossing are two gaps middle left and middle right. These gaps are about 15 feet wide, on the right heavy brush and trees that block sight of the basket from the tee, turning the hole into trouble. The basket hangs to the right towards the creek on the border of C1 and has a layer of guardian trees not seen from tee. The left gap is the safe play, but the right is very inviting, and a tree deflection could send you towards the creek or into the brush not seen from tee. I took the right gap and was very pleased until I saw the wall of guardian trees blocking my birdie run.
