River Ridge Golf Course (Lakes)
Oxnard, CA
Reviewed by: bnr1986, east coast
Came out afternoon of 6/10 for a free birthday round. Walked the blacks with my trusty dog with me and my wife tagged along too as it was my birthday. Been a long time since I had played Victoria Lakes and its black tees. It’s as challenging as I recalled. A good test of golf, you use all 14 clubs over the course of the round.
The Review
Some of the black tee boxes were in poor shape, but I’ve found that throughout Southern California. Greens were great. Fairways fair and the rough thick. Traps were consistent though I was only in 1 or 2 all day.
Pace of Play (POP) could have been better but then again we teed off right around noon on a Sunday. Nevertheless, I felt the group in front of us was a bit slow and unaware of those behind them especially late in the round.
I forgot how hard of a walk this course is, especially the back 9. I was wiped after.
Despite being far from Hollywood, the ride wasn’t too bad without traffic. Next time I come out this ways I may give myself a break and play the blues, though the course doesn’t play all too long because of how firm and fast it plays. However, if you miss the fairway it can play very long from the tips. The greens are the best feature of this course, fast but not too firm and they roll true. You can play a variety of short shots around the greens which is fun too.
Additional Thoughts
Even for the rack rate, this is one of the better values related to challenge and conditions in greater LA area. I think the layout is good, a bit bland, so not as strong as Rustic Canyon or Olivas Links in my eyes. Then again those were done by Hanse and Forrest Richardson respectively, so River Ridge is still a great place for a Birthday round.
