Riverdale Golf Courses, Brighton, CO

I play here regularly and have absolutely no idea what MGGGolfer is talking about. Pretty sure he reviewed the wrong course. I play all over the Denver Metro area and I think you'll struggle to find better value than Riverdale Dunes. It isn't overly long, but there's a lot more to a golf course than length - especially on this site. When the wind blows it's brutal. Any longer from the back and it would be unplayable in the wind for anyone who isn't a scratch golfer.

For the record, I'm off a 4.6 index right now and I find plenty enough challenge around the Dunes. Greens not tough enough? Really? They're always in flawless condition, but put yourself on the wrong tier on 5, 8, 11, 16, or leave yourself a long one on 4, 7, 9, 12, 17, 18... miss the tiny 3rd... and the best in the world would be challenged.

9 is about 100 yards from the clubhouse, but I've no idea why you would need to stop there when there's a halfway house you pass between 8-9 and 13-14 that's open on weekends and holidays and always a cart driving around the course. Russian Olives? Not here. Concrete ditch? Not that I've seen.

So anyway, a real review... the Dunes is a great layout. It would be short for a really top notch golfer, and there are birdie holes out there, like the reachable par 5 9th, but the rough is savage if you go far enough off line, greens are tricky (a great mix of size/slope etc across the course), water comes into play on 7 holes, and when that wind blows... good luck! It's supposed to look like a links layout, and does, but like most across America it's watered far too much to play like one. It starts out gentle enough - 2 short par 4s that should leave you a wedge in. Make the most of it. 3 is a long straightaway par 5 but with a small green, and then the fun starts. If you drive it well, and hit your irons solid, you should score well, but if either of those is off, you could be in for a long day.

It's a Dye design, and his signatures are all over it - railroad ties lining the water on 4, 7, 8, 15, 17, 18 (the other water hole is 11, but no railroad ties there)... there's almost always an aiming point on the tee box, usually a tree in the distance, and generally the quality shines through. You don't find many courses of this quality in this price range, although we're spoiled in Denver, for sure. If you play from the tips, bring your whole game. If you play the blues, most people would be better off leaving the driver in the car. If you play from any other tee box, the rough and green complexes will still give you plenty to think about.

Slow play can be an issue, especially on weekends, but no more than other places. My only real criticism is the mosquitos can be a real pain in the @ss first thing in the morning. Otherwise, first class, great value, a Denver must play. (Something going on with the site - won't accept my real rating, but 5 star value. Overall 4.5 stars.)

SLOW PLAY all day. Usually a course will open up after a few holes, not this one. The layout is awful. The 9th hole is not even close to the clubhouse if you want a food or beverage while you are stacked three deep at the turn. During peak season their outer food shack was CLOSED. As far as the golf play, this course is not challenging at all. The greens are not challenging, the length from the back tees is short, scraggly Russian Olive Trees intermittently line each hole and the scenery, on almost every hole, is of the mostly vacant, dirt lot, 4-H arena and barns. The “river” that crosses through the course is a concrete lined irrigation ditch. The course is a cross between desert, parkland and links style and it does none of them well. There are too many other “quality” muni courses in Denver, don’t waste your time playing any Riverdale course.

Played the Dunes course April 28, 2010. The course was in very good shape. The greens were in great shape and fast. The breaks were more sublte that they appeared. The Dunes course on this windy day gave the feel of a classic Scottish links style course... more so than most courses claiming to be. The course is not in a very scenic area but it is a very good facility with a decent practice area and two courses. The Knolls course is more of a classic city course but in good shape.