Before the starter gets you on your way at River Bend, he offers a gentle reminder to clean up your tees from the tee box after you hit. It’s a shoes-off household and it shows. The turf is pristine. Looks like a million bucks, literally. It’s that green.
Both nines loop out and back to the clubhouse over steep, rolling terrain. The green-to-tee walks are short and the coolers of cold water are plentiful, so it’s not unwalkable, but on a hot summer day, consider a cart. The hills get your attention in the moment, and that elevation change toys with the number on the card on more than a few swings, but it’s the 007 bentgrass greens, part of a 2010 renovation, that stay with you after your round.
They’re slick. Fun to putt on, maddening to chip and pitch around. Putts with even a hint of pace keep gathering speed on a downslope until they’re off the green, and a false front will snatch approach shots back to the fairway. Between how open it plays and the way the ball sits up in the rough, it’s tough to lose one.
Pack bug spray, though. Without it, gnats find your head on nearly every swing.
