Riverview Golf Course

Riverview isn’t just closed. .. it’s been wiped off the face of the planet!
I was so in shock when I saw it bulldozed that I had to pull over on the on-​ramp to take a couple pictures. I mean, here was a course with little hills and valleys and ponds and. .. just gone. Leveled :(

The worst public golf I’ve ever experienced in the many years I’ve been golfing with friends. We were approached on the 2^nd hole on a Saturday morning and told that we had to play ready-​ball! It wasn’t that busy so no need at all to be interrupted and hassled on several holes. The only reason my game got slowed down was because this Steve guy was watching us (distracting us) on every hole and asking for our receipts twice! Steve later on apologized, but when I told him I wanted a refund he never did anything. We had to skip the putting portion on several holes to get him off out backs. I didn’t get what I paid for.

Riverview is an excellent practice course. Out of all the 9 hole courses I’ve played, this is the one I keep coming back to. It’s a traditional course, with well-​maintained grass covering the entire property, and there are enough hills and bunkers to make it interesting, but simple. The prices are fair, at just $ 8 for an afternoon walking round during the summer (and I think $ 15 during the winter).
One thing that always strikes me is how good the condition is. The fairways are always green, and I have played non-​municipal courses that were in MUCH worse shape.
Just beware of the imposing first and third tee shots, where a bad hook can ruin the day for some poor driver on 8^th Street.

I love this course. I love this course.
Riverview is a city-​run, inexpensive nine-​hole a few notches above a typical executive course. Prices are great (about $ 15 per person for a cart on a summer weekend morning), and it seems very well run.
Most of the holes are a par 4, with a pair of 3s and 5s on each end of the course. Overall it’s well kept and attractive, even though it’s wedged between a busy street and the nexus of two highways.
The practice facilities are a huge plus for this course. The driving range sits in the middle of the location and is open until late in the evening. (Forget Fiddlesticks, this is the place to go at night.) A nice feature of the range is that it sits right under the landing path for Sky Harbor Airport, so you can see the planes but they’re high enough that you won’t get the noise.
Riverview also has a large (free) practice putting green, a chipping practice area and two sandtrap practice setups (one on the far end of the driving range, behind the green on the 5^th hole). It’s never seemed crowded to me, and the people who play (and the staff) are there have been friendly.
The pro shop isn’t anything to write home about and there’s little for food other than bottled drinks and chips, but overall this is a great place to spend time.