Best Public Golf Courses in Riverside

The night course at Van Buren Golf Center in Riverside opened in 1997 to a Murray Nonhoff design, 2,604 yards to a par of 57 on bentgrass greens over bermuda fairways, walkable, with a range and a putting green attached. A shirt is the whole dress code. It is a practice facility with a golf course on it rather than the other way round.

Golfers who like it like it for one reason: it is cheap, it is easy to get on, and it is somewhere a beginner or a short-game session can go without holding anyone up. The reviews are otherwise unkind, and consistently so. Tee boxes and fairways in poor shape, greens described as flat and very slow, confusing marking, traffic and aircraft noise, unhelpful service in the pro shop, and surprise fees on top of a cheap online booking. Go in knowing what it is, or spend the money elsewhere. Van Buren tee times are rarely a problem to get.

Jurupa Hills opened in 1960 to a William F. Bell design, with later work by Casey O'Callaghan. It plays 6,107 yards to a par of 70, rated 69.3 with a slope of 123, short enough that a driver is not compulsory and hilly enough to be interesting. Recent rates have run from about $29 to $75.

Conditioning is what golfers lead with: fairways mown tight with few bare patches, greens that hold up even after maintenance, and a general sense that the place is looked after. The bar staff and marshals get specific praise, and a good round here goes in under four hours.

The other half of the reviews describes what happens when it is busy. Overbooking, groups that will not let you through, and rounds stretching past five hours. Houses line several fairways, which matters if you move the ball right. Book Jurupa Hills early in the day and you avoid most of it.

Indian Hills opened in 1965 to a Harold Heers and Jimmie Powell routing, 6,104 yards to a par of 70, rated 70.0 with a slope of 126, bermuda greens and fairways. It is walkable if your legs are up to it, since the land does most of the defending here. There is a teaching pro and a putting green, but no driving range, so warm up somewhere else or accept a cold start.

Golfers rate the tee boxes and fairways highly, describe the greens as quick, and come back for the elevation changes and the views, which are the reason the course gets called a favourite by people who could play anywhere in the county. It is also rated as good value for what it costs.

The complaints are pace and communication: tee times stacked too close, rounds past five hours when it is full, and at least one report of greens punched a week earlier with no word to anyone booking. Worth a call about conditions, and the Indian Hills tee sheet is usually open.

San Dimas Canyon opened in 1964 to a Dan Murray design, with later work by Casey O'Callaghan, and runs 6,309 yards to a par of 72, rated 70.3 with a slope of 118. The turf is pure southern California: kikuyu fairways that sit the ball up and grab at the clubhead, and poa annua greens that are fast in the morning and bumpier by the afternoon. Walkable, with a range and a putting green.

Golfers rate the staff here above almost anything else on this list, starters and marshals included, and they praise the canyon setting and the condition of the fairways and greens. The greens are fast enough that several reviewers found them punishing, particularly with a tucked pin.

Pace is the running complaint, with groups that will not move and at least one round reported over six hours. About a third of posted times are taken before the day, so book San Dimas Canyon ahead and go early.

Birch Hills in Brea is a par 59 of 3,560 yards from the back, built in 1974 by Harry and David Rainville with later work by Casey O'Callaghan. There is a range, a putting green and a teaching pro. Recent rates have run from about $16 to $44, the cheapest on this page.

Golfers describe it as beginner-friendly but sneakily awkward, with several par 4s you play without a driver, which makes it a genuinely useful place to work on the part of the game that costs you shots. The greens and fairways get good marks, the staff mixed ones, and the range floods when it rains.

Understand what you are competing for. About three quarters of the tee times it posts are gone before the day, far more than anything else on this list, so a Birch Hills tee time is one to book well ahead rather than chase on the morning.

Talega opened in 2001 in San Clemente, credited to Fred Couples with Brian Curley, Lee Schmidt and Tom Peck. It is 6,951 yards to a par of 72, rated 73.6 with a slope of 137, bermuda greens, and walkable. It is also the longest drive on this list from Riverside and the dearest round on it: recent rates have run from about $68 to $177.

Golfers rate the layout as one of the best in the area and the staff as friendly and competent, and reports on conditioning have improved lately, with fairways and bunkers described as good.

What almost every review agrees on is the pace. Rounds over five hours come up again and again, and the players who complain about the price are usually complaining about the price in combination with the wait. Blind shots and dated cart GPS are the other recurring notes. Nearly two in five posted times get taken, so plan a Talega round ahead and take the first tee time you can get.

The course at Rancho California opened in 1970 to a Robert Trent Jones Sr. design, with later work credited to Robert Trent Jones Jr. and Bruce Charlton. It measures 7,036 yards to a par of 72, rated 73.3 with a slope of 134, bermuda greens and fairways, which makes it the longest course on this list and one of the hardest. Recent rates have run from about $38 to $89.

Golfers who have played everything public in Riverside and San Diego counties call it the best course they can get for under $75 out here, and the recurring theme in recent reviews is improvement: new sand in the bunkers, fairways and greens in good shape, a back nine that is the better half.

The complaints are about the running of it rather than the golf. Rude handling by staff and a marshal in particular comes up repeatedly, the range closes without warning, and when it is wet the course goes cart path only and stays muddy. Rounds can crawl when it is crowded. Almost none of its tee times get taken, so Rancho California is generally there when you want it.

Mountain Meadows is a Ted Robinson Sr. design in the hills north of Pomona, 6,440 yards to a par of 72, rated 70.4 with a slope of 120. The fairways are kikuyu and bermuda, the greens poa annua, and it is walkable if you are happy with the elevation changes, which are the best thing about the place along with the views that come with them.

Golfers rate the fairways and describe the greens as smooth and quick, and they like the variety hole to hole. The rough is the part they warn each other about, particularly on the front nine, where reviewers report simply losing balls in it.

Pace is the other constant. Five-hour rounds, ambassadors who work the opening holes and leave the back nine to fend for itself, and thin amenities: no cooler on the cart, no drinks service, no sand for divots. Worth playing for the ground it sits on. Check what Mountain Meadows has open.

Oak Quarry was laid out by Dr. Gil Morgan with Schmidt-Curley on the Jensen Quarry in Jurupa Valley, which supplied marble and limestone to Los Angeles until it was abandoned in 1979, and opened as a golf course in 2000. It plays 7,002 yards to a par of 72, rated 73.9 with a slope of 137, Pennlinks bentgrass greens over hybrid 419 bermuda fairways. Collared shirt, no cut-offs, and no walking: you ride.

The setting is the entire point, and golfers describe the wow at the first sight of it, quarry walls framing tee shots, an opening three holes they rate as spectacular, and a course that rewards a good shot without destroying a poor one. It is the most photographed round in the Inland Empire for a reason.

Running it is where the reviews turn. Greens punched with no notice, poor communication and customer service, bunkers and conditioning that have slipped, awkward warm-up and cart loading, and prices some golfers do not think the current condition supports. Go for the golf course, and ask about the greens when you book Oak Quarry.

Hidden Valley opened in 1997 to a Casey O'Callaghan design in Norco, 6,721 yards to a par of 72, rated 73.3 with a slope of 140, which is the stiffest number on this page and a full 20 points above the courses in Riverside itself. It is not a long course. It is a course with blind shots, awkward angles and ground that refuses to give you a flat lie. Recent rates have run from about $39 to $109.

Golfers from Corona and Norco call it the best in town and the most golf for the money in the area, and they rate the staff and the general condition highly. The greens draw praise when they are healthy and patience when they are not, since aerification comes round often enough to feature in a lot of reviews.

The consistent gripe is the bunkers: short of sand, rutted by rain, and left that way for months at a stretch by several accounts. If your miss is into sand, factor that in. Otherwise Hidden Valley is the best test of golf on this list at a price the harder courses here do not match.