Los Rios Country Club

Los Rios Country Club is a public course that was designed in 1974 by Texas golf legend Don January. Los Rios has had some challenges in the past, but in 2008 a private investor bought the course and has made some needed changes to improve course conditions and the overall golf experience. And they seem very committed to a plan to make Los Rios both more fun as well as more challenging.

Los Rios is a fairly traditional layout with mostly straight live oak lined fairways, some of which are side by side, and most of which are wide and forgiving with a playable rough. You'll find water from a meandering creek plus eight ponds that can come into play, which forces you to hit it straight and manage your club selection to avoid getting wet. This is generally a "what you see is what you get" eighteen with a couple deep ravines cut by the creek that you need to keep a sharp eye out for.

Los Rios is relatively short at 6472, the bunkers are pretty flat, and the greens range from small to average size. You'll find a couple uphill greens and downhill drives and some slight dog legs, but other than that its a straight forward layout where if you can keep the ball in play you can score well. Los Rios has some great par three's where club selection and pin point accuracy are critical on the five fun and challenging par 3s, most of which are surrounded by water – if you're short, long, right or left, you've got a problem.

When we played in January the course was dormant but the fairways and rough were in good shape and well maintained and the greens were great. Most of the greens seem small to about size and have some minor slope and a couple had undulation – speed was about average. The flat-faced bunkers need some work and management told us that they are on the list to things to do and over the next year some of the bunkers will be removed and the remaining bunkers will all restored to new condition and properly maintained.

Compared to a couple years ago, the new owner has made some significant improvements and seems very committed to improving the playability and user experience of a round at Los Rios. If you're looking for a good round at a reasonable price where you have a chance to score well, give Los Rios a try.