Riverdale Golf Courses — Local services in Brighton

Riverdale offers some of the best value and courses in the Denver Metro area, and that's hard to argue. However, two recent experiences have led me to question not the quality of the course, but the trustworthiness of the staff. A bit of background: I’ve considered Riverdale my home course for over a decade. Some years I play more frequently than others, but in recent years I’ve been out there at least once a week during the regular season. Aside from some occasional odd behavior from the marshals, I’ve always had nothing but positive things to say about Riverdale—until now.

The first incident involved a Scotty Cameron headcover, which I accidentally left on the 18th green on the Dunes. When I realized it was missing about 30 minutes after the round, I immediately called the pro shop. They told me the group behind us had turned it in, and I was relieved, thinking that was the end of the story. I explained that this putter and headcover was a sentimental gift from my father and asked them to put my name on it to avoid any confusion. The staff member assured me it was tagged with my name and set aside. I booked a tee time for the following day to pick it up and enjoy another round.

When I arrived at the pro shop, I explained the situation, and the staff began searching for the headcover. They couldn’t find it. I reminded them of the previous day’s conversation, where I had been told it was set aside with my name on it. Despite their continued efforts, it was nowhere to be found. I was told to check back after my round, which I did, only to be informed that another staff member may have taken the headcover for themselves. I was shocked. Multiple employees—including the pro shop staff, cart barn staff, and the starter—confirmed that this sort of thing happens often with certain items.

I understand that rare items like this are coveted, but after my initial conversation with the pro shop, I had no reason to worry. The last thing I expected was that a staff member would remove my name tag and keep the headcover for themselves.

In short, I left my headcover, claimed it, and a staff member appears to have stolen it. This isn’t just my assumption; multiple employees confirmed this as a likely scenario. It's beyond unacceptable, especially after I was assured it was safely set aside.

The second incident occurred about two weeks ago. I paid for my round with my player’s card, which was paperclipped to a few other Riverdale player’s cards I had received as gifts. After leaving the counter, I realized I had forgotten the cards and sprinted back into the pro shop. I explained what happened and that I had two half-punched cards for the Knolls and Dunes, and one unpunched card for the Dunes. The staff said they didn’t see anything but would keep an eye out.

I can’t help but assume one of them took the cards, despite them being clearly labeled with my name. One of the new pros was sympathetic and offered to help, but said he needed to check with his boss first. He promised I would hear from the head pro by the end of the next business day. It’s now been over two weeks, and despite multiple follow-up calls, I haven’t heard anything back.

These two experiences paint a picture of a business with staff that are either untrustworthy or simply don't care. I’m not sure I can continue recommending Riverdale when the employees appear willing to steal from guests and make empty promises about resolving issues. I love the course and conditions, but I can’t support a business that doesn’t respect its patrons’ belongings or follow through...

I am very disappointed with this golf course. I had looked forward to playing it for a long time, so I planned a birthday trip with my buddy. It was the two of us and our fathers, who I will add are both senior citizens. Pace of play is the only thing this course concerns themselves with, and the course marshals are not the lease bit professional. They are very confrontational and pushy. The pro staff also lacks professionalism.

We did not finish our round because of the way we were treated by the marshal. It was our second warning from the marshal; however, the first marshal did mention that there was a vacant time in front of ours, but we needed to move along the best we could to catch the group in front of us. The second time we were warned, it was a completely different marshal and he said that if we did not move along that he would be forcing us to skip a hole.

I payed my green fee, and it was not a cheap green fee either. I am not going to skip a hole just to move everyone else along because the group in front of us cancelled or didn't show. This is not only unprofessional, I believe that it is unethical from a business standpoint. Letting the group of three players behind us play through was also considered a sin. We were told, "then we would have to let 40 groups play through." I guess I am confused as to why that is a standard at other golf courses. Let faster groups play through. Tee off, let them through, and stay on them to keep up and not hold up the course. This is a foreign concept at Riverdale.

Getting back to the point, the assistant pro made it abundantly clear that he did not care about our concerns. He mentioned that several times with a smile on his face. When I mentioned this review, his smile widened and he again reminded me that he did not care.

I am terminally ill, and I do not know how many birthdays I have left. I am extremely disappointed that I spent this birthday at Riverdale Dunes Golf Course. I really just wanted to enjoy my birthday playing a really nice golf course with my dad, but their staff decided to act like jerks. THEY DON'T CARE!

I think that is the bottom line here: THEY DON'T CARE! Remember that if you decide to book a tee time at this course. Is playing a Pete Dye designed golf course really worth being...

Yesterday I played the Knolls course. I haven’t played here for like 15 years since my mom used to take me. I was super excited! Course is in nice condition. Here is the problem, I barely was able to finish my round. Practically all of 5 hrs. I asked before hand and they told me the rounds were, “actually playing pretty fast today, should finish at about 4 hrs and 20 mins”. I’m thinking, “okay, perfect”. So, after driving an hr from my home and convincing my buddy to do so as well, spending 120 bucks in the pro shop on a nice shirt and divot fixer/ball marker, I’m ready to go! Long story short, we’re at 3 hrs in, and on hole 12…. WOW! Waiting every single shot, at least 5 minutes. I call the pro shop and ask very nicely to send out a Marshall. I never saw one Marshall, and they told me 3 times they were sending someone out. This morning, I call and try to get a raincheck/voucher for at least 9 holes, the guy was pretty off-putting, and said my round was average and that is there’s nothing he can do for me. I haven’t played a 4 hr and 40 minute round ever in my life, let alone a 4 hr 55 minute round. The guy said I played a 4 hr and 38 minute round, essentially calling me a liar, since there’s no way I could have finished if that’s so. However we were playing the last 2 holes in almost full darkness. I checked my phone. I know the time I finished…. Anyway. It is a nice course. Don’t know if I’ll go back if they like to stack tee times so close that a 5 hr round is...