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Description

About an hour's drive north of Charlotte, River Oaks Golf Club is set in a pristine wildlife area marked by a rolling topography, heavy tree cover and meandering streams. Renovations on the old course layout were extensive and the new championship layout takes full advantage of nature's splendor. It promises to be an enjoyable, scenic Stateville golf adventure with plenty of golf risk and reward for all levels of play. It features Bentgrass greens and Bermuda fairways. The course is about 10 minutes from Rock Barn, making it a cool 36-hole day pairing.

Notes

During a summer 2023 renovation, the course switched over to Mach 1 Bermuda grass on the greens and made significant changes to Holes No.1 and No.8. Previously in August 2006, golf course architect Ed Carton directed a multi-million dollar tee to green renovation of the golf course. It reopened for play in May 2007. The course was formerly known as Buffalo Shoals and NC National. Prime season memberships (April-September) are offered for $499 with $15 cart fees - that's a deal!

B-Man's Take

First played this course in the summer of 2020 and holy cow, I was missing out. It was a very challenging, unique courses. Hills and elevation changes make for some awesome views and fun holes. There are many memorable holes, including the 3-hole closing stretch on the front 9, starting with the dramatic downhill par 3 7th, then an impossible elevated tee shot to a postage stamp landing area on the par 4 8th and the blind tee shot and approach over a creek to the par 4 9th. The back 9 is a great mixture of risk / reward and birdie / bogey opportunities, summed up perfectly with the closing par 5 18th hole. You'll need an accurate tee shot in the fairway to have a decision about going for the guarded-by-a-creek green in two. Playing it as a 3 shot hole also requires three accurate shots with plenty of hazards and bunkers to test your nerve. This is just a fabulous layout and is now kept in good shape year-round. The rack rates are a steal, making this course one of the best values around the Piedmont.

Links

Most Recent Reviews

• 4/11/26 - Review by JBradshaw49

  "Great course"

  This was my first time to RO. I couldn’t get a tee time in Charlotte. This course is really nice. The greens were perfect. Every surface was very firm. It’s gorgeous, nice new carts, I am a fan.

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• 4/9/26 - Review by Teresa

  "Average"

  Since Rock Bark County Club jacked up their rates again, I ventured back to ROaks for a round. They continually work to improve the place, probably more-so than any course within 100 miles. Good course conditions however the greens here are still fairly hard (as in firm). Disappointed & confused as to them spending money to redo hole #1 to relocate & build a new Green and not do a better job building it. Way too much slope on the entire surface and zero relief areas. You can miss the green by 2 feet and end-up either in the small pond 30ft away, or down the cart path to the right 40ft from where you landed. With an 8 iron I missed the mowed portion of this green by 2’ right, yet the ball ended-up 40 ft away down near the bridge via the path. The green on Hole #6 has this same issue as does the front portion of #9 green. Overall its a fairly easy golf course due to the lack of trees and wide open fairways, especially the back nine. You can miss a fairway by 60-70 yards and still unobstructed shots to the green, most folks will shot lower scores due to this. Another slight issue for me are the Range Balls. Just purchase some Standard Range Balls! Customers will steal far fewer of them vs the current practice of using the varying MIX of balls they find on the course. Plus the blue paint they mark these balls with transfers to your clubface.

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• 7/22/25 - Review by Teresa

  "Worth playing"

  After a 18 month absence I finally returned to RO. Lots of stuff has improved; paved parking, better carts, cleaner Restroom. Course conditions were good however the greens were sandy and very firm. Nice course conditions, with a few changes, however the flow, appearance and feel of the course is still weird. Can’t believe they didn’t improve green #9 during the recent redo. Accurate approach shots can still run back 10-12 ft, then off the green toward the creek, due to steep slope and during winter will end-up 25yrs away in the creek. The New green on hole #2 also has this same issue.

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• 5/20/24 - Review by golferdude

  "Worth playing"

  Played the tips..few mud balls due to recent rains. Greens were decent speed but not very receptive (many iron shots and pitches ran off the green). First time here in 8 years. Do like the look with the renovations. Rates are reasonable.

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• 5/14/24 - Review by Ace

  "Worth playing"

  The course was in good shape. The greens were a bit firm despite a consistent rain during the round (planned to play 18 holes but stopped after playing 9 due to weather) but they rolled true. There are some areas of the course where it seems the club appears to be doing repairs/remediation but they are mostly on the outskirts of the holes. All in all, it felt like the course handled the wet conditions fairly well. I will definitely return to the course (minus the rain, hopefully)!

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Updates From the Forum

• 06/01/23 - B-Man posted "Aeration and Renovation Updates"

  A few Aeration dates to keep in mind: Stonebridge: 5/30-5/31 Monroe CC: 6/6-6/7 Renovation updates: River Oaks is closing in the next 2 weeks until Labor Day for renovation of 2 holes (#1 and #8) as well as the switchover from Bentgrass to Mach 1 Bermuda greens. The Revival at the Crescent is closing July 5th for a similar conversion to Mach 1 Bermuda on the greens. They also are targeting a Labor Day re-opening.
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• 03/23/22 - B-Man replied to "Aerification Dates - 2022"

  River Oaks: May 24th
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• 06/12/07 - Fisher replied to "River Oaks in Statesville"

  I played River Oaks on Sat., 6/9 and never played it as NC National. This assessment is based on the present layout of the course.
  
  River Oaks (ROGC) has the potential to be one of the finest courses on the I-40 corridor west of 77. At only 6400 yards from the back tees, it’s a fair test of shotmaking & club selection. You really need to pick the right clubs on this course. That's why it can be one of the best in that area.
  
  Keep in mind, and I had to keep telling myself, that ROGC is a NEW course, from tee to green. A lot of the greens are new & the staff may still be in the process of marking yardages. You can tell that ROGC laid down a lot of sod to build those greens. They wanted the least amount of time for grow-in so they can begin to get revenue from play, so they laid down sod instead of seed to a lot of the greens on the front 9. Considering the immaturity of some greens, most rolled exceptionally well, and consistent. I was pleasantly surprised!
  
  The 1st Hole used to be a long par-4 back in the pre-ROGC era. Now, it’s a short, but fair 320-yd par 4. The creek no longer is in play, but the new green is. It's shallow from front to back (I paced off 16 steps from the front until the hole drops off into the abyss). An accurate short iron approach on Hole #1 will reward you with an easy birdie opportunity. If you miss long or left...you'll scramble for bogey or worse, make a drop for double. I could be wrong, but #1 may be the only significant change on the front 9 until you finish the side.
  
  My favorite hole by far is #8. A 400-yd par-4 from an elevated tee, and a tee shot that forces you to hit a high-draw. The visual aspect of this tee shot is amazing!! You have to play it yourself to believe it. The fairway looks tiny, but a high tee shot opens it up. Go ahead a rip driver, you have plenty of room, just don’t miss it right. A pushed tee ball on this hole is gone forever.
  
  The 9th is the epitome of penal golf! Before the change, it must’ve been a short, easy par-4. Now, it’s a daunting, 220 yd par-3. You have to carry your shot all the way to the green. Any short shots are lost into the ravine the fronts the green & the sides. Higher handicappers will want to take advantage of the fairway and hit their tee shots & hope for a close approach to a one-putt par. Otherwise, you’ll stare at double or worse if your tee shot is short. Stronger players may want to hit an extra club & play to miss long; there’s a natural “backstop” behind the green. Although this hole plays a full club less, you still need to catch it all to get it on the putting surface.
  
  From what I understand, the back-9 still remains as it once was. Again, it’s a test of club selection and accuracy. Length off the tee is not a significant part of scoring on this course. For example, a short par-3 (127 yds) on the back-9 requires two- to three-clubs LESS on approach because of its severe elevation. I hit easy SW where it should have been smooth LW...heck, if my putter had one degree more loft, I would have hit it.
  
  The 200 yard par-3, 17th is another hole where you end up scratching your head to exactly how far you need to hit it. It’s a flat hole, with water on the left side. Looks can be deceiving! Play your shot to the right half of the green to eliminate the hazard and greenside bunkers.
  
  My only criticism is that you always question your yardages on many of the holes, especially the par-3’s. My recommendation to the course is to send its assistant pro or superintendent to laser each hole from at least 5-10 different spots and mark it down, get in on paper & hand it to every player that checks in. That would have helped me tremendously. If you have a range finder...bring it!!
  
  Otherwise, River Oaks can be the place to go if you’re looking to play a great mountain style course but also challenge your shotmaking & on course management. Although not as long as Skybrook or Verdict Ridge, River Oaks can belong to that class in several years, if not less.
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