- "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. Read The Review
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- "Average"
 A follow-up review to the Jackson Course at Rock Barn.
Have been playing here weekly this summer, and the more I visit the more issues & concerns I have noted! Not sure whats going on staff wise however The Jackson Course looks like its been abandoned in August! 16” grass runners growing in the sand traps, numerous greens have significant issues. Yes, I realize that Bent Grass can struggle in summer heat, and I am a huge fan of Bent, however when you see that a couple of the greenside ventilation fans are pointing skyward and not toward the green this shows a lack of concern. I also witnessed the young maintenance kid responsible for midday hosing of the greens doing a half-a** job. When he is moving from green to green at the same speed as me playing, there is no way he’s doing this job properly! He was more interested in his phone than his function. The Tee Boxes on Hole 7 are probably the worst tee boxes I have encountered in years at ANY course! I mean horrible, as is the consitions of muchnofvthis entire hole. In early August a strom afternoon thunderstorm had blown thru, it was 2 weeks before they even brought out the fairway blowers to remove leaves & stick debris!
I’m beginning to see why there is VERY little play here on weekdays. I mean very little! This is NOT a $70 course!!! When Verdict Ridge is $12 less its a no brainer decision where to play! Extremely disappointed, and probably not going back for a while. Read The Review
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- "Worth playing"
 Have played here for many many years now, however not within the past couple of years (it & the entire area became overly crowded). Due to the Heat running folks off, we ventured back for a round this week. VR has definitely made a few changes with the arrival of the Newest Pro. They finally made Ice easily available, improved the D. Range Tee Area along with adding a small catch fence to its back section. Converted to Electric Carts as well!
As for the Course itself, First the Good; VR has as nice a Fairway Grass as you’ll find, and as always most of the holes are attractive and offer varying types of shots & sidehill lies.
As for the negatives; to me its confusing as to why a nice high-end course allows many areas of the course to resemble a $25 goat Tract course! Hole 14 being one example. Numerous holes at VR border or cross creeks & wetland areas, however the last portion of this hole need major clean-up. It was actually far worst than in prior years along the banks of the parallel creeks that cross the fairway. A real eyesore. The later half of #18 could benefit as well from some border clean-up as well. Second, as with most Bermuda greens in mid summer constant maintenance leaves them less than ideal, but may courses reduce the rates for a couple weeks as they recover. VR’s were, well, not great. Several times I left the putter the bag then picked-up my ball. They were a bit strange for a Bermuda strain, unusually soft under your feet. I’m certain however this green maintenance will yield rewards this fall.
VR is for certain a first class operation and the aforementioned improvements have elevated this. Read The Review
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- "Great course"
Still one of the best conditioned courses in the area. A lot of folks mention Verdict Ridge as being a top course, imho its not even close. Way nicer facilities at Rock Barn, better course condition & course facilities. Rock Barn also has a better practice area and uses new Titleist Balls on the Range. Carts are slightly nicer here as well. Plus they have 2 Courses here.
Love the Bent Grass Greens at Rock Barn and they roll better than any course I have played this year. Crying shame some other area courses converted away from Bent.
The ONLY thing at RB that I found puzzling was the condition of Hole #7 on Jackson Course. Tee boxes were bad and surrounded by 2-3ft tall weeds and brush than hasn’t been maintained in what appeared to be 8 months or more. The first 100 yards of Hole 7 was the same way. Looks like crap! Lots of erosion along the cart part here as well. Hard to believe this is allowed to happen at such a high-end Club Course. Read The Review
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- "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. Read The Review
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- "Below average"
Have returned to play here a couple more times this spring. Not a lot has changed except the bent grass greens were very firm, which I found odd. The course will be closed all summer until post Labor Day for green conversion and they are operating on 16 holes until mid-june when the conversion starts as they are reconfiguring 2 holes currently. It is my hope they alter a couple greens during the renovation. Greens on #6 & #9 need restructuring since many near perfect approach shots, even many putts, end up in the creek or marsh hazard due to their current lack of fringe and slope. Most Fairway grasses this last visit were fine, except for the landing areas on #10 & #14 where ALL the cart traffic is directed. I was hoping for cleaner Golf Carts this year however they were nastier & more grimy than before. Hopefully after all the construction is complete .. next year these things will get the attention they need. Read The Review
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- "Average"
Played here several times this fall. Pretty nice course with good points & some bad. The Bent grass greens were great especially since bent grass has become harder to find in recent years.. thus making River Oaks even more special. As for the course layout… ‘interesting’ might be the word to describe this place. The holes really don’t have a constant flow or feel given some are tree lined and attractive yet most of the back 9 has no such feel. Didn’t particularly care for holes 8, 9, 15, 16, 17, & 18. One thing I noticed each visit is that nobody seems to rake the sand traps and numerous golfer drive right up to the edge of the greens. The clubhouse is basic no frills however it’s elevated back deck offers a great view of the course. Read The Review
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