I mostly agree with Nick on his assessment of Riverbend, especially the part about the slope and rating playing higher than listed. The rough in the spring can be quite difficult before they start cutting it shorter toward summer.

One thing I like about RB is that you can generally jump on as a single and only have to wait for 15-20 minutes to do so. During the season, one does have to acquire tee times a week or so ahead for a foursome and Saturday and Sunday prime times can play a bit slow.

Not to fear if you get behind the men's or women's club members. Most of them are very good golfers and won't hold you up a bit. They're also very nice people as a rule.

I've never experienced Nick's problem with the greens, though RB does still heavily sand at least twice a year. Greens don't have much break and are usually in pretty good shape and not set up tricky like some muni's.

Great affordable public course to have nearby to Seattle Metro area; attracts a lot of discerning golfers. Give it a go, you won't be sorry.

Customer Service

Usually very good. Affordable greens fees, pro shop. Good restaurant.

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Lake Spanaway, Auburn, Capitol City.

Good, straightforward golf; Affordable; Easy to walk.

Compact layout makes you feel like you should be wearing a helmet at times. Flat terrain and lack of mature trees make the course somewhat boring.

Riverbend is a municipal course operated by the city of Kent. The course is located about 20 minutes south of downtown Seattle. For a muni, this is a very good golf course.

It plays about 6,100 yards from the white tees with a slope of about 115, but I have always felt that the slope was a bit low. I thing the hazards come into play a lot more at Riverbend than they do at other courses that have a slope in the range of 115. Also, while the course is not long overall, the short holes are very strategic, so the yardage can be a bit misleading. In terms of difficulty, I think Riverbend compares to courses that have a slope rating more like 119-120; it's not punishing, but it is noticeably tougher than average.

The course is very flat and is bisected by the Green River. Several large ponds come into play on both the front and back nine. Fairways are firm and playable even in wet winter weather. The course features only a few mature trees, but the small evergreens that were planted when the course was built are becoming more and more of a factor every year.

One of the drawbacks of this course is that it is a very compact layout and the fairways of most holes run adjacent to at least one other hole, so there is a lot of traffic back and forth. This is one of those courses that you can play from the wrong fairway and frequently not suffer any penalty.

The greens at Riverbend are very large, and all slope from front to back, making them very receptive to good shots. The greens tend to be somewhat grainy, so judging speed of putts is difficult at times. Also, I've played about 20 rounds at Riverbend and at least half the time the greens have been recently plugged and/or sanded. Maybe I'm just unlucky, but they sure seem to work these greens hard.

Most of the holes are pretty straightforward, but water comes into play on six or seven holes and sand traps frame just about every green. There's not too much rough on the course, and what is there is not very tough, so you can pretty much just bang away on the tee, as long as you stay away from the water where it comes into play. The par fours are a nice mix of short, strategic holes and several long challenging holes.

Riverbend is the kind of traditional course where you can shoot a good score, but you won't feel like it was a complete pushover when you do.

Customer Service

This is a very popular course and securing a good tee time takes some effort.

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Covered driving range across street from course; large practice green; course also has an old pitch and putt course for beginners