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Riverside Golf Club

The golf : Riverside is appropriately named–it’s set in a floodplain along the Trinity River with water in play on seemingly every hole. This is a combination links-style/traditional layout that is surprisingly difficult for a municipal course. Great holes abound on the Roger Packard layout, which requires the rarely found combination of length and accuracy when playing from the tips.
Holes 4-6 offer one of the better stretches of golf, starting with a 462-yard par 4 that is cut in the landing area by pesky fairway bunkers, and features a long approach into an elevated green that is surrounded by water and slopes back-to-front. Club less on No. 4 because leaving it short still offers the chance for an up-and-down.

No. 5 is a good par 3, especially from the middle tees where it generally plays as a short iron. Watch for the front pin placement, which can leave you with a long downhill putt if the tee shot is too long. Water looms to the right but it takes a bad shank to dunk it in the drink. No. 6 is one of the feature holes: it goes 543 yards, doglegging left along the Trinity with water fronting the green. The tee shot must be long and straight, and anything too far right leaves a precarious second shot around the bend.

The back side is the more fun of the two, taking you through good combinations of holes that offer excellent birdie opportunities if you’re on your game. You’ll need those birds when you come down the home stretch. The 18th is one of the most menacing in the area–a 438-yard par 4 with water along the left off the tee, and an approach over water to an elevated green that’s surrounded by wet stuff. This ender requires two perfect golf shots to avoid a high number and reach the green in regulation.

The details : 817-640-7800. 3000 Riverside Dr., Grand Prairie, TX 75050

• 1984. Roger Packard. 18 holes. Par 72. Tiger – 7,025 (74.4/132). Champs – 6,433 (71.5/126). Regular – 5,785 (68.4/119). Ladies – 5,175 (69.5/113). Price - $$.

Getting there : From I-30, travel 4 miles north to Hwy. 360. Take the Riverside exit, and the course is on the west side of the highway.