Course 110: Juniper Hill - Riverside Course
Northborough, Mass.
Date Played: August 23, 2023
Yardage: 5272 - 6245 yards
Tier: Regional Chain
Rating: 2/5
The opening tee shot on the Riverside course at Juniper Hill is more hill than river, and the front nine continues that theme. The holes play along some charming land and forces players to hit from various types of lies and pick the right clubs and lines off tees and into greens.
The back nine lives up to it's Riverside name, kind of. However, water comes into play on the 11th and 17th holes. But the river is present.
Throughout the round, I wore out my hybrid and 4-iron off the tee, as the course is 6,200 from the tips. I hit three drivers, all on the par 5s. Players can certainly push the ball down the fairway on a bunch of holes if they'd like as there's more space than it appears on many tee shots.
What was most underwhelming at Riverside were the greens. Most of them were perfectly round without much going on as far as interior slopes or tiers. The only one that did leave me questioning how to attack it was the 11th, which had water lurking on the right and a cart path (and out of bounds) on the right and two tiers to navigate.
While the greens weren't interesting, the lack of bunkers did intrigue me. There were a few holes without any bunkers, like the 4th, 13th, and 16th holes. But a handful of greens weren't protected by any traps. I kind of liked it.
The one hole that made me feel something while I was standing on the tee was the third hole. A dramatic downhill tee shot on this par 5 caught my attention. The challenge of picking the right club for the second shot and avoiding the tree and slope on the left side of the green kept me thinking.
The 200 yard par-3 17th was a good tough hole over water.
For all the rain we've received and the course's proximity to water, it was soggy in spots, and the ninth hole played 220 yards to help people avoid hitting their tee shots into the softest part of the course and losing their balls. But for the most part, it was in good shape.
It's a pretty easy walk, without any wildly long trips (the front is somewhat hilly).
Ultimately Riverside is a golf course that isn't going to knock your socks off.