I honestly believe that the River Grill makes the best cheeseburgers in Bakersfield, and at half the price of a lot of places. The Fries are perfect, the beer is cold and the drinks are very good. I've also had a patty melt, a pastrami sandwich, and a hot dog which were all delicious too. The course itself is in as good of shape as it ever has been, and you will not find a more economical round of golf in the state or maybe even the country. The pro shop is looking good and the lady who works the counter is a gem. The only thing wrong with The Kern River Golf Course is some of the players who are slow, and don't fix their ball marks, but you can't blame the course for that. It's sad, but a class in course etiquette should be mandatory before you can play anywhere. It would be much more enjoyable for everyone! One more thing, they just installed some new state of the art drinking fountains that provide cold purified water. Nice extra feature! read more

Enjoyed a great round of golf on Tuesday out at Kern River golf course. Tuesday was a day with no fog perfect for Golf. We had a 10 am tee time. The course was crowded because of the weather. Probably the nicest day of the year so far for golf. Pro shop is fully stocked apparel clubs balls, hats they have everything that you possibly could need. Great snack bar breakfast burritos are excellent. Lunch is good. I enjoyed a delicious patty melt. The course from all the rains and fog in fantastic shape. mountains surrounding the course are emerald green. Lake Ming looked inviting there was even a boater out on the blue mirrored like water . The greens were very fast but they held your good shots. The bunkers had good sand. Tee boxes and fairways were all in fine shape as well. Kern River has a professional friendly staff that keeps of course, looking good and is well maintained. It's been awhile since Ive played because of the weather we've been experiencing and my score showed it.Our round took about 4 1/2 hours, but I can't complain It was such a beautiful sunny clear day. Thanks Kern River. I'll be back out for a better score soon. read more

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Kern River Golf Course is disappointing. Fairways patchy and dry, greens bumpy from poor maintenance, bunkers hard-packed. Extremely slow play--5+ hour round due to overcrowded tee times and rude groups refusing to let others through. Staff unhelpful and openly rude sometimes. Not worth the fee or investment ; play elsewhere in Bakersfield. read more

Kern River Golf Course - Kern River Golf Course - Golf Near Me - Bakersfield, California

Front desk pro shop need to finally put up a sign to educate new players on the practice of best-ball to speed up on a hole when they are taking 7th or 8th shot & aren't even at the green yet! Please pick up your ball at that point and move it near the player in your group that is hitting the best, so you are not unduly holding up literally the whole golf course behind you. Your score doesnt matter that much yet! Don't know how many times I've nicely asked the course-marshalls here to educate n reinforce this on the course too, with esp. new players, but they look at me like they never heard of best-ball or picking up after 8 or 9 shots when its totally packed and backed-up. Seems you rarely do much. Just sit around acting important only. Then, the best part..what this leads to... So, while your group is waiting extra 15 minutes for group(s) ahead taking their sweet time taking 12 shots each and lazy marshall magically not seeing any of this for hours.. the group behind you also sometimes turns out to be newbies not even aware of the 3 slow groups ahead of you, and they start hitting-up on your group!, and not yelling Fore as a heads up ever. Kinda like a tailgater on the freeway being intentional. News flash, literally everyone hates this. And If you do it on purpose, some golfers will literally chase after you/assault you for that just like road rage on freeways. This kinda situation seems tp happen here more than most, & I golf all over. Last time put me over the line because a ball flew right over my kids head, and Course Marshall didn't bounce that group..! Ball from same group went rolling by us at least once before that, I called the so called proshop/ marshall, who did nothing in the end. I get that hitting up on someone a little accidentally happens from time to time, but if they dont yell fore, deny it, and then you dont bounce them, you guys are Lazzzy af doing next to nothing when you have dangerous play or super slow play that leads to it. Lots other folks say the same. See bad reviews here on yelp from othets about Kern for this reason. Its not just me! Happens here to me the most of any course in the area (after 20 years here in Bako playing a couple times a mo). Your staff=Not safe. Dont know how your course is often like this while others not nearly as much but I suspect its the owner & then staff. You must be spoiled by guaranteed business, and maybe like those cheapo hacks who way-overbook a place, but dont review a couple safety or etiquette rules w customers at-all. Kinda like the carnival!! Ive nicely asked you several times please at least put up a sign. or go over basic speed/fore etiquette at the desk like many pro courses do. you know, do something/anything safety related for all our money up there so a kid doesn't get hit or paralyzed by some morons ball. Never seen you do it once. Youre real good at taking money though! So what is it with your very amature pro-staff, Kern river??? Maintenance & kitchen got their stuff together for sure.. food, range, carts ok. But proshop & Course Marshall's Ive met here, you stink! Your course security is worthless. I'm done giving you my money a dozen times a year. Just warning people at this point, cuz you're actually that bad. read more

This was my first visit to Kern River Golf Course! I'm a semi newer golfer and always feel intimidated when going to do 9 or 18 holes instead of just practicing on the driving range. The staff here are super welcoming and very helpful and the other golfers in the field were super nice. We ordered drinks before we grabbed our cart and luckily we got a quick T time as we called in while we were driving across town. Definitely a great family outting and certainly a friendly experience overall. read more

Kern River Golf Course - Clean gold course with friendly patrons! - Golf Near Me - Bakersfield, California

My buddy is really into golfing and invited me along. Golf has never been something that I remotely thought I would like but I am open to new things. We checked in fairly easy, grabbed some practice balls and off we went. Practice area was the best. You get our own lane essentially to practice your swing and form. I can't really compare the course to anything but the experience overall was pretty dismal. There were some really nice people who understood we had several new golfers in our group. Then were the grumpy old men who yell at you to speed things up if you aren't doing as well as them. I don't get it. It is a PUBLIC course, that we all paid to utilize. If you don't like it, go play on a private course. If you can't afford a private course and are a cranky old man, just stay home. Way to welcome new younger players into the sport. Kudos gentlemen. read more

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Just had the best Club Sandwich ever! Ask for Alexis if you want to experience 10/10 food! read more

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One of my favorite places to play. People are friendly, course is in good shape and they have a fantastic staff!! You need to come out and try the grill. Great Bloody Mary's, Cold Beer, Cocktails and Hot Tot Tie's for the cold mornings. Not only do they make them per request they have specials on Thirsty Thursdays! They have breakfast and a fantastic lunch with one of the best burger and fries I've had! Not sure if you can tell but I love this place. Very large lunch menu! Come out and give the grill a try! You won't be disappointed.. read more

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The club house food is better than quite a few restaurants. The prices are more than fair the portions are large and served hot. The beer is ice cold. The burgers are worth traveling for and the breakfast items are excellent. Because it's a golf course it closes early so get there before late afternoon. Ladies you have me hooked on your food. read more

Awesome course! Fairways were perfect. Staff was cool, carts were fast, and my swing is still trash but that's not their fault. 10/10

The front desk was an older lady and she was incredibly rude. She made many snide comments, and was very passive aggressive. Would not return while she's employed here, also the greens were not well kept at all. And it should say something that this is the first ever review I've ever done, I downloaded the app just for this. read more

Nice golf course. Good layout, greens were well maintained and manicured. I thoroughly enjoyed my time and will be back in the future. read more

Kern River Golf Course - Cart path - Golf Near Me - Bakersfield, California

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I'm a high school golfer and usually i've never had a problem with this golf course but as i've went outside of school with my boyfriend it was the worst experience ever. This "marshal" kept harassing us about not having a second bag to play with, which i understand if we were playing slow or were messing around it would be an issue but we weren't. He continued to watch us the entire time and even told other employees about us and they came up to us as well. I paid for both of us to play, we weren't doing anything wrong. It was so unwelcoming and uncomfortable. As well as every other old creep that comes up and talks to you. So unprofessional and rude. Never coming again. read more

Kern River Golf Course, in my opinion, is the best public course in Bakersfield. The staff and team are fun if you don't get a offended easily by candid direct convos. They have a small, yet decent, driving range along a small putting green. The fairways and greens are well taken care of but make you ask when they aerate their greens. It's a fun course as it lies alongside the Kern River and Lake with some hills and terrains. Don't worry, there are no water hazards on the course. It's a great course for the beginner and a fun course for any golfer. The shop has all the necessities if you forget something and the food is quite tasty. I recommend this place. Every person I brought onto this course has thoroughly enjoyed it. read more

Kern River Golf Course - Golf Near Me - Bakersfield, California

yesterday 12/06/24 I was surprised how the staff handled the group of women who were holding many groups back , jumping from hole to hole in random order, and spending 20-30 mins on one hole, recording themselves and having a photo shoot on each hole they were on. I had to skip a few holes and didn't get to finish. The Marshalls should have kicked them off the course this was just unacceptable and not fair to everyone else. Definitely should have got a refund. read more

Golf course was okay. 3 stars for it. 5 stars for the food! So, as for Golf Course comments, lots of areas looked like irrigation problem, soaked grounds. some mushy greens & Never seen greens so small and inconsistent though they do have real & deep sand in their bunkers. Friendly staff that's for sure. read more

Kern River Golf Course - Golf Near Me - Bakersfield, California

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This course has really turned around in just the last 12 months alone. The amount of work and effort going into the maintenance of the course is way noticeable and speaks for itself. The greens were punched recently and they are coming back very nicely. You can tell the trees have been all given a new face lift with a complete trimming throughout the golf course. The fair always and rough and clearly defined now with green grass and the pace of play is still at 4 - 4 1/2 hour play. In the last 5 months alone playing throughout Kern county I have to say condition wise this is the best right now across the board. The restaurant has a great setup and good variety of food. I grabbed a hot dog and fries and beer afterwards and the food was definitely "Above Par" no pun intended. Beer cool was super cold beer and they way it should be...did I mention tall cans (24 ounces) are $5. A good deal in my opinion from other courses and what they charge. Value for money is exactly where it should be and we'll worth every penny. Definitely think about taking the time to make a tee time here if your looking to play in Kern County. I will be back in a few weeks to see how well the greens came back after being punched and see if we can't elevate this rating to 5 star. read more

Kern River Golf Course - Golf course picture March 2021 - Golf Near Me - Bakersfield, California

Kern River is by far the best public course in Bakersfield! The food and drinks are awesome-TRY THE BLOODY MARY...yum! The course is in GREAT SHAPE-and a great test... read more

This review is only for the range and practice area. This is by far the best range in Bakersfield. Range balls are pretty new (no deadballs at all, compared to practically every public course in the area). Pretty good value for the range balls as well compared to competitors. Similar to most Bakersfield public golf courses, there are plenty of beginners here who have questionable etiquette (so just be prepared). Overall, the best place to practice in Bakersfield (outside of the country clubs). read more

Great staff the best course in kern county food is very good fun for the whole family read more

Kern River Golf Course - Golf Near Me - Bakersfield, California

Worst experience golfing ever. Greens had rocks and cement marks. Staff was extremely rude/racist group. Do not come here. Overpriced. Dirty. Poor customer service. Did I mention the boomers? Old outdated service. There's are plenty of great courses to play at. This is by far the worst customer experience. We paid to be followed and harassed the entire time. read more

This is the BEST course ever! The care and passion of the owner and the amazing Crew have made this the most beautiful course in your area!! If you read any bad reviews I can tell you those people were breaking the rules and think they can give you a bad review and hurt your course, everyone else just laughs it's funny come out and experience for yourself, however, the fact is, seeing is believing!! Love playing here, always a great view and always challenging read more

Great course, well kept up! Friendly staff and good food! Best public course in Bakersfield.

Cow pasture pool at its worst. They even use untreated cow manure from the Farmer John processing facility and think it is the best way to fertilize the greens and surrounds. The place is run on the cheap another course with potential but it is run by people who should not be in the golf business. unless you enjoy cow dung one your shoes and all that go with it I would say stay away. read more

It's a fun course for a good price, the staff is cool and you meet a lot of cool fellow golfers. read more

Loved the course. I've played here 3 times now and always enjoyed it. For a public course, it's in great condition and offers a great value. I really enjoyed their greens and how well kept they were. I'm closer to some other courses, but prefer driving an extra 15 minutes to play here. I really enjoy their tree placement and course design. It's a good balance of difficulty. Everyone in the shop has been really nice and helpful. read more

It's kinda right for the price. The course has decent up keep and the staff is halfway decent. A training session on customer service is well overdue. The thing that makes this a good place is the fellow golfers you will meet. I've been paired up with some very nice people. Lastly, I accidentally left my Bushnell Phantom on the cart and by the time I loaded up my clubs in my car (less than 10 minutes) it magically disappeared. Did a staff member swipe it? I'll let you be the judge... read more

I realized how mean I sounded last night I apologize I was upset for ending my great birthday here some people came from Merced just to come play and spend the day with me to get kicked out at 5:30 sucks. Anyway I give it 9/10 or the staff were happier and gave us more info I would give it 10/10 Next I know I have to show up around 1 cause the course takes over 3 hours to finish when you take it serious. read more

Definitley a scenic course but the management change planned for July, 2018 is long overdue. There is definitely an I don't care vibe there now with poor maintenance and a lack of incentives to come out. Hopefully weekend specials and customer service like what North Kern and Buena Vista offer will be the norm soon. It also wouldn't hurt to have the marshal reign in the drunks and people just out there to party. I would definitely steer families towards other public courses. read more

Kern River Golf Course - Golf cart standards. - Golf Near Me - Bakersfield, California

Place has gotten much better, greens are generally in good shape and new sand in the bunkers is nice! One of the best public courses in town now for sure. read more

Great course filled with great people. The food and drink options are incredible. The course and greens are always in decent conditions and the staff is always friendly. read more

If you expect to have your kids come with you to spectate don't expect them be able to if they're under 9, also if you expect to talk to one of the main managers you can expect her to be at the bar drinking and talking with her friends! read more

Played here for a tournament on Sunday Nov. 13, 2022 in which we had 80 plus players. It was an awful 6 hour round of golf. They booked 2 tournaments on this day. I just thank God that it was not in August! read more

Just started playing golf recently and me and my friends have been going now every Monday ... and we love it!!! The employees are so friendly and helpful. Fun course with beautiful river Mountain View's and Great food! read more

This is a great event at a very nice muni golf course. Greens are on good conditions and the fairway and rough are in very good shape. read more

Kern River Golf Course - Keen County Employee golf tournament. - Golf Near Me - Bakersfield, California

Nice course at the right price. Pretty flat with beautiful scenery. Some long par threes and par fours and a brutal stretch of about 6 or 7 par fours in a row on the back nine. Not a bad muni and would play it again if in the area. Par 70 for those interested.... read more

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Great place to play. Beautiful scenery while golfing. Only issue are the sandbaagers playing music in their golf carts. The Marshall shouldn't allow this because it disturbs others...4 carts today were like that. read more

I've been coming here for over 40 years and I will never come here again! Had a course Marshall tell me when I hit out of a sand trap I should rake it. Well that's some good criticism if the trap is nice and dry. This trap was soaked and you could barely see my foot steps. I told him it was soaked but I'm still wrong. Lol well good bye Kern River it's been nice. read more

Course is in nice shape. But come on man!!! My Grandson a High School student had to pay $27.00 to play? The website says $23.50..........Unfortunate that have to charge so much money for a High School student. read more

Our favorite place to golf in the 661. Fairly cheap, easy to get a tee time, and wide fairways. What more could you ask for? Also, driving out to the course feels like you've left city life behind for a bit. We dig it! read more