Getting To Know: Blue Top Ridge Golf Course

An Insightful Interview With Damon John, Marketing Manager

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with Damon John who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
The golf course at Riverside Casino & Golf Resort will make any golfer feel like a champion. After all, it was designed by Rees Jones, a designer of championship golf courses. Jones adds this outstanding 18-hole course to his list of more than 100 courses, including seven U.S. Open venues, five PGA courses and three Ryder Cup sites.

Spanning over 7,400 yards, Riverside's world-class golf course offers players breathtaking vistas overlooking two rivers, man made lakes and diverse terrain. It all adds up to a one-of-a-kind golfing experience for beginners and pros alike.

Complementing this awesome golf course is a full-service golf clubhouse, a pro shop, and teaching and practice facilities. For more information or to schedule your tee time, call 877.677.3456.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
What does it mean to Live it up? You'll find out the moment you enter Riverside Casino & Golf Resort®. From the magnificent fountains that greet you as you drive up to the luxurious surroundings of our hotel and casino, every aspect is designed for one very special purpose - your total enjoyment.

For a night out, a weekend away or a week long retreat, you'll find exciting gaming in our Vegas-inspired casino, a world-class golf course designed by Rees Jones, one of a kind shopping opportunities, luxurious hotel rooms, top-notch live entertainment, a relaxing spa, first class culinary delights at our five restaurants, and more.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
Seek help at the Performance Studio. The Riverside Performance Studio has established one of the best instruction facilities in the country.

Developed specifically to meet the needs of each player by using multiple technologies that are integrated into each studio. Each studio will provide high-speed video and analysis systems that provides both the student and the teacher high quality video & data to produce a detailed analysis to give to each student. A multitude of analysis tools and video views will help reinforce the critical swing changes that need to be made.

The data collected will help each player reinforce the swing changes that they are making and assure each player is moving toward a repeatable motion.

We offer a variety of Multi-Day Performance Schools, as well as custom packages.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
2011 America's Best Club Fitters (Golf Digest)
2009 Best Courses You Can Play (Golfweek)
2009 America's Best New Courses (Golf Digest)
2008 Top 10 New Courses You Can Play (Golf Magazine)

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
Hole #16. This par 5 is the longest hole in Iowa at 665 yards. From the tee, the green looks like it is 5 miles away. This hole requires 3 good shots to get to the green. The tee shot is protected by natural areas on the left, a bunker on the right, and a creek that cuts off the fairway. Distance, control, and accuracy are important.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
Hole #16. This par 5 is the longest hole in Iowa at 665 yards. From the tee, the green looks like it is 5 miles away. This hole requires 3 good shots to get to the green. The tee shot is protected by natural areas on the left, a bunker on the right, and a creek that cuts off the fairway. Distance, control, and accuracy are important.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
Expect the best when it comes to dining at Riverside Casino & Golf Resort®. Enjoy a succulent steak or fresh seafood cooked to perfection in the quiet and elegant atmosphere of Ruthie's Steak & Seafood. Take your pick of flavors - Italian, Asian or comfort food - at Robert's Buffet. Grab a burger and fries at Ripple Diner. On the run? Pick up a cup of coffee and a snack at Ripple Express. Something is always cooking at Riverside Casino & Golf Resort®, and it's all very, very good.

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
Orange Tees: Ian Vandersee - (66) Purple Tees: Bryan Haas - (64)

Back Tee Stats
Par: 72
Yardage: 7442
Slope: 146
Rating: 77.6

More Information
Blue Top Ridge Golf Course
3184 Highway 22
Riverside, Iowa, 52327
319-648-0044
www.bluetopridge.com

Revised: 04/23/2016 - Article Viewed 34,462 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the mastermind behind GolfTrips.com, a vast network of golf travel and directory sites covering everything from the rolling fairways of Wisconsin to the sunbaked desert layouts of Arizona. If there’s a golf destination worth visiting, chances are, Brian has written about it, played it, or at the very least, found a way to justify a "business trip" there.

As a card-carrying member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA), and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG), Brian has the credentials to prove that talking about golf is his full-time job. In 2016, his peers even handed him The Shaheen Cup, a prestigious award in golf travel writing—essentially the Masters green jacket for guys who don’t hit the range but still know where the best 19th holes are.

Brian’s love for golf goes way back. As a kid, he competed in junior and high school golf, only to realize that his dreams of a college golf scholarship had about the same odds as a 30-handicap making a hole-in-one. Instead, he took the more practical route—working on the West Bend Country Club grounds crew to fund his University of Wisconsin education. Little did he know that mowing greens and fixing divots would one day lead to a career writing about the best courses on the planet.

In 2004, Brian turned his golf passion into a business, launching GolfWisconsin.com. Three years later, he expanded his vision, and GolfTrips.com was born—a one-stop shop for golf travel junkies looking for their next tee time. Today, his empire spans all 50 states, and 20+ international destinations.

On the course, Brian is a weekend warrior who oscillates between a 5 and 9 handicap, depending on how much he's been traveling (or how generous he’s feeling with his scorecard). His signature move" A high, soft fade that his playing partners affectionately (or not-so-affectionately) call "The Weis Slice." But when he catches one clean, his 300+ yard drives remind everyone that while he may write about golf for a living, he can still send a ball into the next zip code with the best of them.

Whether he’s hunting down the best public courses, digging up hidden gems, or simply outdriving his buddies, Brian Weis is living proof that golf is more than a game—it’s a way of life.