Phil and Keith,
Would you have the same playability complaint about the rest of the courses at the resort? Ironically my initial reaction to the River Course was that it was the MOST playable course at the resort, which I suppose isn't saying much. Its still very difficult obviously, but I thought that even with all the water in play that it gave you more room to miss than even the Meadow Valleys (save for the first few holes there that are wide open).
The River is interesting though in that most of the really serious trouble (aka the river) is on the right, including holes #4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14. The last few holes things switch to the left, but if you're a slicer that can't control that slice I could see how it would be a long day. If you miss left (and save for a few holes there is often some room to do so), its not nearly as fear inducing.