I'll start by talking about the conditions of the course. Del Monte might just have the best Tee boxes in the world! Absolutely perfect (level, lush, and divot free). However, be cautious of the direction the tee box points you towards. There are a couple that guide you off line.

Fairways are also lush but narrow. Dont't stress though because there is a good 20-30' of "first cut" rough on each side of the fairway before finding no mans land. As Sixpez mentioned there is some serious water conservation going on at this course and a soon as you leave that wide first cut area you are in deserted dry brown dirt field.

Greens are small. No make that very small! But they are super smooth, roll fast and are soft so getting your ball to stick is fairly easy.

Not many (if any) fairway bunkers and the green side bunkers have good quality sand. Conditions wise the course is an 8.5

Now for the track layout. I'm not a big fan of it. It's pretty much flat and uninspiring. No water hazards or forced forced carries. There's one par 5 where you have to shoot through some trees and a small gully that's fun but that's about it.

As others mentioned, staff here are very friendly. Rack rates are way too high in my opinion. For the same price there are much betters options on the peninsula

In short, it's an average layout with very good conditions.

My idea of a perfect course is one that has elevation changes, immaculate conditions, on the ocean and has forced carries over water hazards. Think Spyglass Hill! Well Blackhorse meets 3 out 4 requirements. Suburb conditions all around with numerous elevations changes throughout the track. In fact there are only 4 holes that are flat. While not directly on the ocean, you have views of the Monterey bay from about half of the holes.

The greens are the trickiest in the business. Rarely do you have a flat straight putt at Blackhorse. It's not uncommon to be putting for par and then chipping for double bogey here. I've literally seen 15' putts make a U turn and end up further back behind the player. Having said that the greens rolls smooth.

Sand traps are excellent and plentiful greenside. Fairways are lush and on par with those in the 93953 zip code up the road. Some of the tee boxes have taken a beating as of late. Whereas some are in perfect shape, a couple were severely damaged with bare spots and divots galore.

The only thing missing from this track is a forced carry over water. In front of the 15th green would have been a great place or even in place of the cluster of the back bunkers on the 1st hole. The first hole is a reachable Par 5 and in my opinion the easiest hole on the course. Replacing the cluster of bunkers with water would force the player to think strategically instead of always going for it without fear of being penalized.

Overall, Blackhorse is a must play track in the Monterey Peninsula. I know I'm biased as this is one of my home courses, but it truly is a gem well worth the money.

Just a spectacular course. Obviously as others have said the course is in immaculate condition. Tee boxes, fairways, greens, and sand traps are all in fantastic shape. Last time I played we took a cart. Today we decided to walk and it makes the journey even better! Yes, the first five holes are on the water and offer spectacular views. However, if you walk it and are out in the middle of the fairway, there are plenty of additional peaks at the ocean.

The par 3's all play downhill but don't get fooled, they are tricky and difficult (but extremely fun). There are a few water hazards mixed in on the track which adds to beauty and challange.

Course is definitely a must play for both the beauty and the challange!

I've played here a couple dozen times when I'm in the area. You can walk the course for $15 and even finds deals with carts for the same price. Mid day and week the course is empty so I like to use it for a quick round to work on my game.

Staff is friendly and course is average. Having said that it's in the best condition I've seen it in the last two years. Greens are rolling smooth but slow which is fine as this is a great course for beginners. Track is completely flat but does have a few lakes in it to make things interesting. Best part of the layout is that on the front 9 you are forced to use all your clubs. You will only tee off with a driver twice in the first 7 holes.

Whereas the sand traps are still below standard they are much better than other "nicer" courses in the Fresno area.

All in all, No complaints with the course for what it is... A muni course for quick inexpensive rounds.

This course is flat out a blast to play. There is water on 13 of the holes including an Island green 18th. Greens are in excellent shape. They roll fast and smooth. Fairways are just a bit above average but no real issues. Sand traps suck. There is no other way to put it.

Course layout is about as fun as it gets for a completely flat track. Challenge comes from the long par 4's with a 1/2 dozen plus holes playing over 400 yards. Par 3's are all short to mid irons with one having the green surrounded by water on 3 sides. 3 of the 4 par 5's are reachable in 2 though the 9th has water on 3 sides of the green and the 18th is an island green so its a true risk and reward shot. To save water there is hardpan dirt between fairways.

When I first played this course a couple years ago it was empty. One of those hidden little gems. However, the cat is out of the bag and it's quickly becoming a go to course so it gets a little more crowded. To show you how popular this course is, when I played here a couple months ago, there were people from Canada who travel down and stay at the RV park for a month just to play it.

This is one of my top 3 courses in the Central Valley; Dragonfly and Ridge Creek-Dinuba being the other two.

I had heard this course had been renovated a couple years ago and much improved. I'll save you the time and money. The course is just not worth it. Track layout isn't bad but the fairways were brown, thin and had a lot of bare spots. Greens were so so, they rolled fairly smooth but we're very slow. Tee boxes were average at best.

A couple holes have views of the slough which is nice but some of the holes back up against a run down neighborhood. I was a single and got paired up with a threesome. We were virtually the only people on the course (there were 4 others 5 holes ahead) and it still took us over 4 1/2 hours. Very frustrating to say the least.

Overall the course is below average.

Madera is the muni course I measure all other muni's against. It's an average course, but that's not a bad thing. Greens are solid now (they had a major issue about 18 months ago) and fairways are decent. Tee boxes fall a bit short and the "dirt" traps are the weak link. Track layout is nothing special yet not boring. Some water hazards to keep things interesting helps the completely flat course from being a snore fest.

My favorite hole is the par 5 17th which is reachable in 2 with a long drive but with water on both sides of the fairway, accuracy is a must.

Pace of play is always a bit slower even during mid week as this is the go to course for older retired players. Having said that, whereas Aviara and Quail Lodge have the friendliest staff, Madera has the friendliest players! Everyone I have met on this course is absolutely great.

Definitely worth the green fee and is easily a walkable course.

This is a beautiful course!! Track has Three of the most beautiful par 3's in California Hole#7 at Pebble is spectacular but the flowers, ponds and waterfalls on holes 3,11, & 14 at Aviara are just absolutely gorgeous. Elevation changes and more scenic water hazards add the enjoyable experience.

This is a resort course that plays like a true championship difficult course but yet manageable so you can shoot your normal score. Customer service is beyond superb. I can't say enough about the genuine friendliness of the entire staff.

The greens are in the process of being aeratyed so speed control was a bit off has every third green had recently been sanded. The rough while lush is thick and punishing after being in it for a while. Sand traps are excellent. There are a few fairways that are brown but other than that the course is a full on top notch track. Aviara has moved into a top 3 courses I've played.

Think of Ridgemark as a muni course. If you go there thinking it's a resort course you will be disappointed. However, if you arrive with the mindset you're about to play a muni course then you'll enjoy the experience. I was surprised at how nice the greens were. They rolled smooth and true. The greens are definitely the best part of the course (condition wise).

Fairways are average and tee boxes are a little less than that. Sand traps are horrible.

Now for the course layout. I would like to preface this by saying that I had NO control of my driver today so I'm trying to take that into consideration. I never played here when it was a 2 course layout so I can't comment on which holes were good and which ones weren't.

The track has a decent mix of dog leg right and lefts to make you work (or try to) your ball in both directions. Landing areas are decent with only a few fairway traps to get in the way. The fairway bunkers looked fairly easily to escape from.

I was a bit disappointed that on two of the par 5's I needed to lay up off the tee in order to avoid a ditch/gully/hazard . I thoroughly enjoy a second shot that teases you with a go for it or lay up hazard but I want to grip it and rip it off the tee (not that that was happening today anyway). Also 3 of the 4 par 3's are highbred length holes.

Overall it's a decent "muni" quality course with above average greens.

As mentioned by others, Ridge Creek is a solid track and a top course in the area. Greens roll smooth and fast with enough action to make it a challange but not so much you pull your hair out Fairways are lush as noted before. There are no trees on the course so you dont get any shade and lining up your tee shot can be a bit misleading at times as the entire course is open.

The sand traps while consistent with what's in the area, are hard packed dirt for the most part. Also, the fairway bunkers are seriously deep so it's an automatic lay up coming out as you will need a wedge to get up and over the lip.

Course is definitely worth playing if you're anywhere within a couple hours drive. Restaurant is also top quality and a nice setting. Food is nothing spectacular but the ambiance is very nice and what you would expect from a quality course (not just a trailer)

This is a great course all around (sans the traps). First I'll talk about the layout. The front 9 is on flat ground and offers several scoring opportunities. Don't confuse flat and scoring with boring. Water borders the left side of the green on the par 5 Ninth making it risky to go for the green in 2 (but oh so sweet if you do and pull it off). In addition both Par 3's on the front play with your mind with water on the 8th hole and a narrow opening followed by an open meadow before the green on the 6th hole. Both play into the wind adding to the challenge.

After coming off the front 9 thinking your going to break your PR.... you head to the hills!!

Holes 12-18 are perched in the mountain. They offer some great views and plenty of challenge. 13-15 have gully's to cross, split fairways and play Loooong. Add in the wind and you'll be pleased to walk away with a bogey at any of these holes. Even the short Par 3 16th has a gully to carry. 17-18 play down hill but into the wind. When you get finished with your 18 you'll probably say "what a fun but tough course".

Now for the basics, Greens are the perfect challenge. Smooth, relatively fast and have a touch of undulation but not too much (a la Blackhorse/Bayonet). Fairways are lush and relatively divot free.

Outside of the fairway you enter brush land so finding your ball is a rarity. Also the backside has tons of Poison Oak so beware entering the brush. The main setback for San Juan Oaks is the poor quality sand traps. Most are hard dirt at best. Also the wind kicks up here so get out early and even that isn't a guarantee that you wont battle it.

Customer service is top notch and super accommodating.

This course gets packed on the weekends so my rating for pace of play is based on early weekday morning tee times.

There is a Golf moose deal right now that is great.

Another fun fact is the wild turkeys on the course. Usually around 40+ roaming around one of the holes.

First I'll start with the basics of this course. Track is flat with no trees between the fairways. In fact it's mostly dirt between them. Sand traps have had all sand and dirt removed so they are just grass bunkers. Cart path is dirt and/or gravel so it gets dusty out there in the summer heat and wind. Carts are gas powered. There was no water stations out on the course (high 80's -low 90's when I played).

Club house/pro shop is just a small trailer. They have a cooler with drinks (water, Gatorade, beer, etc) and a hotdog machine. That's the extent of the clubhouse/pro shop.

I did see some gloves and balls on the counter for sale incase you forget the necessities

Range is full grass and had the best hitting surface of the day. Having said that. Some of the range balls were so old the paint had peeled off and they were cracking. About 1/3 of the bucket consisted of balls in this shape.

The Gentleman at the check in counter was nice and friendly. There were very few people on the course when I played (maybe 5-10) so pace was super fast as a single.

The greens had been aerated a couple of weeks ago so I won't go into much detail about them other than they are flat.

Now that I've covered the basics, I'll get into the course itself.

With no water hazards, trees, or sand traps, it's a very scoreable course. The opening 9 has three par 5's and three Par 3's which is interesting. Two of the par 3's were long playing around 200 yards. In fact one was 225 from the whites. To add difficulty, it also had the smallest green out on the course.

The back 9 was fairly standard with the second par 5 being fairly short and reachable in 2 without too much effort.

Tee boxes were in pretty bad shape all around. The fairways were decent and the strong point of the course even though they were only average in quality.

Rack rate is $46/$57 (weekday/weekend). For that price the course is definitely not even close to worth it. I found a Golfnow deal for under $15 with cart and for that price I have no problem playing a quick midweek round here again.

If you are in the area and can only play one course in the Paso Robles area, do yourself a favor and play Hunter Ranch or Paso Robles Golf Course. Both are 5 minutes away and are way superior in quality. PRGC is also about the same price as the Links Course of Paso Robles so that's a no brainer.