Excellent January weather, no wind and warm temp made this the perfect conditions to try out this course. Arrived about an hour early to take advantage of the free range balls, and mandatory (if you w... Continue »

Excellent January weather, no wind and warm temp made this the perfect conditions to try out this course. Arrived about an hour early to take advantage of the free range balls, and mandatory (if you want to have a chance on the greens) 30 min putting warmup session. Staff was super friendly, let us borrow a cart to take to the range since we walked the course. Overall I’d say this course is walkable and I would encourage you to do it.

Conditions- as I would expect/demand for $325 walking greens fee. Greens were fast, but not tabletops, so that was a relief. Putting was tricky due to the severe setup and design of the greens, but I would still say Black Horse has the most tricked out greens in the Monterey area. Approach shots were always stressful since there were many areas of the green that could leave you completely helpless if you miss the placement. Bunker visuals and elevation change also messed with the depth perception on many approach shots. Fairways, tees, rough all immaculate, no complaints at all on the conditions.

Layout- a little disappointing for the cost. Great setup for walking, tees next to greens was nice, but also makes the course feel a little cramped. Constantly felt like I was approaching greens with the next players teeing off, and teeing off while the people behind you miss their approaches onto your tee box. Interesting par 70, tough par 3s, and a great final par 3 for hole 18. Really great bunker visuals, not so fun trying to avoid them.

Finally, one unexpected note- semi private means we were paired with 2 grumpy members. Nothing worse than paying $325 to have some members annoyed they have to play with outsiders, halfway playing holes because they’ll be back tomorrow afternoon and the round doesn’t really matter to them. I wouldn’t be surprised if their goal was to scare off the public so they can have the course feel more private. I’ll check this one off the bucket list, but I could name at least 10 courses in NorCal that are a lot more fun and in some cases more challenging without the annoying membership factor. Staff fantastic, members terrible.