Played the ocean course at Half Moon Bay this morning. Weather was overcast but fairly warm (by nor cal coast standards ). There was a 10 mph wind throughout the day which is normal for the area. ... Continue »

Played the ocean course at Half Moon Bay this morning. Weather was overcast but fairly warm (by nor cal coast standards ). There was a 10 mph wind throughout the day which is normal for the area. Course condition was pretty much an 8-8.5 throughout. No real weakness anywhere. Last time I avoided the sand traps, this time I got plenty of opportunities to test them. Decent sand of the light brown nature. There are several fairway bunkers throughout the course. Most are manageable to use at least a mid iron to get out unless you're right up against the lip.

Greens have a ton of undulations but still offer some flat putts here and there. They were rolling true but at a medium slow pace.

As mentioned before the layout is spectacular with views of the ocean from almost every hole. A few of the holes are perched up on the cliff right above the ocean. POP was on the slow side being at over 4.5 hrs.

A definite recommended course. Next time I plan on doing the old course in the afternoon to catch the sunset on the finishing hole.

Started the year off with a new course that I've been trying to get out to for 2 years now. Course did not disappoint. Weather was sunny (but chilly) with a 12-15 mph wind. Conditions of the trac... Continue »

Started the year off with a new course that I've been trying to get out to for 2 years now. Course did not disappoint. Weather was sunny (but chilly) with a 12-15 mph wind. Conditions of the track were excellent as expected. Greens were a solid 9. Rolled true at a medium fast pace. Greens were the perfect speed, size and offered jus the right amount of undulations to be challenging but not overwhelming.

Fairways ranged from a 9.5 down to a "low" 8. The only exception was number 18 which had some thin areas. Rough was manageable. With rain a week or so ago followed by a few sunny days, my guess is the rough had recently been mowed down to a respectable height.

Tee boxes were level semi-lush and divot free. I somehow managed to avoid the sand traps all day.

Layout of the track is spectacular. Several views of the ocean throughout the course along with some forced carries over a couple of ponds/lakes. There is just enough elevation change (albeit slight) to keep the track from being completely flat. None of the holes have any real severe dog legs and a few of the tee boxes look down double fairways. I was with my buddy who's a member so he knew the layout which helped a ton. Otherwise it would be very easy to hit (purposely) onto the wrong fairway.

Overall, it's a great course, with both views and conditions being in the excellent category. Probably a new Top 10 course, though it's getting harder and harder to knock courses out of the top 10 when a new one comes in.

Enjoyed my 100th Course played by choosing The Ocean Course at Half Moon Bay. This course is a links style course over looking the water and we got the full links/ open championship treatment with fog... Continue »

Enjoyed my 100th Course played by choosing The Ocean Course at Half Moon Bay. This course is a links style course over looking the water and we got the full links/ open championship treatment with fog, mist, and wind during our morning round.

The Course was in top condition with the Golf Now AM tour teeing off right after us. Tough pins and tall rough. All of the greens were perfect and consistent. They had some tough pin locations on course due to the tournament and that didnt help our scores much but after learning the speeds nothing was too terrible.

Tee's and fairways were cut perfect and consistent throughout the course and had nothing that would take away and major ratings. The fairways are wide and leave you with plenty of options from the tee's and with the course not being overly long you can choose to layup.

The rough is quite the beast on this course it was wet from the fog/mist and caused your club to grab hard on all shots out of the rough. If you go too far you will fine the Fescu which was cut to about 5 inches and was not super thick to were you could not find your ball but long enough to make you think twice before blasting out of it.

The only down side of this course is hole 15-18 share a public path to the beach from the Ritz Carlton on site. These people are all over the place and the path is parallel with the holes . If you go offline you can easily take out a person. Also they are not quiet as most are on vacation and talk very loud as you are trying to hit.

Overall it is an amazing place to play with the views of the ocean on many of the holes (If its not foggy) and well worth the reasonable price of $140. I will be back.

Took boyfriend of one while in town for other daughters wedding. Cloudy upon early arrival at offsite range for warmup then on to course to pitch & putt. Nice single joined us. Perfect warm day withou... Continue »

Took boyfriend of one while in town for other daughters wedding. Cloudy upon early arrival at offsite range for warmup then on to course to pitch & putt. Nice single joined us. Perfect warm day without breeze until late back nine. Tees flat no divots, fairways green carpet like, good rollout, grass rough light easy to play from, ball swallowing environmental rough mostly stayed out of but smooth greens seemed to vary in speed. Single had tough day in deep stuff but we collected a couple dozen high quality balls looking. Stayed on several foursomes ahead with eased pace of 4:20 getting time to take in the awesome views which also made for some deceiving shots. Probably a once in a lifetime but very well enjoyed. No time after to check out the 19th sure looked nice though.

Played here 8/14/15. First time here and will add this to my list of my all time favorites. As part of the Ritz Carlton Resort in Half Moon Bay. I took my family over to the Ritz for lunch on a perf... Continue »

Played here 8/14/15. First time here and will add this to my list of my all time favorites. As part of the Ritz Carlton Resort in Half Moon Bay. I took my family over to the Ritz for lunch on a perfect Wednesday afternoon and when I saw the Ocean, links style course from a nice walking path near the resort, decided I had to check into getting on to play on Friday morning. Talked to a very friendly staffer in the Pro Shop and she said many times available very early on Friday so I was ready to go. She then told me if I booked online on my own I'd get a discount. Who does that any more ? Her advice saved me $25 and I booked a 645am time for a very reasonable $125. Got out as a single with the blessing from another friendly starter who thought I might enjoy it more than to play with the elderly couple I was paired with. While I'd have been happy to play with the couple, was glad I got out on my own, played at my own pace, and got around in 3 hours. The couple I was paired with was nowhere in sight, when I finished...at least 3-4 holes back, so was a great decision. While course is typical in some ways as a resort venue, it can be challenging depending on conditions. I got a very calm and cool morning, and was perfect. I played a shorter set of tees (white at 6100 yards) due to unfamiliarity, but found it to still be decent challenge. There were a few holes on the front that felt like La Purisma. Rolling hills, scattered oaks and fescue. Other holes were wide open and from certain tee boxes, provided a clear view of 8-10 of the links style holes. Good variety, ocean view from just about every hole, and just a great Scottish feel all the way around. With the Ritz resort sitting above 18, from distance it almost looked like an old castle which added to the links feel. Loved it. Conditions were what you would expect from a links style course as well. I would not classify anything (fairways or greens) as lush. Very good overall, but a little on the thin side in spots, but again, what I would like a links style course to feel like. I think conditions were exactly what they should have been, if that makes any sense. Greens were above average, even if spotty, rolled well and true. No real mystery to breaks. Read it and roll it. Slightly on firm side, but again, good link style condition. Bunkers were filled nicely, with dense but not overly heavy sand. Very good. Good variety of holes, but again, nothing forced, and felt like the design fit the property and characteristics of the land. (Arthur Hills design). The final 3 holes are as spectacular as any I have played. Short downhill, Par 4 16th, short par 3, and a tough uphill par 5, with blind tee shot, dogleg right to left, well protected, and all on the edge of a bluff, above the Pacific Ocean. Great views and simply breathtaking scenery. I spent 45 minutes playing the last 3 holes, snapping dozens of pictures. The most spectacular final 3 holes I have played. I had so much fun here, just wish now that I had a group of buds with me to enjoy it with. Given this was just an unplanned visit while in the area with family, it could not have been any better. Great service inside and out. Good food at Mullins next to Pro Shop or sit out on the patio area at the Ritz, which looks out over the Pacific, and the 18th green of the Old Course. Only downside is lack of driving range, but a good short game (pitching and bunker area), and large putting green. Highly recommend, of course, and promise you will enjoy. Although I would imagine weather conditions could be quite different early and late in the year. I got very lucky and loved every minute of it.

While it's not the toughest course, the Half Moon Bay Ocean Course on the day I played it again last week was visually stunning and had the most perfect weather I've ever seen on the San Mateo coastli... Continue »

While it's not the toughest course, the Half Moon Bay Ocean Course on the day I played it again last week was visually stunning and had the most perfect weather I've ever seen on the San Mateo coastline. Played with a buddy and a single and got through 9 holes in an hour and a half. Back 9, which is more open with even better views, was about 2 hours. The greens were perfect and speedy. The ball actually rolled true & right where you aimed it - not always the case for public NorCal golf. Fairways were running nicely and looked great. Bunkers, tee boxes were 7.5 out of 10, but to be expected during this busy season. Not cheap, but worth it for a special occasion. Great customer service. A highlight was buddy snapped his tee ball on the 17th (short par three on a cliff high above the beach) onto the beach. Got to yell "fore" to people lazing on the sand who didn't know a nine iron from an iron door. A great day in Half Moon Bay. "Old Course" is next...

Wind was howling prefect tune up for trip to Scotland Staff could not be more helpful Fantastic views of the ocean and hotel A must play for anyone in the area

Wind was howling prefect tune up for trip to Scotland Staff could not be more helpful Fantastic views of the ocean and hotel A must play for anyone in the area

We played the Ocean on 6/29 at 2pm as a 2some. As a Links style course, Ocean has totally different feel than the Old. Ocean course starts off with nice ocean view holes on 1 to 3 and ends with grea... Continue »

We played the Ocean on 6/29 at 2pm as a 2some. As a Links style course, Ocean has totally different feel than the Old. Ocean course starts off with nice ocean view holes on 1 to 3 and ends with great ocean view from 16 to 18. There are no holes matching the awe of the 18th hole at the Old course but in general we enjoyed the view and the ambiance of the Ocean much more than the Old. I'm sure the weather has a lot to do with your enjoyment level as we had mostly sunny, 70 deg with light winds. I'm not a fan of the links style course as I have a hard time hitting irons off the hard turf but it also provides much roll off your shots. We also lost few balls we shouldn't have due to the roll but we certainly didn't let that spoil our day. Course was terrific but we did have problem getting there. Hwy 92 was jammed with people trying to get to HMB and it took us about 2 1/4 hrs to drive the 30 miles. I couldn't spend the $400/nt at Ritz Carlton so maybe I'll have to find some cheaper lodging at the HMB area if there is a next time. I never played Pebble so I can't compare. But if Pebble is much better than Ocean (not in reputation but the view and the ambiance) I would certainly like to play Pebble also. Highly recommended.

Played the Ocean Course this morning as the first part of my 36-hole day at HMB. It was really foggy out, so that obscured many of the great views this course is known for and made it play tougher tha... Continue »

Played the Ocean Course this morning as the first part of my 36-hole day at HMB. It was really foggy out, so that obscured many of the great views this course is known for and made it play tougher than I think it actually is because we could hardly see where we were hitting to half the time. I was in the first group off at 7:30, paired with another single and we enjoyed a nice pace in front of the pack.

The course was in decent shape. The fairways and greens are very firm and fast (even with the dampness this morning), which is what you should expect from a links style course like this. The fairways were nice overall, just a bit thin and patchy in some areas. The greens were fast and smooth. Great to putt on and challenging with plenty of undulation. The first cut of rough was nearly non-existent with a mix of thin areas and small clumps of grass to create some unfortunate lies. The longer fescue rough frames the holes and I was able to stay out of it for the most part. Some parts definitely were more punishing-looking than others. The sand was awesome. Nice and fluffy...some of the best sand traps I've played in all year.

I was a tiny bit disappointed with this course, though my experience was marred a lot by the fog. That definitely took away from the views and overall experience, though it did let up just enough to get some great views on the beautiful 17th hole. It is a nice seaside links course. Doesn't measure up to Bandon, Chambers Bay or Spanish Bay, but a better value. If you are thinking of playing here, take 2 seconds to sign up for their e-club (on their website). They send out good deals. I got a rate for $79 and it was definitely worth that. If I had paid the full rack rate ($160+) I would have been very disappointed. The last thing to note is that the staff was excellent and the service was great all around.

Half Moon Bay Golf Links Course Review
Northern California Golf Course Reviews