Played here today and despite the wind, the course is in great shape. Come play it but I would avoid this weekend due to red flag warnings in SF Bay Area for extremely high winds. Teed off at 11am, ... Continue »

Played here today and despite the wind, the course is in great shape. Come play it but I would avoid this weekend due to red flag warnings in SF Bay Area for extremely high winds. Teed off at 11am, POP 4.5hrs but there were a few in our group from East Coast that never played in the wind and lost quite a few balls. B9 was crazy windy making it impossible to get GIRs on P4s unless you went driver, driver of the deck (DOD). Always beautiful views and a rather forgiving links course.

Played twice, Fri 5/31 and Sun 6/2. Tale of 2 planets... Friday at 2pm, gorgeous day... warmish, clear, no wind. A pretty fun course. You can see the ocean from most of the course, with the finishi... Continue »

Played twice, Fri 5/31 and Sun 6/2. Tale of 2 planets... Friday at 2pm, gorgeous day... warmish, clear, no wind. A pretty fun course. You can see the ocean from most of the course, with the finishing 2 holes right on the coast. Actually, #1 runs out towards the coast as well. This course is more linksy, wider off the tee.. but if you are too far off, you get into the hay, and it's mostly lost. Greens were running a fast 10... mostly true. Big and undulating. Lots of fun holes. The second day had a drizzle all morning. Fog. Cold. 1-2 club wind. Teed off at 8, cleared by noon, when we were playing 17. 17 is a great par 3 on the coast. 18 is a wild par 5 tee up to the blind fairway, and coming in to the hotel framed nicely. Beautiful hole. Hope to get back here someday.

This is a beautiful course and when it's a clear day you'd think you were on the Monterey Peninsula. I highly recommend playing it.

Played this morning and here is the current condition: As a of... Continue »

This is a beautiful course and when it's a clear day you'd think you were on the Monterey Peninsula. I highly recommend playing it.

Played this morning and here is the current condition: As a of today, the greens are still bumpy from being punched. My complaint is I wish when booking the tee-time it was made clear the greens were recently punched. My guest who is a +8 was a bit bummed out. Overall, I just wish courses had a better way to communicate this condition without the customer (me) having to ask.

Also, there was a pretty good rain a few days ago (1-1.5") and it seems the fairways do not drain well, very swampy with some splashy approach shots. Many of the sand-traps were essentially small ponds and I lost a few balls in these ponds because they were so big and unfindable but the splash-down made it clear it was in the trap drowning.

I'd give it more time to dry out before playing again or if there is rain wait 5 days post-rain to play.

Great golf courses! Played the Old Course and the Ocean Course on consecutive days, on July 22nd and 23rd. Both were in amazing shape from tee to green, no weaknesses whatsoever, including tee boxes a... Continue »

Great golf courses! Played the Old Course and the Ocean Course on consecutive days, on July 22nd and 23rd. Both were in amazing shape from tee to green, no weaknesses whatsoever, including tee boxes and bunkers. Service was great for the most part, with the only exceptions being 1.) The beverage cart ended kinda early on Friday, around 4pm, when we were still on the front nine (we played twilight), and 2.) They forgot or otherwise failed to set up my caddie reservation for Saturday morning, and had to scramble to find me one, which they did, but not until I was on the 3rd hole.

All of thet notwithstanding, this was an amazing place to play. Definitely worth the money, as it's a bucket list type of place. What makes it so worthwhile is the combination of the conditions, and the views. #16 thru 18 on the Ocean Course are all along the beach, making for a gorgeous finishing stretch. But #18 on the Old Course is the most beautiful golf hole I've ever seen, much less played, as it is also along the coast; but the way it has an elevated tee and the Ritz Carlton hotel behind the green makes it ridiculously scenic. We were fortunate to also have perfect weather as we played this hole, with blue skies and only an hour away from sunset.

As for the layouts, both were great, but I personally enjoyed the Ocean Course a little more. Maybe that's just cuz I played a little better (despite shooting a worse score), but I felt like the back nine of the Old Course was harder than the front, while I felt both nines of the Ocean Course were equal in difficulty. Both are great though. The Old Course is a fairly traditional semi-parkland layout, while the Ocean Course is a links-style course. Put them both on your bucket list!!

SDF and I played the Ocean Course yesterday at Half Moon Bay Golf Links. Weather was overcast but not cold. Wind was a modest 10-15 mph most of the day which is low for this area so it was very acce... Continue »

SDF and I played the Ocean Course yesterday at Half Moon Bay Golf Links. Weather was overcast but not cold. Wind was a modest 10-15 mph most of the day which is low for this area so it was very acceptable.

Course layout is links style and mainly flat with a few minor elevation changes. Plenty of views of the ocean and the European style hotel/clubhouse in the distance. Course is not overly challenging as long as you can keep your ball between the lines off the tee. Fairways are decently wide to provide room for less than perfect tee shots but you do get heavily penalized if you stray too far. Greens are interesting. Most have multiple undulations yet unlike Spanish Bay which has the preferred quadrant tiny, HMB has them large enough that if you get your tee shot “close” you are ok or if you miss the green you have enough room to get a chip shot in the right zip code.

Greens were a bit firm but held wedges and short irons no problem. Also, depending on direction of the wind was big. Obviously downwind was much harder to hold the green with long and mid irons. Greens rolled smooth for the most part but I did notice a couple were a little bumpy. Our playing partners thought the greens rolled super fast but I thought they rolled just right at a nice medium-fast pace. I guess it’s all what you are used to.

Fairways were nice and lush, yet still offered plenty of roll out. Not overly deep emerald green but certainly green enough to be picturesque. Sand traps had nice quality sand in them and no issues with the tee boxes. Even the box on the short par 3 had good coverage.

We started at 9:30 AM but did have a bunch of groups in front of us and waited on every shot. POP was close to 5 hrs. No worries we weren’t in a big hurry by any means. Was surprised that neither the restaurant nor the snack shack at the turn were open with how busy it was. Beverage cart was around a couple of times though. Carts have GPS with distance to the middle of the green.

Overall, Half Moon Bay is a great course well worth playing even at the rack rate. They do have multiple rates per day so it can be a tricky booking process that causes confusion and issues in the pro shop. Starter and guy at the pro shop were a bit grumpy but I’m giving the pro shop attendant a pass for dealing with the above.

See my prior review. Not much has changed. This will be more of a local weather report. I've been playing golf for over 50 years. We played Half Moon Bay Ocean Course yesterday and it was the third wi... Continue »

See my prior review. Not much has changed. This will be more of a local weather report. I've been playing golf for over 50 years. We played Half Moon Bay Ocean Course yesterday and it was the third windiest round in my entire golfing life. The course plays links-style... 9 holes down the coast... and 9 holes coming back north to the Hotel and clubhouse. The wind started howling as we made the turn. Why we kept playing... I don't know. It was comically windy. Ridiculously windy. Beyond absurdly windy. Check the weather before you go. Even at the special guest rate that I paid ($160.00) ... this was not worth the greens fee. Oh... it was freezing, too!

Cheeseburger here. I'm back into the full swing of golf again. This is my 3rd round in 10 days. My best friend and fraternity brother lives on the 6th hole of the Old Course at Half Moon Bay. But he h... Continue »

Cheeseburger here. I'm back into the full swing of golf again. This is my 3rd round in 10 days. My best friend and fraternity brother lives on the 6th hole of the Old Course at Half Moon Bay. But he had made an 11:40 am  starting time on the Ocean Course. We played it today. From the moment I drove into the parking lot until I got back to my car, this was a special experience. The golf course is spectacular to look at... as is the Ritz Carlton Hotel which shares this amazing piece of Central California coastal real estate.  It is certainly beautiful to look at, but it is also a well laid out masterpiece that uses the coastal area much like a links course in Scotland. Speaking of other golf courses, the Ocean Course at Half Moon Bay is like playing a little bit of Pebble Beach, a little bit of Poppy Hills, a little bit of Sandpiper... and a little bit of Bajamar in Baja California. The fairway grass was absolutely some of the best turf I have played on in many, many years. They take immaculate care of it. The rough was not overly long, but you wanted to stay out of it, that was for sure. The greens were super smooth, super consistent... and super fast. Took me a while to figure out how to keep 10' putts from ending up 10' past the hole. The front 9 moved very quickly and we finished in just a shade over 2 hours. I can't say the same for the back side. I'm not sure what the holdup was, there were marshals out there but I think there were just a lot of bottlenecks. Ended up being exactly 5 hours. But you know what? The landscape, scenery and the golf course itself is so beautiful, we didn't really mind the pace of play. I'm not sure it is worth the greens fee for a regular diet of golf at Half Moon Bay but it sure was nice to play it this one time. Overall a very enjoyable round with a good friend and I will definitely be back.

Really enjoyed Half Moon Bay Golf Links with a Thu. morning tee time. We played it from the tips and wind speeds were about 10 - 15 mph with limited fog... What a great golf ecperience! WOW! The co... Continue »

Really enjoyed Half Moon Bay Golf Links with a Thu. morning tee time. We played it from the tips and wind speeds were about 10 - 15 mph with limited fog... What a great golf ecperience! WOW! The course was in very good condition and very green. The course layout is rated a 5 out of 5, conditions are rated a 4.5 out of 5. I note the following: Tee Boxes: Level and lush, no damage Fairways: Green and at times tight, no damage Greens: Green, firm, very fast, no damage Sand: Well maintained, both soft and hard Rough and Waste Areas: Tall rough - waste areas are very penal on stray shots Driving Range: No driving range on premises. Nice chipping area and practice putting greens. Warmed up at Oceanview Diving Range 1 mile away. Recommended. POP: 4.5 hours - waited briefly on 4 holes The course is an ocean links style track with several holes running along the Pacific Ocean cliff line, remaining holes are inland with most offering beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean; local forestry, or Ritz Carlton facilty. The course offers a some suttle elevation changes and a couple of blinds shots that keep things interesting. The layout is very scenic, challenging, but fair. This course requires accuracy off the tee as you hit into mid to wide fairways that are lined with very heavy rough, bunkered, waste areas, trees, cliff sides, and / or the Pacific Ocean. Every tee shot is reasonably unique, with variant views. Greens tend to be medium in size and run very fast (11 - 11.5), often breaking towards the ocean, and always held good shots. Both greens and fairways were strategically bunkered for protection, with a lot of bunkering noted throughout the track. Course plays longer due to heavy marine layer, played shots 5-10 yards longer than normal yardage with good results. Very nice pro shop and an excellent restaurant at this facility, along with the Ritz Carlton. Recommend eating at the facility, food was excellent. Service received was really good too. We started on time and noticed 1 Marshall on the course. No slow play issues. All in all, this is an amazing golf course that plays like a true championship links course. Views are unforgettable and the finishing 3 holes will leave you buzzing for a while. If you are ever in the Bay Area, and playing decent level golf, this is a must play. 5 Stars for Me! One of My Favorites!

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.