Yep, another positive review for Black Gold. I guess by now the only complaint I'd make about the place is that if you aren't grooving on your swing, you may lose a lot of balls. It may get tiring for some, to have a good round spoiled cause you lost your ball on a narrow fairway. Plus the layout may get tiresome as its always seems to be a narrow valley to hit through. There's no trees to get in the way either. Great views though, you can see Catalina from several tee boxes. The course is real well kept. Very little GUR areas, or places where you wouldn't want to hit your ball from. I think it plays harder than the scorecard says, as this is the kinda of place where you can hit a nice shot, but only to realize you landed your ball 5 ft too far on the green and it rolls down into a gully or sand trap. If you play here with an experienced player, make sure they give you at least 4 extra strokes as experience here can be the difference between an 81 or a 91. I think this place is the bear minimum to play in the LA area. I don't venture too far east from here so I can't comment about a couple Riverside courses I've heard about, but in my opinion, there's only 5 courses worth playing: Black Gold, Industry Hills Ike and Babe, Oak Creek, and if you're in the mood for slumming it, Skylinks. PM me if you want to send me somewhere else, but from I've observed, these are the only ones worth playing.

Played here twice during the winter break. Once was a day right after it rained, and another was mid-week between Christmas and New Years, but still cart path only. Place is pretty crappy if you ask me. I think I'm over my attempts to play muni's as they're only a cut above playing a miniature golf course. Place of play sucks, quality of players suck, and the course is treated as such. What I do like about this course is that its a park atmosphere, so there's lots of trees, and a decent layout. But it does have that cheap muni feel to it. Golf isn't always about pace of play, and sure I choose a day where it was going to be slow, but when you hit the 3rd tee (the first par 3 of the course), and there's a group just leaving to goto the green and another waiting, and then you come up ... well... I just quit. I want to golf, not wait. And perhaps I've spoiled myself on playing higher end courses, but those courses you can hold to a higher standard. Muni, well, I guess I deserve it. So yeah, the first round I played, we where held up by a foursome that was 2 holes behind. The marshall kept trying to push them, but they didn't care. I quit at 13 on that day as I had a holiday party to get to. The second day was when I quit on 3 and ran over to my country club (which had a tournament but told me if I got there quick I could go right out). I had to leave that round at 11 because golf had already taken too much of my day. All that stuff isn't part of a specific review of this place, just my general frustration with rounds that last 5 hours. So yeah, I'm over muni golf. If you need to play in Long Beach, goto Skylinks and pick a day/time where you can finish in at least 4 1/2 hours. Skip the rest (Rec Park, El Dorado, Lakewood), as they're like too poor to bother.

Played a birthday round this week, and the conditions here are the best I've played anywhere all year. Its been almost a year since the new management took over, and they've improved the conditions, which were always very good anyway, to a much higher level. The groundskeeping is excellent, and the conditions are near perfect. They did punch some of the fairways within the last month, but on almost all the holes they've recovered, and those that still how the signs of the arreation, the lie was not affected. I really love this course for its peacefulness (its not often that the airbase next door is active), and for its location. There's a wide open stretch from here to the beach, so while you do get afternoon wind (or even morning wind), its keeps the place much cooler than elsewhere further inland. I'm very happy to be a member here, and I love that they appreciate the uniqueness of their landscape, and work to keep it up. Its not a "grass+nice trees" kind of place, but a true arboretum and bird sanctuary. One note, a previous reviewer was disappointed they couldn't eat in the restaurant, I wanted to point out they played on a Monday, which is the course's day off. Many Monday's they host an outside tournament, though other times they open somewhere between 10 or noon for the regular members, however, the restaurant and staff have the day off. Otherwise, I recomment the food and bar they have here (though you need to be a guest of a member to enjoy it). Its a fairly casual and young membership base here, and is quite accomadating to families. I look forward to this summer here.

Meh... I've gotten used to better, but this is still the best muni-course on the westside (west side as in west of the 605..). Its a real good track, maintained as well as can be expected, and depending on the day can have either a great pace, or a "relax and enjoy your day" one. Really, its a great place to play, the worst part may be the grumpy old men that pay only $13 to play and gotta b$tch about just about everything. I like walking here, keeps me from having to spend time chatting with them from the carts. For the price, there's really nothing better for its location. If you're close to Long Beach, or live on the Westside, this should be your go-to course. Call ahead, you never know when they're shutting down for a charity shotgun, or a high school tournament. Frankly, I only come here when my golf decision is spur of the moment, and I don't want to drive far (Skylinks is only 4 miles down Wardlow for me). Its not real golf like Industry Hills, Black Gold, or Oak Creek, but its not psuedo-golf like Rec Park or El Dorado.

Played Mon, May 2nd. It was pretty open that day, I played as a single till 7th, and joined with the single in front. We followed a 3-some, but they were quick, so we mostly didn't wait. It was a perfect pace. Conditions have been the same the last few times I've been here - very good. This is an excellent place to golf, and well worth the money. If you can hit it straight, more than hitting it far, you'll score well here. I really like this course, they serve you well, always a cart girl, even when its quiet, always a good pace. This course is an under appreciated gem. If you haven't played, then you should give it a try -- again, assuming you're more straight than long.. ;)

[Edit: Sorry for the 4.7, I thought I rated it around a 6.1 or so. This place is better than 4.7. I didn't think it deserved >7 "great" though.] Decent place, I probably should play here more and skip Skylinks. I think its a bit overrated based on the scores others have posted. I'd only preface those ratings as saying "based on comparable priced muni courses". I was a bit surprised how green it was. The El Dorado Park area has plenty of reclaimed water, and its being put to good use not just here, but the surrounding park area. Its rather nice - lots of trees, decent grass. Greens are very muni like though. As for the course itself, its seems pretty pedestrian to me. But its a great value, and the pro shop staff is nice.

I keep coming back here when I want something more than a typical muni. And I realized again, why I should flat out quit the local muni's (but they are close though) - Black Gold is worth both the extra fee and extra drive. I got a good deal on GolfNow, showed up early, and as usual, the pro shop doesn't care when you booked your tee time, they'll let you go early if there's room. I've written before about the conditions, and they continue to get just a bit better each time I'm out. The grass is great, both fairway and rough. Greens are good too, but as always a bit on the soft side. I'm not sure if that's a complaint or not, as they roll well. I'd rather point out though the service I always seem to get here. I'm getting a bit sick and tired of the typical 'don't-care' attitudes I find at the other courses I've played, and am realizing just how much that the simple friendly attitude I get here helps my experience. The pro shop guys, the starter, and the marshal that came around twice and explained to us how he's managing to push a slow group faster so we wouldn't have to wait so much. Try that at Skylinks fellas! Other reviews, including my past ones, sum up this place well enough, though I think some people expect to pay less for a course like this. This is certainly premiere. Considering how drought conditions have affected Oak Creek and Strawberry Farms, I really only think of this course and the Industry Hills ones as the closest, best premiere course to me (apologies to Goose Creek - I still haven't played, but everyone keeps tell me I should, they're just too far away for me from Long Beach). I played for $88, and its a steal. Industry Hills courses can't normally be booked online, nor with any discount, so its Black Gold for me! I'm even considering joining their men's club (which includes discounted rates at Desert Willow .. oh I love you Desert Willow!). Anyway, rambling nonsense here, just play Black Gold. Its narrow, so you have to hit it straight, but you can play the blues with just a 3W if you want. I played whites last time and hit 5I on several holes. It makes it fun to navigate this course that offers a different challenge on each hole. Pull out the driver and take the risk .. pull out the 3W and play it safe.. Enjoy!

I'm a member, so I'm somewhat biased. This course has gone through 3 management changes since I've been there. Originally it was owner-run, then they leased the place to a national management company that was later bought out by another, larger management company. While I'm a fan of the food, service and other non-golf amenities (pool, locker room, gym), I'm very happy that their focus is the course. Within the last year they've replaced every bunker, and now they're near perfect. The greens are always nice, and rather difficult. Hole 10, which is the 18-handicap hole, is straight and short, yet the green is the hardest on the course. 3 and 4 putts are quite common. Other greens are also hard, you can lose the chance at a par simply by landing on the wrong part of the green. The layout is very nice, and the tips offer an extra challenge. I like their landscaping too. Lots of trees, very nice plants, etc.. This is protected area as it serves as a water runoff for the military base next door. Lots of birds hang out here, including many hawks and eagles, which are fun to see. The membership is quite affordable too. Its a mid-tier club, unlike the stuffy and expensive Virginia country club.

I'm reviewing from an earlier round back in mid-June. Reason why I say that is when Industry Hills gets close to reseeding, they can let the course conditions fall a bit. Not in mid-June though. I used to love the Babe for its excellent conditions. Most people prefer the Ike for its length and "players" style conditions, so its usually a bit more beat up, while the Babe would be fairly pristine. While not long, its very "links" style and is the course that will force you to use every club in your bag. What it lacked in length and typical "pound driver, mid-iron to green, 2-putt" type play it made up for with very nice conditions with small landing zones, punishing rough and greens that are easily 4-puttable. Not lately though, if my review and other recent ones server correct. Perhaps its the price, I played for $49 on a Saturday - and that was the walk-in rate, not a discount from a website. So I understand its getting more play, however, the course is, frankly speaking, beat to near death. Lots of brown spots everywhere, the rough is no longer a punishing 3" length but an easy to hit off of 1" length. The bunkers, which are usually well kept, were somewhat hard packed and wet. Lots of marks everywhere. The price puts it in the mid-muni category and the conditions are about the same. I'll try the Babe or the Ike again soon, as these used to be in my top-5 places to play, but I'm a little skeptical. My plan is to wait until after the reseeding (and maybe a few weeks after, both course suck to be stuck with cart-path-only, I'd rather walk), and see how the conditions are after that. The hotel and courses are in the process of being sold, so perhaps that has something to do with the decrease in attention to the maintenance.

This has become my go-to course when I want to play a step above my local muni. I'd consider this a very good middle-tier course that has the ability to compete with some of the more pricier courses. The reseeded with poa and the results are pretty good. Its an odd grass as it tends to lift up the ball a bit more, which makes the rough a little easier to handle sometimes. I like the layout of the course a lot. The bunkers could use some work as it didn't find it fluffy but a bit wet and hard. The greens are sluggish and soft. They feel like you're walking on memory foam. Nice atmosphere, and the staff is very good. If you can keep your ball somewhat straight on this narrow course, you'll do well. It definitely plays to know the course as there's numerous shots where you're hitting to an elevated green and you're pretty much blind to where you want to aim or to exactly how long to hit it (even with a range finder or the cart's GPS). I hope they continue with their maintenance as they're on the cusp of being a premier place.

Improving. I came close to posting a "poor" review a few months ago, but didn't get around to it. Played a couple times since and am happier now. Skylinks always has great bunkers, and I'm happy about that. During my last round, I twice hit from a fairway bunker onto the green! Much of the course's challenge is managing the bunkers, and if a course is going to do that to you, then they should be of good quality, and these are. For the rest, I was tempted to write that its "better than most munis", but after playing a couple higher tier courses lately, I'd have to say that this place is "better than most". I don't recall a bad lie or "poor conditions" situation in my last couple rounds here. I also like that they're now placing the blue tees in their proper spots. I'm not sure when they changed that but when I was playing here regularly up to June 2013, the blue tees where by the white stones. Probably a pace-of-play decision but its nice to see the tees on the proper locations now. I find the course generally easy though and somewhat short, even from the blue tees. Though its not boring. Nearly every hole is unique in some way, not a cookie-cutter type of place with parallel fairways that are identical to each other. This is why I consider it my favorite "local" course.

Played on 3/24, on a deal that had going because they recently aerated the greens. I thought the course was pretty good. I love the layout, as most holes are unique. And I like the challenges the different holes offer, as well as the narrow, hilly aspects of it. Lots of elevation changes, and several holes I was choosing 3W or even 3H instead of driver. (I played the whites so as to join the two-some that were playing up. It does make the course a little short). The conditions were pretty good, imho. The pair I was with were disappointed by the fairways, which they might have been right about - the fairway was more like cut low rough than a nice polished fairway. I didn't mind though, as I never saw a bad lie all day. I play this course about once a year, and I think its been improving each time. The course usually has a deal on click4teetimes, and I think its worth it for that. The normal rack rate might be a stretch unless conditions are more consistent, as it sounds like it is based on the other reviews. I'd certainly play again for the $50 I paid, and would have no problem up to $80.