Played 10/11 at 1025. Great weather.

I found the course to be in very good condition. A few tee boxes were closed, signs of getting needed repairs done. The tee boxes that were open I had no probl... Continue »

Played 10/11 at 1025. Great weather.

I found the course to be in very good condition. A few tee boxes were closed, signs of getting needed repairs done. The tee boxes that were open I had no problem with. The course is a challenge. A few blind shots either hitting over a ridge in the fairway to an elevation change and a tucked away green. Speaking of elevation change. Everywhere! Club selection is very important. Fairways, rough and greens were just about where you'd exspect them to be at the end of summer. No real negative issues. The bunkers had enough sand fill to make them playable. The senior rate of $55 is a plus. Customer service gets a big high five. I got stuck in traffic, we called the course and they obliged me with a tee time which afforded me an extra 45 minutes to get there. That gave me time for some quick nutrition. Really came in handy. The round plus travel time from the I.E. was right at 10 hrs. POP was good at 4.25. Traffic is a real issue.

Played 10/7. I played last Wednesday too. I don't agree with the rating for this course. 6.7 rating at best in my opinion. Its not in terrible condition but certainly not "great" I think Skylinks in l... Continue »

Played 10/7. I played last Wednesday too. I don't agree with the rating for this course. 6.7 rating at best in my opinion. Its not in terrible condition but certainly not "great" I think Skylinks in long beach is in much better condition. Check in always a pleasure here it seems, very friendly. Tee boxes are level but a number of gold and red tees and some blue tees are GUR. Fairways are just ok, decent coverage and looks nice and green from afar but uneven, the ball does not sit up nicely and nestles down a bit. The rough is just ok, thin in some spots and those spots are in play. Greens are good for the most part. 99% recovered from aerification but a lot of ball marks that didn't heal right and a little bumpy, maybe because i played in the afternoon. Bunkers are the best part of the course. That tells you something huh? Good density of sand, easy to play from. If the course has limited resources and manpower, i think they should focus on maintenance especially around the greens, 50 yards and in. Also fairways and rough that is mostly in play. I dont see that from this superintendent. There is rough and fairway with really nice grass that no one is ever going to play from. And really "crappy" grass just over the green on 1st hole, just over the green on 4th hole, short right of green on 9th, right of green on 11th, over the green on 16th, just to name some spots that are very much in play but almost no grass.

Played here Thursday 10/5/17. Overall, excellent condition.

Greens are 98% recovered from aeration of 9/5-6. Only a few square feet here and there around edges show any evidence. Rolling perfect, ... Continue »

Played here Thursday 10/5/17. Overall, excellent condition.

Greens are 98% recovered from aeration of 9/5-6. Only a few square feet here and there around edges show any evidence. Rolling perfect, smooth as glass, with good speed. This is my home course and I've been playing here since it opened, and I can't recall greens in better condition. I did play early (700am) so did benefit from limited traffic, but in any case, greens are awesome right now.

I sprayed the ball off tee all day and found only a handful of fairways, but are excellent as well. A few spots either a little soft or a bit thin, but again, overall excellent.

Bunkers are very good. Found two, and both were perfectly raked / dragged, with good weight of sand.

There are a few tee boxes closed for minor maintenance, but all tees open are flat and level.

Fringe around green cut close makes for a great green complexes. If you miss, however, the kikuyu is tough to play from.

Beautiful day, great conditions. Take advantage and play now while most other course are aerating.

Always top shelf service inside and out.

Enjoy

Played Black Gold as part of the GK Guru outing on 8/29. Only two of us Guru’s this afternoon and played with grantar2. Thoroughly enjoyable round playing with Arthur even on a pretty warm afternoon... Continue »

Played Black Gold as part of the GK Guru outing on 8/29. Only two of us Guru’s this afternoon and played with grantar2. Thoroughly enjoyable round playing with Arthur even on a pretty warm afternoon (well actually it was freaking hot!). Unfortunately, Arthur could only play the front 9 so I played the back 9 solo. I am beginning to learn to love this course. When I first started playing here, didn’t feel it was a course suited for me. Now however, it is one I look forward to playing. Always a challenge from blue or white tees. And always in good shape. Check in was great in the pro shop which is full of nice clothing and equipment. Once I identified myself as part of GK, they rolled out the red carpet. GK has definitely made an impact on this course. The layout is challenging but fair. Some blind shots but fairways are generous and were perfect. Lots of roll out. Tee boxes were also in great shape. I was only in one bunker on the back 9 and it was very soft, white sand. Greens were great but they always seems to be. Never played here when they weren’t rolling nicely. Pace of play was just about 4 hours. As a twosome, Arthur and I caught up with the group in front of us on #6 but there was no one behind us. Playing solo, I followed the same 4 some but never really waited long and was playing 2 balls. Didn’t stick around after for “Taco Tuesday” in the restaurant (heard two tacos for $5.00. Nice!) but one day going to try it out. So looking forward to my next time out. Definitely recommend. Sticker price is a bit steep to play but their web site sometimes has a couple of tee times that are discounted.

Black Gold Yorba Linda

Played Black Gold Tuesday 8/29/2017 – Tee Time 12:32pm with fellow GK Guru larryq2001. This is truly a beautiful club. Access to the club house, pro shop, and driving range ... Continue »

Black Gold Yorba Linda

Played Black Gold Tuesday 8/29/2017 – Tee Time 12:32pm with fellow GK Guru larryq2001. This is truly a beautiful club. Access to the club house, pro shop, and driving range from the parking lot is excellent. Carts are staged near the front doors.
Service – is top tier. Shout out to Brian in the pro shop. He and the other two pro shop staff members made checking in fun, he definitely has a future career as a cruise director. The pro shop itself is well stocked, Nike shoes, and gear from all the major brands. Trying not to tell my Mack Daddy wedge that I was looking at the new Cleveland offering in the pro shop.
Carts as mentioned are staged near the front door. They are new, very comfortable seats, excellent color GPS, and ice chest pre filled with ice. They have a very comfortable ride as well.

The driving range offers mats and grass at each hitting station, is very well laid out with targets ranging from 30 yards to more than 250 yards, and offering bunkers to be hit over so you align your mind before going on course.

Playing partner. If any of you have the chance to play with Larry, jump on it, he was great to play with, very encouraging, interesting, and a shot maker.

Conditions, from tee to green were pristine, despite the unseasonably weather. There were no wet spots, damp areas or mud, yet the grass everywhere was perfect, and mostly deep green.

The tee boxes were level and lush, with no divot damage. Some locations were soft putting the tee peg in, but held the tee well. Footing was excellent. There are blind tee shots on this course, with fairway bunkers looming, and it’s worth buying the course guide if you haven’t played here before.

Rough - was thick, approximately four inches at the second cut, neat and clean. The course uses wilderness and bramble more than rough to penalize errant shots, to either side of the fairway, and behind and to the sides of greens.

Bunkers - are in excellent shape, and players who were in the ones I sampled had done a nice job of raking leaving me a good lie. The bunkers were full of good quality sand over a firm base that made achieving a good stance very doable. I was in both fairway bunkers and green side bunkers and can say both types were in excellent shape. The course uses a number of fairway bunkers to challenge the golfer off the tee.

Fairways - The fairways were surprisingly green, and lush. I was expecting a more dried out appearance and fearing an over watered or muddy course after my recent disappointment with Rancho San Juaquin, but I had nothing to fear. The fairways were perfect, with virtually no ground under repair, there was no mud, and all of my shots in the fairway had perfect lies. The evil side of the fairways at Black Gold is virtually none are level. They feature a rolling contour that rolls left and right, up and down. I personally loved the challenge.

Greens – are in excellent condition, few ball marks, very green, well groomed, medium speed. The hole placements were evil, many on ridge lines, false fronts, or in locations where shots in any direction could go downhill. I think this was because we were being followed by what appeared to be a junior’s or high school tournament. The ball rolled true, very satisfying greens to play on.

Due to the extreme heat I only played the front nine with Larry. Despite hydration, sodium, and a cooling towel, the heat was kicking my butt, and my blood pressure was acting up, making it uncomfortable to bend over to tee up a ball, so my review reflects only the warm up, and front nine.

There is a relief station and water station that is enroute to a number of the holes the way the front nine cart path crosses itself. We did not see a beverage cart on the front nine.

Black Gold rates as one of my three favorite courses in Southern California, and depending on weather can be in first place on any given day. It is a very attractive course, surrounded by beautiful homes, nature areas, and city views. It long without requiring PGA tour card, and it’s fun to play. I look forward to playing here again in the fall when the weather is cooler.

Played here Thursday at 12:48pm on a $40.00 Teeoff.com special with two friendly guys, one I've played with before at Black Gold. Plenty of room in the parking lot, a light day on the course. POP was ... Continue »

Played here Thursday at 12:48pm on a $40.00 Teeoff.com special with two friendly guys, one I've played with before at Black Gold. Plenty of room in the parking lot, a light day on the course. POP was was just under 4 hours, which, considering the pretty warm weather and course, was fantastic today.

Course is still in very good condition, but off 1/2 a notch below six weeks ago. Nothing too serious, but greens not quite as smooth, too many ball marks, cups were rounded and chewed up from at least 1 day's play, cups from previous locations were not either above or below green level...oh wait, maybe more serious than I thought!

Fairways were great, however - ball sat up nicely all day - and rough wasn't too penal, except in a few spots around bunkers, etc., where the mowers were not nimble. Was in one greenside bunker, nice semi-fluffy white sand, and got a nice clean shot out on the green. Tees were pretty good, but a few with uneven footing for the white tees.

A lovely warm and sunny day on this mostly green and lush course, with just enough wind to cool things down. Cart lady came by early in the round, but never to be seen on the back nine when we really could've used her services. Water jugs still had cold water. Marshal was very friendly, saw him twice. POP was good, so he was happy. Bar staff was efficient with prompt refills on my Arnie.

Still good. Saw a mixed foursome riding the golf boards on 18 as we were teeing off on 10. Looked like they were having fun!

Got out Thursday with 7 other GK Gurus, make that 8! – was fun to see roarksown1 surprise appearance in the proshop and after the round teeing it up with his buddy John. So a bonus GK Guru review!

... Continue »

Got out Thursday with 7 other GK Gurus, make that 8! – was fun to see roarksown1 surprise appearance in the proshop and after the round teeing it up with his buddy John. So a bonus GK Guru review!

Black Gold Golf Club continues to impress me with every round. It’s a layout that never gets old for me and continues to challenge on every hole. You have to be accurate on all shots yet you don’t feel the course is target golf. But most of all, you need to putt well. Every hole interesting and unique. Some great views as well.

Conditions are excellent right now. Very impressed with the Kikuyu fairways so lush and dark green. I love the way a golf ball sits up on a lush Kikuyu fairway. As far as the Kikuya rough, lush with some thin areas yet torments me so it was nice to see Black Gold Golf Club had it cut lower than previous rounds I’ve played there. Don’t take it from granted that it is short, it will still grab your club all day. The bunkers are in outstanding shape compared to the majority of golf courses I’ve played in Southern California this year. Quality sand, well maintained. Tee boxes lush, some divot damage (but repaired and I attribute that to the good practice of them having divot mix on the tees). Greens, to me always the highlight of the course and once again I could not figure them out. They seem to always break more than I read, be more uphill or downhill than I anticipate. However they are in great shape, firm, smooth and moderately fast.

Service was super throughout the day with frequent sightings of on course food/beverage service, friendly professional attitude of proshop staff and starter.

I snapped some photos and posted them. Check them out.

Highly Recommended.

Late to the review party for the Guru outing on Thursday afternoon, 6/8/17. Enjoyed playing with Nick and Bob again, and with Arthur for the first time – a laid-back and amicable group. We struggled a... Continue »

Late to the review party for the Guru outing on Thursday afternoon, 6/8/17. Enjoyed playing with Nick and Bob again, and with Arthur for the first time – a laid-back and amicable group. We struggled along a bit the first 6 holes, with a few ball losses and drops, to the point where Johnny sent one of the shop guys out to see if we made a wrong turn toward Disneyland! I think our front nine took almost 3 hours!! But we bumped along to the point where we were actually on the same hole as our “sprinter” group a couple times on the back, and came in not too far behind. Overall conditions were very good. Fairway lies sat up well, although we dealt with scattered thin/bare areas. Tees were in good shape. Rough was playable unless you strayed well off the beaten path. I was in the fairway bunker on #3 and the sand was level and firm, but the front greenside bunker on that hole could have used a little more sand. Greens were very good – fairly firm, rolling well at medium-fast speed, with good coverage. Not too many old ballmarks. Shot of the day was from Nick – a long blast from the front bunker on #16 to the back left hole location, then holing a downhill slider for a very nice par. And Bob splitting fairways all day! Thanks to Johnny for another great deal, and always love playing with other GKers.

Fun coincidence running into the GK Guru group at Black Gold on Thursday. It was a last minute decision to play there with my friend but we were rewarded with a course in great shape and a lot of fun ... Continue »

Fun coincidence running into the GK Guru group at Black Gold on Thursday. It was a last minute decision to play there with my friend but we were rewarded with a course in great shape and a lot of fun to play.

I had played Black Gold once before and the conditions were very good, not great. Well, this time they were certainly the latter. The greens were running very nicely and putted nice and true. Shots could definitely run off though on chips if not careful. Some tricky greens, too.

The fairways were in very good shape and had only minimal areas which were dried out or GUR (almost always away from the main fairways). The rough was also cut to a length to be very playable in most areas. OB areas tend to be pretty open to finding to finding your ball here or there, but there are also some critters out there you would rather not mess with to be honest. Tee boxes were in good shape and the bunkers were also of a nice quality.

Very fun but difficult layout at Black Gold. There's a premium on placement off the tee and it tends to be a fader's golf course (which suits me just fine). Interesting middle segment with three of four holes par 3s - they come at you all at once! But overall, plenty of interesting and unique holes with fun elevations to navigate.

POP was probably the only downside as we were squashed between two foursomes (went out as a twosome) and the one in front of us was simply not very efficient with their time, or more importantly, ours. But that's life. I'm sure in years to come all that I will remember was a fun day out playing some good golf at a course that's currently in very good shape. Go check it out.