Played in the GK outing with Larryq2001, Gary00 and JohnnyGK yesterday. Had a very enjoyable time on a partly sunny day with these guys. Saw some incredible shots made by all of these guys.

With al... Continue »

Played in the GK outing with Larryq2001, Gary00 and JohnnyGK yesterday. Had a very enjoyable time on a partly sunny day with these guys. Saw some incredible shots made by all of these guys.

With all the great detailed reviews already provided by several of the others, I'll try and keep this short.

Fairways in the best shape I've seen them in the 10+ rounds played here over the last 12 months. Rough was cut the shortest I've seen it. Sand in traps was a soft, medium weight top-layer, but heavy sand only 1/2" underneath (plenty of swings in it). Greens were smooth and medium-fast, with tough pin placements - a number were placed on slopes.

Highly recommended... Practice your putting A LOT before teeing off!

Played in a GK Guru outing with leef2020, Gary00, Johnny GK and had a blast! Big thank you to Johnny GK for setting this one up. Great course, great price and is only is 2 miles from me. Playing the... Continue »

Played in a GK Guru outing with leef2020, Gary00, Johnny GK and had a blast! Big thank you to Johnny GK for setting this one up. Great course, great price and is only is 2 miles from me. Playing the blues at only around 6400 seems short but is still a big challenge.

When driving up the first thing you see is the driving range. It’s a large one with good mats. Sometimes they will open up and allow to hit from the grass which is great. The putting green is just behind the #1 tee box which is unique. Don’t need to walk far when it’s your turn to tee off.

Pace of play was about 4.5 hours. We noticed one group in front but they were at least two holes ahead of us so no waiting there. The marshal did stop us on #8 to suggest we pick it up as the group ahead of us was just putting out on #10. I guess he made it sound like a big deal but actually we were right on pace as no one was pushing us from behind. With the conditions as they are, I think it’s tough for an average 4 some to finish this course in under 4 hours.

The course is in great condition right now. I’m not a real fan of courses that have kikuyu grass fairways but realize most courses in So. Cal have them. These fairways were cut real nice. Not a bad lie in any fairway. What makes these fairways challenging is miss a fairway and your dead as most fairways are lined with dried brush. If you can find your ball, you're not likely to be able to play it so penalty drop it is. I think the back 9 is bit tougher as some of the holes seem to get more narrow. Some are downright intimidating. A lot of elevation particularly on the back and on a clear day, you have great views of Orange County.

Tee boxes were fine. Some were thin but had plenty of coverage overall. I was in couple of sand traps throughout the afternoon and they were in great shape. Great to have as most courses have bunkers that are very hard or wet (at least the courses I regularly play at). The rough was not very thick and was very playable.

The greens were in great condition. I would rate them as medium fast because I have seen these greens very fast before. They rolled exceptionally well but some were tough to read. A real challenge from BG is being able to read greens.

The cart associate came around a couple of times and was tempted to have an adult beverage but thought better of it as this course is tough enough to play without having a little alcohol in the body :-)

This is a great golf course and is a course you should play. The non-resident, rack rate is steep but you can get some deals for afternoon rounds. Just do it!

I was told by a friend whom I play with often that Black Gold was just OK, not exceptional. I am working to schedule an appointment with a mental health professional, because he’s crazy this course is... Continue »

I was told by a friend whom I play with often that Black Gold was just OK, not exceptional. I am working to schedule an appointment with a mental health professional, because he’s crazy this course is wonderful.

From the time you drive past the driving range, to the bag drop off in front of the club house there is the feeling of a premium golf club. There is very nice pro shop, restaurant and lounge. For members there is a private locker room.

Check in was pleasant, and efficient. Once checked in you can load your bag on the cart and head for the range. Carts are equipped with the nicest GPS I have seen on any cart so far. Distance from the cart to the hazards, and pin are constantly updated. The distance to the hazard, and to clear the hazard are both displayed. On fairways with blind spots the distance and position of the carts for the group in front of you is also displayed. If you know how long you carry a club consistently this knowledge significantly aids you’re club selection. Carts are also equipped with ice chests that were filled with ice. The seats are among the most comfortable I have found on any golf cart. As I was using a laser range finder this round in addition to my GPS watch, I was impressed with the overhead baskets provide in the cart. It gave me a place to put the rangefinder that made it readily available well allowing the wrist leash to hang down and remind me not to forget it. My only complaint with the carts and it’s a big one, is how often I hit my head on the hand grab getting into the cart. Most carts this feature is molded into the roof, at Black Gold, the handles are bolted to the bottom of the roof, inside the roofline. May be that I am just too tall at 6’4” but I took a couple of good shots to the head.

The Range is spacious, clean, with clear targets, and bunker areas. Each station has a combination of mats for irons, and grass for tee’d shots. Using my Leupold laser rangefinder I was able to establish the distance to targets and hazards enhancing my pre round warm up.
The course itself is picturesque, with elevated tees, greens, undulating fairways running through canyons, surrounded by beautiful homes. There are a range of wildlife to include, rabbits, road runners, and snakes.

The designer used tree lined tees to create a tunnel that gives the illusion of much narrower fairways. Many holes feature fairway bunkers on opposite sides of the course that requires the golfer to play within their capabilities. Most fairways appear narrow from the tee’s but wide when you enter them.

Being a high handicap player, I played from the whites. 400 yards on the first hole, a par 4. The complexity and challenge seems to build with each hole. There was one fairway bunker, and one greenside bunker on the first hole. There were four on the second 255 yard par 4. The 342 yard Par 4 third hole featured 5 bunkers including a 70 some yard fairway bunker that reached into the middle of the fairway. The architect uses dog legs; blind tees and OB to challenge the golfer, but all are fair. Some tees feature hints on aim points, and the GPS on the cart give distances.

The ability to place you’re tee shot in specific points on the fairway is the key to a good round. Fairways are undulating. Built in a canyon, a shot that is too far left or right can lead to the ball being severely above or below your feet, often in thick sticky Kikuyu rough.

At this point it’s worth saying, despite the GPS in the carts, the pro shop sells a course book for $4, it’s worth buying. It has distances to different peaks in the fairway, and the dimensions of the green. The Leupold Laser rangefinder was great in that it took care of the adjustment for slope.

Tee boxes are well covered, a little thin on some, and one still showed signs of aeration, none of this impacted play. There were boxes of divot mix on every tee, there were few divots especially considering our afternoon tee time.
On a housekeeping note, most tees had trash cans, some had ball washers, and there were two bathrooms on course, a couple of vending machines, and some water. The drink cart made two appearances during our round, both times she was patient, made sure she was out of the line of sight of those playing, and friendly. The cart stocked ice cold O’Doul’s and a tasty hot dog. At $9 I thought it was reasonable.

Out of bounds was searchable if a ball went that way, but rattle snakes could be heard, they were active.

Bunkers were among the most playable I have encountered. The fairway bunkers ranged from long and flat, to long and deep. Greenside bunkers were deep, large and in excellent condition, and a test. There were a number of rakes. The quality of the sand was excellent, the coverage was superb. Too an extent the location of the bunkers seemed more a visual obstacle to put the player under pressure than a physical obstacle that was difficult to engage. Combined with the shoot of trees or OB off the tee box, the location of the fairway bunker could be intimidating. The key was using the GPS to know the distance to lay up or play over.
Fairways were fully covered, and beautiful. Despite the morning rain the fairways, like the bunkers were dry. This course will test your ability to handle an uphill or downhill lie, unfortunately not a strong point of my game. The back nine is more challenging than the front nine in this respect.

Rough is an appropriate name. The first cut was 1” and in very playable condition. The second cut was 3” plus, sticky, diabolical, and pervasive.

Greens were fast, hard, sloped, meaning balls often did not hold. Overall conditions were excellent. My group was convinced despite that excellent condition of the greens that there was force field around the hole, given the number of one roll short, or lip outs we had. Many greens featured sever uphill walks back to the cart path.
After I get my friend some help, this is a course I am going to have to play again soon. I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. The course plays longer than the numbers, and begs for course management, not grip it and rip it. Scoring a Par on this course for me was extremely satisfying. Being a canyon there are numerous elements to challenge the player, arroyo, water, bunkers, wind, elevation, and slope. It’s an excellent risk reward course. The price is reasonable given the condition and level of challenge of the course; I would even rank it as a bargain. Would I recommend this course as a high handicap player, yes.
This is a course where you can use a driver, fairway wood, and mid iron all on the same hole.

Played the Blues (6439/71.5/131) in slightly less than 5H with GK Guru's zgolfinman, grantar2 & dconnally. Thanks to Bob, Art & Dave for an enjoyable round. The weather was overcast with a little bree... Continue »

Played the Blues (6439/71.5/131) in slightly less than 5H with GK Guru's zgolfinman, grantar2 & dconnally. Thanks to Bob, Art & Dave for an enjoyable round. The weather was overcast with a little breeze late in the day. The tees had good coverage, mostly level with few unfixed divots. The Kikuyu fairways were mostly lush and generally nice to play from. A few small areas that were thin. The Kikuyu rough was more consistently lush than the fairways. Not overly long, but it's still penal because it's Kikuyu. The sand traps were well maintained, both the quality and quantity of the sand was very good. Love the type of green side sand they use here, excellent to play from. The greens putted well but were firm. You needed to allow for runout on pitches and chips. Medium speed and undulating, our entire group had various challenges reading these greens on some tournament pin positions today. The customer service was excellent from all encountered. Cart gal out making the rounds. Had a Cuban sandwich and Arnold Palmer after the round. Tad overpriced, but the quality and quantity were both excellent. Good driving range on mats. The carts have advanced GPS that measures to the pin also allows you to measure specific landmarks. Appreciate the course more with each visit. Tough layout, hilly, tight in spots, but a really solid course in good to very good condition. You cannot stray more than a little here or you will incur penalty shots in bunches. Recommended = Yes.

6/8 guru outing with Johnny and Larry from the blues and Lee and myself from the whites o a sunny(finally) afternoon--good company and good weather. Talk about 50 shades of green--everywhere you look... Continue »

6/8 guru outing with Johnny and Larry from the blues and Lee and myself from the whites o a sunny(finally) afternoon--good company and good weather. Talk about 50 shades of green--everywhere you look--fairways are fully covered with !/2 inch Kikuyu providing good lies--rough is made up of longer Kikuyu and the lies are difficult to judge and execute--very thick and grabby.
Tees are ok some a little thin but quite playable.
Bunkers are filled with heavy white sand nicely compacted appearing to have been recently groomed and maintained--found the occasional un-raked areas but fortunately found the sand without the footprints. Bunkers are deep often 8-10 feet below the green surface and with the large greens bunker shots were usually 30-60 feet to the pin--sand made for fairly easy outs but for me not able to get close to the pin.
Greens rolled smoothly about medium fast and pretty consistent trough the course. Topography is as much an influence as is the contour making judging speed a priority--there are some wicked breaks to contend with as well.
Friendly staff-- challenging scenic course with elevation changes and good variety of holes--a good test of golf and a good destination.

I played Black Gold today for the first time in about 5 years. I immediately noticed how friendly everyone was. The gentleman in the Pro shop greeted me immediately and made sure I knew where everyth... Continue »

I played Black Gold today for the first time in about 5 years. I immediately noticed how friendly everyone was. The gentleman in the Pro shop greeted me immediately and made sure I knew where everything was. Several other employees greeted me before the round and let me know they were there to help. What a contrast to the Black Gold I remembered from years ago, when the employees seemed annoyed that I was there.
I had a 12:10 tee time on a major holiday, so I expected the round would be slow. In fact, for most of the round we were only a few minutes behind the pace of play listed on the cart GPS.
The fairways were fine, the sand was good, and the greens were fast and true. We saw the beverage cart twice during the round and the snack bar was open at the turn. After the round, happy hour was in progress in the bar and the BBQ pork sliders were just what the doctor ordered.
My playing partner had never been there before and he was impressed. I would play Black Gold more often if I lived closer. I'd either join the club or play whenever I could get a special rate.
Overall, a very enjoyable round on a holiday weekend.

Played on 5/12/17 using the GK coupons which dropped the price from $99 to $69. That was a great deal! First time playing the course to prepare for my monthly group, which we are playing on 5/20. Cour... Continue »

Played on 5/12/17 using the GK coupons which dropped the price from $99 to $69. That was a great deal! First time playing the course to prepare for my monthly group, which we are playing on 5/20. Course condition was great. Greens were rolling really well and fast. Down hill putts were dangerous and could punish you if you didn't get the speed right. Fairway and rough was lush. Some rough were thick and long and that was punishing. Bunkers had plenty of sand on the couple the I got in.

I like the layout. Hitting shots is a premium at this course. But you have plenty of holes that you have to grip and rip to put you in a chance to get a score. Got some local knowledge from the twosome that's played there. Hopefully this is going to help my round next Saturday!

Played here on a spectacular sunny Saturday morning, 5/13/17. Wish I could say my play was spectacular as well, but that's ok. I noticed a couple of recent below average ratings for BG and wanted to ... Continue »

Played here on a spectacular sunny Saturday morning, 5/13/17. Wish I could say my play was spectacular as well, but that's ok. I noticed a couple of recent below average ratings for BG and wanted to see for myself. This is what I consider my home course. My experience was very good today. Conditions overall were very good to excellent. Blue Tee boxes had some evidence of fairly recent punch, but does not affect shots in any way. All level, with some divot damage, but again, no problem finding good teeing ground. Fairways continue to fill in nicely. Where the kikuyu has filled in completely, very well maintained. Cut short, but with nice cushion. Areas under repair or in poor condition were minimal, and all were marked as GUR appropriately. Bunkers I visited were a good shape, Good amount of sand all around, which has at times been an issue here. Today, no issues. Greens were excellent. Medium firm and medium speed. Not as fast as I'm accustomed to here, but rolling well. A few were slightly bumpy in spots, but overall very good / excellent. Always great customer service inside and out. Driving range grass has come back and filled in well, as always great views, especially on Back 9. Very fun and challenging, but fair course. Highly recommend.

Played today with GK coupon that reduced the rate to $55 from the unbelievable rack rate of $89. Don't know why anyone would pay such a high rate for this course. My partner and I have enjoyed most of... Continue »

Played today with GK coupon that reduced the rate to $55 from the unbelievable rack rate of $89. Don't know why anyone would pay such a high rate for this course. My partner and I have enjoyed most of the courses in our area after all the rain we've had this winter. The greens were just OK, most as hard as a rock. Fairways were uneven, some were very nice and ball sat up, others you had to move your ball to find some grass. The traps were excellent. Nice soft sand. If you can get a good deal then I would say play it but there are too many in way better shape for a lot less money.