Great to get back out to Black Gold. First off, so no issue with pace of play. 2 hours 45 minutes, which would have been a tad faster, but had to wait for some maintenance people on a few holes - no... Continue »

Great to get back out to Black Gold. First off, so no issue with pace of play. 2 hours 45 minutes, which would have been a tad faster, but had to wait for some maintenance people on a few holes - not a problem Also ran into a foursome of ladies on #18, so waited for them to complete the hole. Course is in very nice condition. I thought the fairways were exceptionally good. Lots of well manicured sand in the greenside bunkers, which I felt played kind of "heavy". It would take a couple rounds to adjust too. Rough was "up" in spots and was at times rather "sticky". Fun though - made you want to keep it in the short grass. Staff was friendly and accommodating. I was not too thrilled at the price increase from $58 to $69 for seniors, but that's the world of golf today, so I better learn to except it !

A little bit late, played this course twice last week, once first off on weekend and once late Friday 3pm. Friend checked in both times so can't comment to that, starter always friendly here. Played... Continue »

A little bit late, played this course twice last week, once first off on weekend and once late Friday 3pm. Friend checked in both times so can't comment to that, starter always friendly here. Played the whites and tee boxes were in decent condition, some moved up quite far due to maintenance such as 14. Fairways were mostly thick lush kikuyu grass, fairly easy to hit from as there was lots of room to get under the ball. Some holes like 6 were browner and thinner. Rough was just a bit higher but some inconsistent and bare spots. Bunkers had some nice heavy sand to hit from, but lotts of footprints in afternoon. Greens were running medium, had a hard time adjusting from the faster greens at oak creek I played earlier, but in good condition and rolled true. Pop was 4h in morning and 4.5h twilight, that round was going on well until a dead stop on 16 which usually seems to happen. Recommended.

Out this AM and with a POP of 3.5H. Very easy check in and friendly starter as well. Found the tee boxes all in very good shape. Fairways had good coverage and good lies but little roll due to the coo... Continue »

Out this AM and with a POP of 3.5H. Very easy check in and friendly starter as well. Found the tee boxes all in very good shape. Fairways had good coverage and good lies but little roll due to the cool conditions for the first 9 (and they said it was going to be warm early - wrong). Got better on back 9 but by then we were finishing up. Traps had all been cleaned and they were very good to play from (in 1) shame there are no rakes to clean up for those coming behind. Greens had been recently punched (3/15-16) and still showed the effects (another week and they should be fine). While they putted nicely they putted slow. You needed to be aware of the pin locations though. Due to the large greens and undulations you could think it was going to be slow and the ball would slide by and go too far. Driving range opens later on Tues and early (6:30) rest of week so no opportunity to really warm up. Putting green by the cart barn return open. The restaurant was open for both inside/outside dining and the food is good, but the prices have gone up. Masks on inside clubhouse and at starter. Not on the course. $58 Sr rate seems reasonable for this course IMO. And I love the new carts.

Played Sunday 3/28, greens look to be healing nicely after being punched a week ago. Some tee boxes here and there need some attention. The fairways are fine and the rough is relatively non-existent, ... Continue »

Played Sunday 3/28, greens look to be healing nicely after being punched a week ago. Some tee boxes here and there need some attention. The fairways are fine and the rough is relatively non-existent, just slightly longer fairway in most parts. POP was 5 hours, which is sadly to be expected on a weekend. The layout is tight in some spots and more forgiving than it seems in others. Interesting green complexes, typical canyon routing so there's some drives between holes. While the par 5's are long, there's some high numbers that could be found if you do not execute the approach.

We were able to get out early this week before the winds came. Found the course in better shape this week. Tee boxes were fine. Fairways had dried and provided better lies and roll. Traps were playabl... Continue »

We were able to get out early this week before the winds came. Found the course in better shape this week. Tee boxes were fine. Fairways had dried and provided better lies and roll. Traps were playable. Greens had good speed and you did not want a downhill putt. Great service at check in and at starter. Love the new carts. Nice day of golf considering the problems many in the rest of the country are experiencing.

Played this AM. 2nd off and 1st group never bothered us. POP a great 3H. Check in easy and welcoming. Starter and marshal great pair. Course has brand new carts that come with plush seating (best I ha... Continue »

Played this AM. 2nd off and 1st group never bothered us. POP a great 3H. Check in easy and welcoming. Starter and marshal great pair. Course has brand new carts that come with plush seating (best I have ever sat in IMO). Some carts have plastic divider/some do not. No extra charge for single rider. Sand bottles on carts. Great GPS and built in bluetooth speakers to avoid/discourage golfers bringing their own portable speakers. Range was open but no chance to use it. Course played like 2 different 9's. Front had great tee boxes, clean playable traps (no rakes). Fairways with good lies and roll. Greens were running 11 (stated by starter and he was correct). Back had some good/some bad tee boxes. Traps were clean/playable (no rakes). Fairways provided good lies but no roll out at all. Greens were not running at 11? More like 8. Snack bar was open and outdoor dining was permitted. OC virus rules in effect. Recommended. And $58 for Sr rate and cart is a great value for the course that you get IMO.

1/17/21 Black Gold Golf Club. The conditions were tough check in was easy. The golf carts very comfortable. Range balls were included with the green fee. teed off at 10:40 am tee and our round lasted... Continue »

1/17/21 Black Gold Golf Club. The conditions were tough check in was easy. The golf carts very comfortable. Range balls were included with the green fee. teed off at 10:40 am tee and our round lasted 5 hours. They had had a tournament earlier in the day in which made the round longer and waited many time between tee boxes.

The layout of this course is very challenging, hitting in the fairway is a must if you want to shoot a decent score. This is not a course for learning how to play like the few groups in front of us. Lots of canyons and trouble on each side of the fairways. The overall condition of the course was a bit disappointing for paying $125 for the round. The greens were very nice .

Played Black Gold Golf Club for the first time on 1/17/21. The conditions were tough as it was windy and a bit warm for "winter" weather. Nonetheless we were golfing in mid January as other around the... Continue »

Played Black Gold Golf Club for the first time on 1/17/21. The conditions were tough as it was windy and a bit warm for "winter" weather. Nonetheless we were golfing in mid January as other around the nation are done for the "season". The check-in process was painless and the staff was extremely friendly. The asst pro actually gave me their member rate since I worked in the industry, saved abould $30. The golf carts look brand new with very comfortable leather cushioned seats. Range balls were included with the green fee. Had a 10:45am tee time which we played in just under 5 hours. The pace was good until we reached the 7th hole, par 3 with three groups waiting on the tee box. From there on out the pace was awfully slow all day. Saw the marshall once but he just did a fly by, didn't seem like he was monitoring the pace of play.

The COURSE: The layout of this course is very challenging, hitting in the fairway is a must if you want to shoot a low score. Trouble on both sides of the hole on most of the course. Lots of elevation changes and rolling hills. The overall condition of the course was a bit disappointing. The TEE BOXES (5/10) were very hit and miss. Some were lush and green while other were hard and brown. All of the par 3's were full of divots. The FAIRWAYS (7/10) were firm and cut tight. Most were green and in decent shape with minimal divots while others were a bit burnt out and full of divots. Very inconsistent. The ROUGH (6/10) was dormant and not too long in length. Some areas were penalizing with clumpy grass patches in certain places. Most of the rough played fairly firm. The BUNKERS (7/10) were decent overall. I probably scored the bunkers too high but the condition of the greenside bunkers were great while the fairway bunkers were awful. Lots of rocks and barely any sand. They felt more like waste areas than fairway bunkers. The GREENS (9/10) were the highlight of the round. Very receptive and rolled true with minimal ball marks. The wind made putting on these massive greens that much harder. Most of the holes had very large greens. Putts were extremely quick when you were above the hole and the uphill putts were a touch slow. The greens very grainy which could be tough for some golfers to get accustom of the speed.

NEGATIVES: The pace was an issue from hole 7 on. I enjoy playing in 4H or less but also don't expect that on a weekend round at a tough course. The overall condition of the course was a big letdown for me. I was expecting the course to be maintained a bit tighter based on what they are charging.

CONCLUSION: The inconsistency from hole to hole (see photos I uploaded) has me confused and questioning giving the course another shot. I don't believe the course is worth paying triple digits. The layout is brilliant if you like challenging, tight tracks (which I do). Like I said earlier, the greens were the thing that stood out to me, very very nice!.Not my favorite Orange County course but definitely not the worse.

Played yesterday in a tournament for OC golf blog. The course set up the event well and had everything staged nicely to handle the 60 players. The course recently received new carts that are equipped ... Continue »

Played yesterday in a tournament for OC golf blog. The course set up the event well and had everything staged nicely to handle the 60 players. The course recently received new carts that are equipped with high quality branded leather and the Shark Experience GPS. The few staff members I encountered were friendly. Course is in good shape right now all around. Fairways have great coverage and are mostly green. A few areas were mowed a little tight but I had no issues with it. Rough was somewhat dormant and a mix of grasses not good but not bad. Greens were very healthy slightly firm and very fast. This might have been the best greens they have had in a long time. Sand traps were not that great for the 2 that I was in, there was a 1/2 inch top layer that was fine but firm underneath. Tee boxes were mostly good we played the blues and I think 1/2 them were back at the tips. IMO now is a good time to play black gold as the rates are OC reasonable (which may be more expensive than surrounding counties but worth a play.