Nice course, but I don't think it is worth $90 to play. The course is in excellent condition concidering we are in a drought. This is a course where you can leave the driver in the bag. Fairway woods ... Continue »

Nice course, but I don't think it is worth $90 to play. The course is in excellent condition concidering we are in a drought. This is a course where you can leave the driver in the bag. Fairway woods or hybrids are a wise choice to tee off with since you will face blind shots and narrow fairways. The bunkers are not great and are very hard with little sand on top. The greens roll very good and you need to be on the right level or you will be facing some very fast and extreme breaking putts. I don't think this is normal there, but I played it on a sunday and I played it in just over 3 hours. Staff is very friendly and helpful and even got me out earlier then my scheduled tee time. I hope to get to play it again, but the price will keep me away.

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 ex... Continue »

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!

Great course with some great people working there. Tee boxes were in good shape and the fairways were great (a few had some tight lies). The kikuyu grass was for the most part not too penalizing eit... Continue »

Great course with some great people working there. Tee boxes were in good shape and the fairways were great (a few had some tight lies). The kikuyu grass was for the most part not too penalizing either. The kikuyu grass I've played on before was no FUN. The grass here though has enough fluff to it and was tight enough that it held the ball up well around the greens. The traps were a bit damp . but were in great shape also. The greens were in excellent shape and very quick as they dried out. The views reminded me of Encinitas Ranch without the ocean. I really enjoyed the layout with the short par fours and numerous forced carries off the tee. The round took a little more than four hours. The rates are a bit steep - but if you can play later in the day they drop.

Played today in 3 hours. Course is in great shape since my last time here end of March. To start with, customer service at all levels was top notch. Fairways have filled in, dried out and provided rol... Continue »

Played today in 3 hours. Course is in great shape since my last time here end of March. To start with, customer service at all levels was top notch. Fairways have filled in, dried out and provided roll and good lies on all holes. No issues with any tee boxes. Rough has filled in on the side of the fairways and around the greens and is very penalizing. Had no issues with bunkers, nor heard any complaints. Greens are wonderful and faster than before and will hold high iron shots but not low ones. Chipping and putting are spot on. A very enjoyable round.

Played 4/29/15. Staff is professional. They just started to punch the tee boxes today. Good conditions overall considering we're in a drought. Hard and fast fairways that run forever but the greens ar... Continue »

Played 4/29/15. Staff is professional. They just started to punch the tee boxes today. Good conditions overall considering we're in a drought. Hard and fast fairways that run forever but the greens are fairly soft and receptive. Rough is kukuya cut short so you get better lies when u miss the fairway sometimes. 7/10 for fairway, tees, bunker etc. 8/10 for the greens. Good layout but need to play a coulple time, some blind shot from the tee.

Played here 4/26/15. Overall good condition. Greens healed from March aeration. Rolling nice, just the right amount of firmness but still holding well. Very few ball marks on this day. Not quite as fa... Continue »

Played here 4/26/15. Overall good condition. Greens healed from March aeration. Rolling nice, just the right amount of firmness but still holding well. Very few ball marks on this day. Not quite as fast as they can be but good consistent speed.

Fairways are spotty, but are marked GUR as needed. The little rain we had did help green up a bit, but I'm guessing a hot week this week , might dry out the fairways some.

Played out of 2 greenside bunkers. Both were in good shape, although did hear playing partner grumble a little about lack of san in others.

Always top notch, friendly customer service. One of the best patios anywhere to enjoy some time after the round.

Gets my recommendation to play now. Fairly easy to find good deals on line. Enjoy

Played today. POP 3.5 hours. Customer service excellent at all levels. Course is in very nice shape right now, with the Kikuyu fairways growing in. But with that, comes soft fairways (very little roll... Continue »

Played today. POP 3.5 hours. Customer service excellent at all levels. Course is in very nice shape right now, with the Kikuyu fairways growing in. But with that, comes soft fairways (very little roll). Which also means, you need to carry shots from the fairway onto the greens, as you receive little/or no bounce around the greens. But in all fairness, we did play early and I suspect later in the day, after the fairways dry out, it might be completely different. Rough is very penalizing if you land in it (like rough should be). Lots of OB and canyons to play through, adding to the difficulty of the course. Sand traps and there are many and some are very large/deep, were very clean and very playable. The greens are fantastic. No signs of the aeration done several weeks ago. They hold shots, but you must hit the right area of the green to get good results, or the ball will roll, giving you lengthy/testing putts. They are fast and the undulations add to the speed (thanks to the super for not putting out difficult pins). Chipping is great, provided you read the speed correctly and putting is outstanding (best greens so far this year IMO). I am sure the course will only improve over the next few months. And unlike many other courses in the LA area, B G uses non-potable water and seems to have an ample supply on hand. I look forward to going back and playing it again, real soon.

Played Black Gold yesterday with my golf partner. Our usual once a year foray to this course using their "Black Monday" special for seniors. Course is way over priced for us "regular" guys but worth i... Continue »

Played Black Gold yesterday with my golf partner. Our usual once a year foray to this course using their "Black Monday" special for seniors. Course is way over priced for us "regular" guys but worth it for a deal. It was in much better shape than I expected. Fairways better than decent. Greens a little hard but in pretty good shape. Pin placements very, very difficult. Were they getting ready for the Open or what? LOL. Traps very good ( I found a few!) Nice thump when you made contact. Rough was brutal. Add a stroke if you found it. Staff was great. All in all a fun round. Would play this course more often but for the normal price.

Played BG today 1/22/15 and found the course a bit average. The fairways were pretty shaggy. A lot of bare spots but I guess this was due to winter. There wasn't much rough for the same reason. San... Continue »

Played BG today 1/22/15 and found the course a bit average. The fairways were pretty shaggy. A lot of bare spots but I guess this was due to winter. There wasn't much rough for the same reason. Sand traps had about a half inch of sand on top and then underneath was rock hard. Tee boxes had a lot of wear. The greens however were very good. Some of the greens had a lot of ball marks while some were absolutely perfect. All of the greens however rolled pretty good. The greens are tricky with all of the undulations. Nice track and have played this course before in better condition. The senior, weekday rate is $52 which isn't bad. We played on a discount coupon however and got a much better rate. Definitely coming back.