Played in the early morning in the GK Cup 'accompany' match at Black Gold on Wednesday, August 29th, on a warm sunny day with almost no wind (the latter unusual for my experience at BG). Congrats to M... Continue »

Played in the early morning in the GK Cup 'accompany' match at Black Gold on Wednesday, August 29th, on a warm sunny day with almost no wind (the latter unusual for my experience at BG). Congrats to Martin on his win, although it's clear the SOUTH Region continues to dominate the GK Match Play, with the third finals appearance in three years (props to Brian). Thanks to Rob and Ron for dragging me in their longball-hitting wake as we led the way around BG for the championship match.

In general I like BG and thought the course was in pretty good condition - a few things hit me the wrong way as we made our way around the course. Greens were in very good condition, holding shots and rolling well, but the number of old balls marks on all the greens gave them a chicken-pox appearance. The number of unrepaired marks was very discouraging. Not that many fresh pitch marks, but then we were out in an early group!

The areas around the greens were in somewhat inconsistent condition, with some areas very lush and difficult, and others fairly thin. In general, we encountered thin fairways, although lies were OK and there were no large bare areas. However, we found very poor fairway conditions in front of 18th green, including large sodded areas. Many tees were punched but not a problem finding good hitting areas. Sand traps were firm and packed/damp, with only a thin layer of active sand.

There were a lot of distractions going on during the round - noisy construction in a couple of places around the clubhouse area; and I've never seen this many maintenance people working on a golf course at one time, not just singly but in groups of 4 or 5, doing all kinds of noisy things. I've never been very distracted by workers in the past, but they were almost ubiquitous today and eventually very intrusive.

The main long-term gripe I have about BG is the silly 'pump' water stations they have scattered around the course - the work required to get a little bit of drinking water isn't worth the large amount of pumping required. Please replace these ridiculous water stations!

Black Gold Golf Club Review
Orange County California Golf Course Reviews

Couldn't ask for a much better day and course for the GK Cup final. Black Gold was in wonderful shape. Greens were smooth and at a perfect speed. They were extremely receptive as well. Fairways were a... Continue »

Couldn't ask for a much better day and course for the GK Cup final. Black Gold was in wonderful shape. Greens were smooth and at a perfect speed. They were extremely receptive as well. Fairways were also in very good condition with sand fill available in the fairways of most holes. Fairway rough was fairly benign, but the rough around the greens was thick and sticky. Tee boxes were also in good shape even though the par 3s had a few unfilled divots.

I will admit that this course layout will not be for everybody but I do think it is a better course than the comparable Coyote Hills which is about 5 miles away. I also don't think it is worth the posted rack rate, but I do recommend coming out here if you are able to find a discounted rate. I was quite impressed with the course and it far exceeded my expectations.

Black Gold Golf Club Review
Orange County California Golf Course Reviews

Played Wed 8/29 -
With our GK group. Two guys were playing for the finals in our GK match play event.

The day was great. The sky was beautiful and the company was good as well with my fellow GKe... Continue »

Played Wed 8/29 -
With our GK group. Two guys were playing for the finals in our GK match play event.

The day was great. The sky was beautiful and the company was good as well with my fellow GKers. the service was great, and with smiles. The clubhouse is being renovated (just an area) should turn out to be a great sit and eat spot.

The biggest issue I had was with the driving range. It is difficult when hitting off of grass more often than not, but they needed some work on the grass for the driving range.

The course was in good condition. The tee boxes were good and faced the hole. they also had tee boxes that gave a very good perspective of the surrounding veiw. The fairways were in good shape expect for a couple, (wet spots where the grass was over watered and 2 fairways were repatched - maybe some damage before) however the rest were in good condition.
The greens were in excellent shape - they actually ran just like the practice greens by the first tee. So that was a plus. They were fast and you have to know where you are to understand if it is down hill or uphill - Greens will hold your approach shot if you are coming in correctly.
Where orientation is important is when you are chipping, becuase the ball will run if you are down hill and it will stop if you are uphill.

the course layout requires some playing time, but one of the key things is to keep it in the fairway and you can score.

It was a great day.

Black Gold Golf Club Review
Orange County California Golf Course Reviews

Played Black Gold Golf Club yesterday as part of the GK Cup Final group. What a great time that was and congratulations again to GK’er lkygsx. As far as the course goes, got to say considering the mas... Continue »

Played Black Gold Golf Club yesterday as part of the GK Cup Final group. What a great time that was and congratulations again to GK’er lkygsx. As far as the course goes, got to say considering the massive heat wave we’ve been having in Southern California for almost a month now, Black Gold GC was in great shape. I remember when the course made the decision to transition the fairways/rough from year-around rye grass to kikuyu and at first it seemed like a disaster. But finally the kikuya has taken hold and if you know kikuyu grass, you know it loves heat. There are some brown spots out there but mostly its very lush fairways and rough. With the heat you’ll find a few wet areas too due to extra watering but nothing soggy. Beware of the rough although. On average I’d say it was 3 inches. 3 inches of kikuyu rough can be very difficult to hit from if your ball is not sitting up. As nice as the fairways and rough were, I was more impressed with the greens. They were running moderately fast, mostly smooth with exception to some ball mark damage and held shot very well. These are tricky greens so you have to putt well. As for the bunkers, they contained beautiful white sand and were well groomed. Lastly I felt the tee boxes were in good shape, mostly lush, some divot damage and cut tight. Something I was very impressed with is Black Gold Golf Club had divot mix on every tee box and available in most fairways. It’s was not the cheap sand mix either. It was colored green with a fine texture. This shows me how much the course truly cares about the condition of the course with this type of investment.

Overall I always enjoy this layout. There are many demanding interesting holes as well as scenic ones. The course provides many outstanding views of orange county and good number of risk reward holes. You’ve got to keep it straight out there off the tee and putt very well to score. I will be returning to play Black Gold Golf Club hopefully sooner than later. Just posted a few photos…check them out!

Black Gold Golf Club Review
Orange County California Golf Course Reviews

Played today at 6:45. Friendly desk service, got out right on time with no one in front of us. Caught up with 4some around 5th hole but they were moving decent. cart gal came around several times.

... Continue »

Played today at 6:45. Friendly desk service, got out right on time with no one in front of us. Caught up with 4some around 5th hole but they were moving decent. cart gal came around several times.

Course in in great shape. Tee boxes were level, but they have all been punched but did not affect our tee shots. Fairways are lush with only 2-3 areas that had some thin spots, rolled well. Rough was 3-4 inches long in some areas with no thin or dry spots. Bunkers had decent sand, 3 that I was in were damp but ball came out well. Greens were soft and receptive and some rolled slower but they averaged med-fast. Senior rate of $52 with cart and GPS was well worth the fee.

Black Gold Golf Club Review
Orange County California Golf Course Reviews

Played 8/1. twitter discount so follow them and you may save money. Had a great time. Course in excellent condition and very challenging. recommend to all.

Black Gold Golf Club Review
Orange Count... Continue »

Played 8/1. twitter discount so follow them and you may save money. Had a great time. Course in excellent condition and very challenging. recommend to all.

Black Gold Golf Club Review
Orange County California Golf Course Reviews

Played Black Gold today. Great senior rate of $52 for a first class golf course. Tee'd off at 6:30 am because it can pretty hot in July (temp in the 90's today). We were probably the second group out ... Continue »

Played Black Gold today. Great senior rate of $52 for a first class golf course. Tee'd off at 6:30 am because it can pretty hot in July (temp in the 90's today). We were probably the second group out (we were a twosome). Didn't see anyone for 8 holes!! Course in fantastic shape. Par 3's pretty easy but some very tough par 4's. Very enjoyable, especially at that rate.

Black Gold Golf Club Review
Orange Country Golf Course Reviews

Played 7/10/12. Course conditions are improving nicely. Just a very light sand on greens today, but did not seem to affect roll or speed at all. Receptive greens, Near perfect bunker conditions, fairw... Continue »

Played 7/10/12. Course conditions are improving nicely. Just a very light sand on greens today, but did not seem to affect roll or speed at all. Receptive greens, Near perfect bunker conditions, fairways are getting better each week. Some bare / thin spots but only a fraction marked GUR. Not an extremely long course, but rolling terrain makes for some difficult lie angles. Tough greens to read, but helpful to know which direction Disneyland is, at all times.
Always great customer service. Noticeable improvements throughout on practice area, (new club cleaners and club stands) water stations on course, and with staff before and after round. If you haven't played here because of other recent reviews, give this course another chance. Always good deals to be found on internet. Great views and lots of wildlife make for a very interesting round.

Black Gold Golf Club Review
Orange Country Golf Course Reviews

Played out there today 6/23. Course was very lush, especially the rough. Fairways were good, greens were smooth and fast, but too firm to hold many shots well. Some tee boxes were a little uneven but ... Continue »

Played out there today 6/23. Course was very lush, especially the rough. Fairways were good, greens were smooth and fast, but too firm to hold many shots well. Some tee boxes were a little uneven but overall the course was great. Alot of elevation change, didn't notice any difference in the grasses mentioned, looked the same as when I played it a couple years ago. Can be some tough, narrow driving holes. A great deal if you can get on for under $40.

Black Gold Golf Club Review
Orange Country Golf Course Reviews