Played today - some of the fairways are being worked on. I don't think I've ever seen this before; but essentially, there are raised, long lines that run through parts of the fairways; that have a sub... Continue »

Played today - some of the fairways are being worked on. I don't think I've ever seen this before; but essentially, there are raised, long lines that run through parts of the fairways; that have a substantial effect on your ball when it lands. It can stop; kick; turn; etc - I remember on Hole 3, I hit a nice drive down the middle and when the ball landed, pooof! Big ball of dirt and the ball kicked sharply to the left.

Other than that (and it being really windy today) - the course was in nice condition. Greens were fast; bunkers were nice; roughs were lush.

Played the other day with some fellow GKers... Thanks for the invite. This is a tough course. Not for the faint of heart. Fairways are thin but playable. You get a lot of roll here especially on t... Continue »

Played the other day with some fellow GKers... Thanks for the invite. This is a tough course. Not for the faint of heart. Fairways are thin but playable. You get a lot of roll here especially on the greens. The greens were fast and rolled very true, completely different from other courses I played where the bent grass and the imperfections of the green or the slightest debris would cause my ball to skip and jump. Quite the contrary here, a well struck ball rolls true here, you just have to get your head around these insane breaks.

They say everything breaks to Disneyland which is true just remember this course is in the foothills so everything no matter what you see will roll downhill. Tee boxes were solid. The sand in the bunkers, watch out. Because of the rain very impacted. You will get a lot of bounce when you need to get under the ball. Finally figured out my swing on the last hole (Bloody typical golf LOL) but aside from my own personal frustrations this was a great round. The views spectacular. You could see Catalina island. The pace of play was great. We finally caught up to a twosome ahead of us on the back 9. Course conditions are good compared to where I have played recently and will only get better as the weather stays warmer.

Layout of the course is challenging. You could do a lot worse and you will definitely have a good time playing here.

Played 1/27 with Ringworld and Shebylo. I love the layout of this course. Fair off the tee with some intimating risk/reward site lines, demanding on approach shots with many uneven lies/well protected... Continue »

Played 1/27 with Ringworld and Shebylo. I love the layout of this course. Fair off the tee with some intimating risk/reward site lines, demanding on approach shots with many uneven lies/well protected greens, big green complexes well bunkered and very difficult greens. Perhaps my favorite part of the layout is the many scenic views. Yesterday it was so clear you could see Catalina Island and what appeared to be most of Orange County. Regarding the conditions, the greens were running very fast, yet held shots and putted smooth. There were some treacherous pin placements which resulted in many three putts in our group. They were a blast to play although…really kept you thinking. Relating to the fairways, some in good shape and others roped off/no carts being worked on (playable although). The fairways being worked on are undergoing a deep cut procedure that involves a machine that cuts 2 inch wide by 12 inch deep slits, fills them with sand and covers it up. It is part of a major fairways enhancement project to alleviate the clay compaction and promote rapid healthy turf growth. Some of you might not know but the City of Yorba Linda is funding a project to continually improve the turf conditions at Black Gold Golf Club. The fairways and rough have been reseeded wall to wall twice now with Kikuyu grass. Kikuyu is a warm weather type grass courses like Torrey Pines and Riviera Country Club utilize so what is being experienced on the course is mostly current rye grass and spots of dormant kikuyu. Once Black Gold Golf Club gets the Kikuya established correctly, which should be in the spring, those fairways/rough could be some of the best around. The sand traps were in decent shape although be careful, they appear fluffy on the surface but are firm in general (dig those feet in before hitting shots). Overall I was happy with the conditions, especially the greens, and thought the course was playing excellent for this time of year.

My favorite hole on the course is 18. Could be one of the best finishing holes in Orange County. Par 5 515 yards, risk reward with a lake guarding the right side front of the green, elevated fairway to approach, clubhouse patio looking on…just a grand way to finish the round.

I love the course and will be back for another round. Highly Recommended.

Played 1/25/11. Greens were just dusted with light sand, not much to slow the pace of greens, but did affect the roll a bit. (Played again on 1/27 and still a little sand on greens) Fairways are incon... Continue »

Played 1/25/11. Greens were just dusted with light sand, not much to slow the pace of greens, but did affect the roll a bit. (Played again on 1/27 and still a little sand on greens) Fairways are inconsistent, in that some have been tagged as 'lift, clean, and place", others are in good condition, and others are somewhere in between. The variety of condition is a little disappointing, although I understand everything is done with improvement in mind. Tee boxes are kind of dry and crispy, but level. This has always been an OC favorite of mine and have played here over 100 times. Staff is always pleasant and very helpful, facility is great, views are course are good, and layout is interesting and challenging. I have to say, although, that I was very disappointed to learn that there are no plans to add the club and ball cleaner kit to the brand new carts. This was a great feature on the carts that were retired, and I probably have been spoiled, as I don't see it very often. In fact, I have said many times to friends and other players, that Black Gold had the best carts around. No longer the case, unfortunately. In addition, the typical ball cleaners are dispersed on only half of the tee boxes. I know that I can or maybe should always have a wet towel on hand, but will surely miss the little extra convenience of having the club and ball washer on board the cart. Otherwise, as stated above, a top notch facility from practice tee to 19th hole.

The course was in the best condition I have seen it. Despite the recent heavy rain, there did not seem to be any residual damage. A few wet spots still in the fairways, but all in all, excellent! Gre... Continue »

The course was in the best condition I have seen it. Despite the recent heavy rain, there did not seem to be any residual damage. A few wet spots still in the fairways, but all in all, excellent! Greens were not as fast as I expected, but still fairly quick. Staff was perfect. Hard to complain when playing golf in January in 80 degree weather. Only serves to validate my decision to move from Chicago 40+ years ago.

Played 1/16/11. Course is in excellent shape, with exception of some fairways. Some thin spots, some a little wet. On-board cart GPS would recommend lift clean and place on some of the fairways. Green... Continue »

Played 1/16/11. Course is in excellent shape, with exception of some fairways. Some thin spots, some a little wet. On-board cart GPS would recommend lift clean and place on some of the fairways. Greens are smoking fast, but will hold good approach shots. Don't forgot to find Disneyland on the greens as most roll that way. Service and staff, as always was excellent. Course is one of my favorites in OC.

Played Black Gold on 12-28-2010 on a $50 internet deal. Conditions were great, except the fairways which are being maintained and no GPS on brand new carts, I guess it will be a couple of days for the... Continue »

Played Black Gold on 12-28-2010 on a $50 internet deal. Conditions were great, except the fairways which are being maintained and no GPS on brand new carts, I guess it will be a couple of days for them to install. Course in general played a a great pace, true fast greens with barely not ball marks. A bit of a challenge when missing the green due to long thick rough. A great course when found a good deal to play it, regularly it is kind of expensive to my budget. Definitely not worth a full price.

Played here on Sunday the 28th. I think the course is playing way too hard.
1. Too many elevated greens from downhill lies.
2. The fairway grass is thin so the ball kind of sits down on a hard... Continue »

Played here on Sunday the 28th. I think the course is playing way too hard.
1. Too many elevated greens from downhill lies.
2. The fairway grass is thin so the ball kind of sits down on a hard, mudlike turf. It's hard to make even decent contact
3. The greens are wayy too fast for the amount of slope. It is impossible to read the green because sometimes the wind can affect the break more than the actual slope.

We just got back from playing Black Gold and here is my honest review.

The greens on the course are extremely fast, and some of the most difficult in orange county. I would think that even PGA p... Continue »

We just got back from playing Black Gold and here is my honest review.

The greens on the course are extremely fast, and some of the most difficult in orange county. I would think that even PGA professionals would have a hard time on these greens. What makes them difficult is the undulation and speed and severity. I must have three putted 7 greens on my way to 80.

if you don't play this course on a regular basis, good luck trying to figure out where exactly to aim for break. Even four foot putts can break a foot. The greens supposively all break to disneyland, but this isn't always the case, even though the starter tells you this at the beginning of the round. For instance hole 18 breaks to the water, the opposite way of disneyland. Don't tell me all putts break towards Disneyland if this isn't 100 percent correct. If you are on the wrong place on the green(i.e anything above the hole), good luck trying to two putt. Too much course knowledge is needed to read these greens.

Another disapointment with Black Gold is they have started to convert to Kukuya grass on the fairways. Kukuya grass is that nasty stuff you see on terrible golf courses all across Orange County. San Joaquin has a ton of this infestation yet for some reason Black Gold has decided to convert to this grass. They have planted this stuff in patches throughout the course which is certainly an eyesore. Hole 9's fairway was completely torn up and the entire middle part of the fairway was ground under repair.

The GPS is nice on the carts, but not always completely accurate as the wrong pin positions were preloaded on a few holes. Fairways were in decent shape, greens were "ok" but were too fast on the front nine, and too slow on the back nine ( because they started watering the course)

8 years ago I played my longest round of my life at Black Gold at over 6 hours and swore I would never come back. Today I played a 4 hour round and swore I will never come back. It's certainly not worth the price they are charging and after the kukuya takes hold, they will be lucky to get 1/2 of what they are charging now.