Rode the Blacks (6720/72.1/127) as a single mid day in 3H, 15M using Forelinx. The weather was around 90 and sunny with a little breeze. The Bermuda tees were lush and nicely maintained. The Bermu... Continue »

Rode the Blacks (6720/72.1/127) as a single mid day in 3H, 15M using Forelinx. The weather was around 90 and sunny with a little breeze. The Bermuda tees were lush and nicely maintained. The Bermuda fairways were lush and very nice to play from. The Bermuda rough is drying out. mostly cut low, but still thick. Tough to play longer clubs from. The sand traps were very good with fine quality sand, Nicely maintained. The Bermuda greens putted medium fast speed, relatively smooth for Bermuda and are firm. No tiers or huge mounds to navigate, but you rarely ever have a straight putt. Enjoy this four par 5 and four par 3 layout. The back is almost 300 yards longer, so better score on the risk/reward par 4's on the front. The layout is tight in places, but mostly generous landing areas. It would still be a good choice for players of all skill levels. Definitely not a course to walk, many holes are a long ways from the last tee. All grass driving range is a +. No GPS on the carts is a -. Plenty of water on the course. Recommended.

Rode the Blacks (6720/72.1/127) with Keith and Casey in 3H, 45M mid day using Forelinx. The weather was in the mid 90's, overcast and breezy. Enjoy this Billy Casper design. The front is almost 300 ... Continue »

Rode the Blacks (6720/72.1/127) with Keith and Casey in 3H, 45M mid day using Forelinx. The weather was in the mid 90's, overcast and breezy. Enjoy this Billy Casper design. The front is almost 300 yards shorter with a couple of risk/reward par 4's. Not only is the back longer, but more holes than not seem to play into the prevailing wind. The Bermuda tees were lush and very well maintained. The Bermuda fairways were lush and excellent to play from. The Bermuda rough is drying out and clumpy as over seeding approaches. Not long but still thick, tough to play longer clubs from. The sand traps were very well maintained with fine quality sand. The Bermuda greens are firm but still putted nice, medium speed. No tiers or huge mounds to navigate, but we rarely had a straight putt. Few forced carries and not too much water would make this course a good choice for players of all skill levels. Mostly generous landing areas, not overtly tight. The customer service was very good all around. Definitely not a course to walk, many holes are a long ways from the last tee. No GPS on the basic carts is the only real negative. Recommended.

When I checked in to San Gorgonio, the pro shop guy booked my UnderPar deal “replay” round at Santa Rosa for me around 11:30. So after I finished, I drove over there (they have separate clubhouses may... Continue »

When I checked in to San Gorgonio, the pro shop guy booked my UnderPar deal “replay” round at Santa Rosa for me around 11:30. So after I finished, I drove over there (they have separate clubhouses maybe a mile apart). It was pretty busy around 10:00, so I decided to go eat some breakfast and came back around 11:00. There was a group on the first hole, so I chipped for a while and then headed to the first tee, but another single beat me to the tee. He disappeared very quickly, though, so pace was fine. I played through a couple groups and later let a very quick single play through me. Total POP was similar to the morning on San Gorgonio, around 2:30. Very hot and not as picturesque in the midday sun.

Course conditions on Santa Rosa are maybe just a tiny bit below San Gorgonio. The greens are very lightly sanded on Santa Rosa, but it didn’t affect any of my putts. Smooth, medium speed, firm but accepted full shots well. Fairways were excellent, except a few burned out spots. Rough was great, some easy to deal with and some thicker areas. Black tee boxes were good. Again, I was only in one fairway bunker, and it was nice.

I’d played here a couple years ago on a rainy day with SBogey, CPennbo and bsparks1961. Enjoyed it then and enjoyed it again today. Like I said in my San Gorgonio review, I think I prefer San Gorgonio slightly, but they’re both solid courses. Very wide fairways, but I still sprayed two tee balls OB on Santa Rosa today, so it’s not entirely forgiving. Lots of water hazards and lots of very large, nice-looking bunkers.

Here’s a link to my Flickr photo album of 28 photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmqWpKaj

Rode the Blacks (6720/72.1/127) with Bill mid day in around 3H using Forelinx. The weather was around 100, sunny with a little breeze. The Bermuda tees were nicely maintained. The Bermuda fairways... Continue »

Rode the Blacks (6720/72.1/127) with Bill mid day in around 3H using Forelinx. The weather was around 100, sunny with a little breeze. The Bermuda tees were nicely maintained. The Bermuda fairways were lush and very nice to play from. The Bermuda rough is lush/thick. Tough to play longer clubs from. Good length, high enough to be penal, not so high as to slow POP with lost ball challenges every time you enter it. The sand traps were excellent. Fine quality sand and very nicely maintained. The Bermuda greens putted medium speed and were smooth/consistent/firm. No tiers or huge mounds to navigate, but I rarely had a straight putt. Enjoy this conventional 36-36=72, four par 5 and four par 3 layout. The front is almost 300 yards shorter with a couple of risk/reward par 4's. Tight in places, but still mostly generous landing areas. It would still be a good choice for players of all skill levels. Definitely not a course to walk, many holes are a long ways from the last tee. Recommended.

Rode the Blacks (6720/72.1/127) with Susan and Ann in 3H, 45M using Underpar. The weather was in the mid 80's, sunny with a little breeze early morning. Designed by Billy Casper, the four par 5, fou... Continue »

Rode the Blacks (6720/72.1/127) with Susan and Ann in 3H, 45M using Underpar. The weather was in the mid 80's, sunny with a little breeze early morning. Designed by Billy Casper, the four par 5, four par 3 track is a conventional 36-36=72 layout. The front is almost 300 yards shorter with a couple of risk/reward par 4's. The back definitely plays longer with a couple of long par 4's. The tees were lush and very well maintained. The fairways were lush and excellent to play from. All the rough is over seeded and lush/thick. Tough to play longer clubs from. Good length, high enough to be penal, not so high as to slow POP with lost ball challenges every time you enter it. The sand traps were excellent. Fine quality sand and very nicely maintained. The Bermuda greens are firm but still putted nice, medium speed. No tiers or huge mounds to navigate, but we rarely had a straight putt. I thought the difficulty factor was slightly higher than it's sister San Gorgonio course but it would still be a good choice for players of all skill levels. Enjoy this course. Mostly generous landing areas, not overtly tight. Customer Service excellent, guy beside 18 green cleaning your clubs before you even putt out. Definitely not a course to walk, many holes are a long ways from the last tee. Recommended.

Played the Blacks (6720/72.1/127) with GDR23 mid day in slightly less than 4H using Underpar. The weather was in the mid 90's, sunny with a little breeze. Conventional 36-36=72, four par 5 and four ... Continue »

Played the Blacks (6720/72.1/127) with GDR23 mid day in slightly less than 4H using Underpar. The weather was in the mid 90's, sunny with a little breeze. Conventional 36-36=72, four par 5 and four par 3 layout. The front is almost 300 yards shorter with a couple of risk/reward par 4's. The back seemed longer than the scorecard indicated. From tee to green, the Santa Rosa layout was maintained a notch above the San Gorgonio course we played in the morning. However, because of a slight vericutt, the San Gorgonio greens were better. The tees were near immaculate and very well maintained. The fairways were lush, beautifully striped and were excellent to play from. All the rough is over seeded and lush/thick. Tough to play longer clubs from. Good length, high enough to be penal, not so high as to slow POP with lost ball challenges every time you enter it. The sand traps were excellent. Fine quality sand and very nicely maintained. The greens had a small vericutt, but still putted nice, medium speed and firm. Seemed like the greens varied in size more on this course. No tiers or huge mounds to navigate, but we rarely had a straight putt. Enjoyed this course. Tighter than San Gorgonio, but still mostly generous landing areas. I thought the difficulty factor was slightly higher than San Gorgonio, but it would still be a good choice for players of all skill levels. Definitely not a course to walk, many holes are a long ways from the last tee. Recommended.

2nd round of the day this afternoon 3/30/18 teeing off at 12:30pm with my buddy Nickesquire. Used the Underpar free replay voucher. We rode the Black Tees. Weather at tee off was pushing 93 degrees. P... Continue »

2nd round of the day this afternoon 3/30/18 teeing off at 12:30pm with my buddy Nickesquire. Used the Underpar free replay voucher. We rode the Black Tees. Weather at tee off was pushing 93 degrees. POP was 3 hrs 55 minutes catching a 4some and waiting some for them mostly on the back nine.

Great layout that I enjoyed even more than San Gorgonio. Front nine here is the nine to score on with the back nine playing a good 250 yds longer. Like its sister course enough tight holes, bunkers, rough and water hazards to keep any player honest. Semi-Challenging layout that was super fun to play.

The bermuda greens looked like they had just been verticut with a minor slash that really did not affect putting at all. The greens were soft and held irons with spin. Rating the greens a 8/10.

The fairways were great. Lush, striped and looked like you were playing on the PGA tour. Rating them a 9/10.

Tees lush, level and hardly any divots--not even on the par 3's. Rated 9/10.

Rough was in great shape as well--just maybe a inch thicker than its sister course. Great shape as well 9/10.

Was in one greenside bunker raked with nice soft sand. Rated 8.5/10.

Man you guys that live out here are spoiled with great lush courses.

Highly recommended especially if you can land a deal.

played 4-28-17. For the time being this course is only 9 holes. They are revamping the irrigation system on the back 9 so it's closed. We had to play the front 9 twice. Course is in great shape. Made ... Continue »

played 4-28-17. For the time being this course is only 9 holes. They are revamping the irrigation system on the back 9 so it's closed. We had to play the front 9 twice. Course is in great shape. Made it a joy to play. Traps were a bit firm but not bad at all. Greens looked strange but rolled perfect and quick. Would not pay full price to play 9 holes twice but we had an unlimited voucher and it was the best place to start. I don't know if they plan to do the front 9 as well so check before you go.

played with GKers on this our 2nd round of the day Tuesday at around 1:30pm. First time playing this course for our group.

Course conditions were decent for the Palm Springs Area (which means condi... Continue »

played with GKers on this our 2nd round of the day Tuesday at around 1:30pm. First time playing this course for our group.

Course conditions were decent for the Palm Springs Area (which means conditions were very nice compared to comparable priced OC Courses).

front 9 was fairly mundane with wide open fairways and well suited for seniors and soaking wet golfers playing their 2nd round.

back 9 had a bit more interest and teeth.

since the course was well soaked from the rain and continued to rain on us during the round, I can not really comment on the detailed conditions.

I enjoyed the round and for $21 online rate I found that to be a great value.

Carts - basic, no GPS