Rode the Blacks (6669/71.9/128) with 24hourgolf, Margot and Dave in 4H, 15M early morning using Under Par. The weather was clear, calm and in the high 80's when we finished just before noon. Generou... Continue »

Rode the Blacks (6669/71.9/128) with 24hourgolf, Margot and Dave in 4H, 15M early morning using Under Par. The weather was clear, calm and in the high 80's when we finished just before noon. Generous landing areas and a reasonable difficulty factor would make this course a good choice for players of all skill levels. Some forced carries and water comes into play on many holes, but not for the more forward tees. Would be a difficult course to walk, many tees are a long way from the last green. The tees were lush and very well maintained. The fairways are lush and nice to play from. The rough is super lush and thick but not overly high. Just deep enough for the ball to often sit down. The sand traps were nicely maintained with thick, good quality sand. The large greens putted nice, medium fast speed and are firm. No driving range, you have to go 1/2 mile down the street where the sister Santa Rosa course has a nice, all grass driving range. No GPS on the basic carts. The customer service was excellent from everyone encountered. Drink cart out making the rounds. Reasonably priced restaurant onsite that is usually very busy. Definitely recommended.

Rode the Blacks (6669/71.9/128) with John, Jim and Peggy in 4H early morning using UP. The weather was clear, calm and in the low 80's when we finished just before noon. Generous landing areas and a... Continue »

Rode the Blacks (6669/71.9/128) with John, Jim and Peggy in 4H early morning using UP. The weather was clear, calm and in the low 80's when we finished just before noon. Generous landing areas and a reasonable difficulty factor would make this course a good choice for players of all skill levels. Some forced carries and water comes into play on many holes, but not for the more forward tees. Would be a difficult course to walk, many tees are a long way from the last green. No GPS on the basic carts. The tees were lush and very well maintained. The fairways are lush and were being slice cut today, which affected their playability short-term. The rough is super lush and punitive. Thick and deep enough to make the ball sit down. The sand traps were nicely maintained with thick, good quality sand. The large greens putted nice, medium speed and are firm. The customer service was excellent from everyone encountered. No drink cart today. Reasonably priced restaurant onsite that was super busy. No driving range, you have to go 1/2 mile down the street where the sister Santa Rosa course has a nice, all grass driving range. Definitely recommended.

Rode the Blacks (6669/71.9/128) with John, Donna and their adult grandscon Nate in 4.5H twilight using UP. The weather was clear, breezy and in the low 70's when we finished around 5pm. The course i... Continue »

Rode the Blacks (6669/71.9/128) with John, Donna and their adult grandscon Nate in 4.5H twilight using UP. The weather was clear, breezy and in the low 70's when we finished around 5pm. The course is in super condition. Billy Casper designed Par 35-37=72 layout with five par 5's and five par 3's. The front is stacked with par 3's, 4 of your first 8 holes are par 3's. The back 9 averages almost 420 per hole from the Blacks, it plays long. The tees were lush and well maintained. The Black tees had so few divots they almost looked like artificial turf. The fairways are lush and very nice to play from. The rough is super lush and punitive. Thick and just deep enough to make the ball sit down. The sand traps were nicely maintained with good quality sand. They are thick enough to produce several "fried eggs" in our group. The large greens putted nice, medium fast speed and firm. Generous landing areas and the difficulty factor would make it a good choice for players of all skill levels. Some forced carries and water comes into play on many holes. Would be a difficult course to walk, many tees are a long way from the last green. No GPS on the basic carts. The customer service was good from everyone encountered. No drink cart today. Had lunch between rounds, good selection and reasonably priced restaurant. No driving range, you have to go 1/2 mile down the street where the sister Santa Rosa course has a nice, all grass driving range. Definitely recommended.

Rode the Blacks (6669/71.9/128) using Forelinx in 4H twilight, barely finishing before darkness. Was matched up with Roger, Luch and Bernardo as part of a twilight shot gun start. The weather was arou... Continue »

Rode the Blacks (6669/71.9/128) using Forelinx in 4H twilight, barely finishing before darkness. Was matched up with Roger, Luch and Bernardo as part of a twilight shot gun start. The weather was around 70 and sunny with a little breeze. The course looks immaculate after over seeding. No GPS on the basic carts, no drink cart. Marshall out patrolling trying to enforce POP. The tees were lush and well maintained. The fairways were lush and excellent to play from. The rough is just high enough to grab a longer club. The sand traps were nicely maintained with good quality sand. The large greens had a light top dressing, but still putted nice. Medium fast and firm. Excellent variety of holes. Par 35-37=72 Billy Casper designed layout with five par 5's and five par 3's. The back plays 871 yards longer from the tips and has many more par 4's than the front because the front is stacked with par 3's. Better score on the front, because the back plays LONG @ 3770 yards. Some forced carries and water comes into play on many holes. However, generous landing areas would make it a good choice for players of all skill levels. Not a course to walk, many tees are a hike from the last green. Recommended.

Played here this morning. I used an UnderPar voucher for a single that included a replay… amazing deal for $27. (It’s even cheaper per person if you have a twosome.) I didn’t book a tee time but I kne... Continue »

Played here this morning. I used an UnderPar voucher for a single that included a replay… amazing deal for $27. (It’s even cheaper per person if you have a twosome.) I didn’t book a tee time but I knew there were plenty of single spots available this morning. I showed up a bit before 7:00 and was pretty much sent straight to the first tee by the super-friendly pro shop attendant. I played through a group on the second/third holes and had smooth sailing after that. Pace was about 2:30, playing by myself. Weather was hot but pretty breezy, which helped a lot.

Conditions are surprisingly excellent for late August. Greens are smooth, medium-fast and firm, yet they accept full shots very well. They’re just a tiny bit crusty in spots, but overall very impressive for late Summer. The fairways are even better. Like the greens, there are sporadic dry spots, but my ball never ended up on any of those spots and I had near-perfect lies all day. The rough is also good, maybe a bit more dried out on some holes. Rough depth varied from short to semi-thick in spots. Tee boxes were good. I was only in one bunker, a fairway bunker on 18, and it was very nice.

I played Santa Rosa a couple years ago but hadn’t played here before today. The course looked absolutely fantastic in the early morning sunlight, and I enjoyed the layout a lot. Very wide fairways, pretty flat (although often tiered) greens and some very attractive bunkering. There are a ton of water hazards; many holes have small lakes/ponds right in front of the tee box, but only really factor in if you hit a terrible shot. It feels like the kind of water hazard that scares the crud out of you as a beginner, but as a seasoned player, you barely even notice them. San Gorgonio has a couple holes on the back that are sorta boring and feel “less than” the rest of the course, but overall I think I preferred this course to Santa Rosa (which I played on my replay).

Overall very impressive conditions and a fun layout. Only minor bummer is that the course didn’t really live up to its name because the Coachella Valley was very hazy/smoky today, and the mountains were barely visible compared to the norm.

Here’s a link to my Flickr photo album of 36 photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHskDCpdBg

Rode the Blacks (6669/71.9/128) with 140ver in 3.5H mid day. The weather was clear, calm and in the low 100's when we were finishing around 3pm. The Bermuda tees were lush and well maintained. The... Continue »

Rode the Blacks (6669/71.9/128) with 140ver in 3.5H mid day. The weather was clear, calm and in the low 100's when we were finishing around 3pm. The Bermuda tees were lush and well maintained. The Bermuda fairways are lush and have a nice cushion, they are very nice to play from. The Bermuda rough is lush and just deep enough to make the ball sit down. The sand traps were decently maintained with good quality sand. The large Bermuda greens putted nice, medium speed and firm. Par 35-37=72 layout with five par 5's and five par 3's. The front is stacked with par 3's, 4 of your first 8 holes are par 3's. The back 9 averages almost 420 per hole from the Blacks, it plays long. Not a course to walk, many holes are a long ways from the last tee. No GPS on the basic carts. Generous landing areas and the difficulty factor would make it a good choice for players of all skill levels. Some forced carries and water comes into play on many holes. The customer service was good but limited. No drink cart today. Definitely recommended.

Rode the Blacks (6669/71.9/128) as a single in 3H mid day. Basically had the course to myself under partly cloudy skies and 108 degree temps. Considering how many straight days the temp has been 100... Continue »

Rode the Blacks (6669/71.9/128) as a single in 3H mid day. Basically had the course to myself under partly cloudy skies and 108 degree temps. Considering how many straight days the temp has been 100+ locally, this course is in phenomenal shape! Par 35-37=72 layout with five par 5's and five par 3's. The front is stacked with par 3's, 4 of your first 8 holes are par 3's. Generous landing areas and the difficulty factor would make it a good choice for players of all skill levels. Some forced carries and water comes into play on many holes, but moving up a tee(s) could negate that for shorter hitters. The Bermuda tees were lush and well maintained. The lush Bermuda fairways were some of the best fairways I have played from in awhile. Nice cushion, the ball sat up like it was on a tee. The Bermuda rough is lush and just deep enough to make the ball sit down. The sand traps were decently maintained with good quality sand. The large Bermuda greens putted nice, medium speed and firm. More undulations on these greens than the sister Santa Rosa course. The customer service was good but limited. No drink cart today. Not a course to walk, many holes are a long ways from the last tee. No GPS on the basic carts. Definitely recommended.

Rode the Blacks (6669/71.9/128) as a single using Underpar playing behind a very slow 4some and 3some twilight. It was not uncommon for me to be on a par 3 tee box with the 3some while the 4some was ... Continue »

Rode the Blacks (6669/71.9/128) as a single using Underpar playing behind a very slow 4some and 3some twilight. It was not uncommon for me to be on a par 3 tee box with the 3some while the 4some was still teeing off. 4H, 25M riding as a single is a VERY SLOW round. The weather was around 95 in the afternoon, sunny with a little breeze. Par 35-37=72 Billy Casper designed layout. I love courses that have five par 5's and five par 3's. The back plays 871 yards longer from the tips and has many more par 4's than the front because the front is stacked with par 3's. Better score on the front, because the back plays LONG @ 3770 yards. The tees were lush and well maintained. The fairways were lush and excellent to play from. The rough is only over seeded close to the fairways here. The secondary rough is dormant Bermuda and is not nearly as nice/lush. Sand traps were decently maintained with good quality sand. The large Bermuda greens putted nice, medium fast and very firm. More undulations on these greens than the sister Santa Rosa course. Generous landing areas and the difficulty factor would make it a good choice for players of all skill levels. Some forced carries and water comes into play on many holes, but moving up a tee(s) could negate that for shorter hitters. Not a course to walk, many holes are a long ways from the last tee. Definitely recommended.

Played the Blacks (6669/71.9/128) with GDR23, Larry & Paul in 4.5H early morning using Underpar. The weather was perfect, around 70 when we started and almost 95 when we finished, sunny with a little ... Continue »

Played the Blacks (6669/71.9/128) with GDR23, Larry & Paul in 4.5H early morning using Underpar. The weather was perfect, around 70 when we started and almost 95 when we finished, sunny with a little breeze. Par 35-37=72 layout. I love courses that have five par 5's and five par 3's. However, this one gets there in a very unique way. As long as you focus on the end result after 18 holes, you will like this layout. It could be seen as a detriment that you play four par 3's and three par 5's on the front with only two par 4's. The back plays 871 yards longer from the tips and has many more par 4's than the front because of this anomaly. Better score on the front, because the back plays LONG @ 3770 yards. The tees were lush and well maintained. The fairways were lush, almost always had excellent lies. The rough is only over seeded close to the fairways here. The secondary rough is dormant bermuda and is not nearly as nice/lush. Sand traps were nicely maintained with good quality sand. The greens putted nice, medium speed and firm. No tiers or tricked up mounds to navigate, but many of the greens are large. It was not unusual for someone in the group to have a 50-75' putt. Really enjoyed this course. Generous landing areas and the difficulty factor would make it a good choice for players of all skill levels. Some forced carries and water comes into play on many holes, but moving up a tee(s) could negate that for shorter hitters. Not a course to walk, many holes are a long ways from the last tee. Customer Service excellent, guy beside 18 green cleaning your clubs before you even putt out. Highly recommended.