Played early this morning teeing it up wit Abbacat. Weather was clear and chilly to start with but quickly warmed up to perfect sunny golf weather with excellent views of the bay. Blackhorse is alwa... Continue »

Played early this morning teeing it up wit Abbacat. Weather was clear and chilly to start with but quickly warmed up to perfect sunny golf weather with excellent views of the bay. Blackhorse is always a tough track with fast greens that have several undulations. Today was no exception and the greens flat out kicked my tail. After bragging about having one of my best putting days last weekend, today was the complete opposite. Greens afre firm, fast and roll true. Fairways present a lot of tight lies but on the flip side offer a lot of roll out.

Tee boxes are in the middle of their seasonal maintenance with most having been recently sanded and top dressed. No issues with the bunkers. Some gorgeous white sand some brown but all very playable. And between us, I think we were in just about every fairway and greenskide bunker on the course!

Blackhorse is a tough but scenic track. There are views or peaks of the ocean on 16-17 holes. Every hole has some sort of elevation change. Price is very reasonable making it a peninsula go to course.

I'm happy to say course conditions are back to being very nice. Played yesterday early afternoon in some great peninsula weather. Bayonet is closed for the weekend due to car week and Ferrari has ... Continue »

I'm happy to say course conditions are back to being very nice. Played yesterday early afternoon in some great peninsula weather. Bayonet is closed for the weekend due to car week and Ferrari has rented the place. There are 75-100 Ferrari's parked on the course. Don't worry, they keep them away from the holes that come into contact with Black Horse so there's no chance of hitting any of the cars.

With that, on to course conditions. Greens were firm and fast. No issues with the greens. They rolled smooth and true. No pitch marks to worry about. Chip shots would check up nice. Long irons would tend to roll out a bit but that's usual for here.

Fairways were nice and green with only a few thin areas scattered about on a couple of the holes. The first cut of rough was patchy throughout the entire course. It was only about 1-1.5 inches tall but thin and patchy leaving it a crap shoot on the lie. Tee boxes were good for the most part. Only one was semi chewed up. The rest were all a good 7-8.5 rating.

I was in two bunkers. One was ok ( a little thin) the other was great. A 6 rating on the first and an 8+ on the second one.

Pop was a little slow for an afternoon round. I thought I timed it right to miss the morning crowd and beat the afternoon twilight group. Nope! With Bayonet closed and all the car folks around it was a busy(ish) day. Still finished in just under 4 hrs so it wasn't too bad.

Blackhorse is always a challenging track that is fun to play. Greens can be atrocious out here with all the sever undulations. Yesterday the pins were in some very friendly locations however a rusty driver from not playing in 2 weeks kept me from taking advantage of "tamed" greens on the front nine.

With views of the bay and course conditions back to normal, Blackhorse is back on the recommended list for Peninsula tracks.

As much as I love this course. I have to say, conditions are pretty bad right now. Overall the course is in Ok shape but for a higher end course on the Monterey bay with views of the ocean throughou... Continue »

As much as I love this course. I have to say, conditions are pretty bad right now. Overall the course is in Ok shape but for a higher end course on the Monterey bay with views of the ocean throughout the track you expect more than average.


Greens were rolling very fast but they had a ton of pitch marks and were as much brown as they were green.

Fairways were very green but also thin throughout the entire course with a number of bare spots mixed in. Sand traps were fine and tee boxes weren't bad.

POPwas excellent. I timed it right and went out after the morning rush had c,eared the front nine and finished before the afternooners showed up. Got around a twosome on hole 2 then didn't see anyone until the 12th. Once they let me through it was clear sailing all the way to the end.

Given that the U.S. open is right around the corner I would've expected this place to bein top shape or at least in its usual very good condition.

I can't say I'd recommend Black Horse right now. At least not at premium rack rate. Maybe as a late afternoon round at the twilight rate.

Black Horse has always been a peninsula favorite of mine. Course has numerous elevation changes with no two holes alike. Conditions are normally spot on here with some firm and fast greens that have... Continue »

Black Horse has always been a peninsula favorite of mine. Course has numerous elevation changes with no two holes alike. Conditions are normally spot on here with some firm and fast greens that have multiple undulations throughout. Greens and tee boxes were recently aerated. Both still need a couple of weeks to fully recover. Even with some sand still present, the greens rolled at a medium-fast speed. Winds were brutal today and several of the greens were full of pine needles. Grounds crew were out early with blowers on the fairways and greens but after awhile they threw in the towel as the winds were just too much. Leaves, twigs and small branches were constantly being blown around. I was going to play another 9 or 18 but the wind was so bad I decided to just got play in the dirt on my mountain bike.

Fairways were ok. Good roll out but a little thin. I've definitely seen them better.
Customer service was excellent. They even called me a couple of days after I booked the round to let me know that the greens had been recently aerated. POP was great. Got around a twosome on the second hole and then didn't run into another group until the 11th. Once they let me through it was clear sailing to the end.

Blackhorse is always a fun and challenging track. Conditions are a bit under their normal high standards. Give it a couple weeks or so and it'll be back to excellent.

Played Saturday 2/23 1:40 tee time
I reviewed Bayonet last month and thought those greens were pretty tough when in the wrong spots. I'm sure that those who have played both courses will say that Bl... Continue »

Played Saturday 2/23 1:40 tee time
I reviewed Bayonet last month and thought those greens were pretty tough when in the wrong spots. I'm sure that those who have played both courses will say that Black Horse's greens are even more difficult with even more undulation! If you're an accurate enough golfer and know the locations and greens well enough, you can have fun and be creative with hitting shots and using the slopes and contours. If not, then TRY to have fun while struggling along...

As was last month, conditions were great. Tee boxes neatly mowed and level. Fairways are tighter than Bayonet so driving accuracy is key. If you're a player who likes to play out of tight lies in fairways, this course is for you. They were a little muddy but that's no fault of the course or maintenance crew so I won't knock that.

The 3rd green is a temporary green.

Pace was fine, we had two groups and still finished. It was a chilly day, in the low 50's but after 4 PM, it got even more so. Try playing the tips with 30 MPH wind and temps in the 40's and still try to have fun. Well, I consider playing a course like this a treat and even with those temps, crazy greens and muddy tight lies, I still had a blast. The holes are beautiful and the scenery picturesque. You just don't see courses like this in southern California.

Service was A+. Since we came as a college team, they gave us a big break on the green fees and comped the two of us (coaches). Very classy on their part. We had a 2 PM tee time but arrived a little early so they let us off around 1:40, which enabled us to finish.

Played 12/23/18 10:30 POP 3:45 First time playing this course and my score showed. Beautiful and scenic golf course. Some very tight driving lines from Tee with a few collection areas that will gather... Continue »

Played 12/23/18 10:30 POP 3:45 First time playing this course and my score showed. Beautiful and scenic golf course. Some very tight driving lines from Tee with a few collection areas that will gather balls. Fairways were cut TIGHT. It really required great ball striking. Many areas were still soggy from recent rains that made pour contact even more penile. Rough wasn't too bad and in decent shape. Many traps on the course and some are difficult to get out of. Greens were rolling fast and true. Held well struck shots, others would roll with the slopes. Sometimes far from the hole. With the many undulations, it made putting an adventure. You really needed your "A" game on the greens. Numerous false fronts. Some pin locations on the greens could be impossible to get anywhere close to. Without any course knowledge, seemingly good shots can find bad areas. Definitely a course that you need to play often to have a chance at scoring well. Look forward to trying this course again. Recommend to play at least once, But I like Bayonet better.

Beautiful weather for golf in Monterey. Played 11/3/18 11am tournament conditions therefore pace of play a bit slow. Set up for men was 6196yds slope 128 / 69.9 rating.

Condition of course overa... Continue »

Beautiful weather for golf in Monterey. Played 11/3/18 11am tournament conditions therefore pace of play a bit slow. Set up for men was 6196yds slope 128 / 69.9 rating.

Condition of course overall great in all areas of play. I rated rough as 7 but if it's supposed to be long and penal up that to 10. A dubbed tee shot is a full stroke or more and rolling into it off fairway a half stroke on average. It's thick and lush , the fairways which are smooth and tight. Like other reports say greens are undulated and false fronts and run off collection areas are found at times around the slick bent grass putting surfaces. Long or short the roll out of ball on greens needs to be considered to score well. Some approach shots I hit short on purpose to avoid bunkers many which have steep faces to clear. Fluffy sand interesting curved edges. The fast greens are tricky above the hole lots of lag putting from there.
$$$ tee rate lives up to the cost as the course is tough but enjoyable. Views of Monterey Bay from course elevation are numerous.
Beverage cart out each day and the food in restaurant is good. Pro shop ok.
Recommend

Played Bayonet today on a beautiful cool but sunny day. I teed off at 9:20 and was never held up in fact we played in 3hr 40 min. On to the course, the course was in fantastic shape. The fairways w... Continue »

Played Bayonet today on a beautiful cool but sunny day. I teed off at 9:20 and was never held up in fact we played in 3hr 40 min. On to the course, the course was in fantastic shape. The fairways were great condition and the speed of the greens were very quick. Lots of break on the greens. Everything about the course was in top shape, and I highly recommend either course if your ever in the area.

What a beautiful day for golf on the peninsula. I hadn't played Blackhorse in a while and I forgot how much I love this course. I also forgot how tough it is. Numerous elevation changes along wit... Continue »

What a beautiful day for golf on the peninsula. I hadn't played Blackhorse in a while and I forgot how much I love this course. I also forgot how tough it is. Numerous elevation changes along with plenty of views of the ocean make for a great afternoon of golf.

Track was in great shape tee to green. Tee boxes were easily a 9. Perfectly level, divot free and lush. Fairways were fairly lush throughout with an occasional thin area here and there.

I was in three sand traps and two were excellent but the third was a bit thin. The area around the greens offers some very tight lies. As for the greens.... Think of it as putting on a frozen diamond!! Severe undulations throughout and very fast. Most have a false front and landing a shot 1-2 feet on usually will end up 20+ feet back off the green.

Full on approach shots will generally hold but short pitch shots are a nightmare and a true test of your short game.

Sundays mid morning are a perfect time to play on the peninsula during football season so POP was just under 4 hours. Cart gal was around a few times.


Blackhorse is an all around great course that will test your short game all day long!