Eric4647645

I researched well enough to figure out how to be one of the privileged few to book a GolfNow hot deal and managed to play this course for $57. The trick is, book one full week out early in the morning. If you wait until the end of that day the hot deal will have been booked. Anyway, that’s how you save some money if you’re an out-of-towner.

Sometimes the driving range is your first impression of a golf facility. If you allow that to happen here your first impression and final impression will be distinctly opposite. The driving range isn’t great (ok, it’s pretty bad). Completely netted in. Eight dollars for a small bucket off of a disheveled mat that has the generic hard plastic groove that you stick a tee into to hit driver. Most of the balls are missing the dimples and flutter around after impact. But at least there is a range and you actually can hit driver.

It’s a popular and well kept municipal course in the middle of a busy city, so the fact that you feel like cattle as you go to the first tee is something you should expect. Nothing to complain about there — and if you do I recommend heading 2 hours south to play Pebble Beach where you will be treated like the king you must be.

The two trademarks of this golf course are the cypress trees that line virtually every hole and once you head to the back nine many of the holes border Lake Merced. For being a course in San Francisco there are very little elevation changes.

I was very surprised at how well conditioned the golf courses. Although it is a TPC managed facility it is still a municipal and gets a ton of play. The greens had been aerated 10 days before, and that was a significant concern of mine, but they had healed phenomenally well given the short amount of time between when they were punched in the day I played. The greens had been aerated 10 days before, and that was a significant concern of mine, but they had healed phenomenally well given the short amount of time between when they were punched in the day I played. There are no gimmicky holes. What you see in front of you is what you get. The 18th hole is a beast; 440 yards or so with a tee shot that demands a 200 yard carry and keeping it down the right side of the fairway.

Note to anyone who comes from out of town to play: The ball does not travel in San Francisco. I played the course at 6800 yards and change and it played like a 7000 yard golf course (and that’s compared to the east coast of Virginia which is also at sea level). I would recommend playing up a set of tees.

Overall, I would play the golf course again provided I found the Golf Now hot deal. Otherwise, it’d be a “been there/done that.” However, if I were local I would be a frequent visitor given the value offered to local residents.

Oh ... and it was cool seeing Andre Igoudala out there too.

I’m a junkie when it comes to researching where to play when I travel. I have long known about the former Fort Ord courses and given the reviews I had high expectations. They were met — and then some. I was enamored with the entire facility. The driving range was out of commission because they were hosting the PGA professionals golf tournament the following week. For that same reason they also had all carts relegated to the cart paths and had each hole roped off. Well that sounds like it would have been a nuisance, it was actually somewhat cool. I’m just barely imaginative (or delusional) enough to be able to pretend there are people on the other side of the ropes... and I’m inside them playing for the cash.

All that said, the trees have evidently been softened from years past. Branches had been thinned out to make it possible to advance the ball if you miss the fairway. I seemed to notice a pattern on the par fours and fives, where there are two fairway bunkers staggered different links from the tea on either side of the fairway. This was a pretty cool design element in that you could work the ball left to right, or right to left, depending on which one you were trying to I seemed to notice a pattern on the par fours and fives, where there are two fairway bunkers staggered different distances from the tee on either side of the fairway. This was a cool design element in that you benefited from working the ball left to right, or right to left, depending on which one you were trying to cover and which one you were steering away from. It also appeared to me that most of the teeing grounds were elevated and the fairways were at the bottom of the hill. Most of the approaches were back up the hill to firm and fast greens. The greens rolled very true and there is a lot of movement in each one. To clarify, I didn’t feel as though they were heavily pitched, but there were many areas on the greens that would necessitate playing multiple breaks. I’m not sure if the rough was as high as it usually is, and I was lucky enough to have hit many fairways that day, but on the one hole where I caught the rough it was very very de i’m not sure if the rough was as high as it usually is, and I was lucky enough to have had many fairways that day, but on the one hole where I missed it was a penalty. However, if you miss the fairway every hole had a spot where you could run the ball onto the green.

As there were many players on the course that were preparing for the PGA professionals tournament, the pace was relatively slow despite being behind stacks of singles. We will consider this an anomaly. I’m sure the pace is usually nothing like what it was for me. Note, I still would have finished in the far less than four hours; was just surprised by the pace given it was just singles ahead — but soon saw why. (Not that this matters for review purposes, but I eventually paired up with one such professional who was with his caddie and his wife. They were extremely friendly and it was interesting to watch him prepare. It also showed why the pace was slower than expected.)

If I ever went back I would want to play Black Horse for the sole purpose of having played them both. My high expectations, as mentioned, were clearly met with Bayonet. Perhaps next time I’ll check out the serrated bunkers, which are the hallmark of the other track. If I had one complaint it would be that there was no signature hole. At least, I didn’t take note of any single hole that stood out from the rest. It’s just a good, consistent, difficult collection of holes.

I play here often. Most recently, I played first and alone on a Tuesday morning, and it still took me three hours to play (more on that below). The fairways are mostly Bermuda, so given the season the fairways were dormant, but still in very good shape, considering. The greens were running a little slow, as I believe they had recently punched with small tines without over-seed. The tiny holes in the greens barely impacted the roll, if at all.

As most reviews will mention, this is a difficult course. It's also impossible for a foursome to play in 4 hours because of the way the cart paths are routed, factor time into your decision to play here. However, it's an outstanding course. When it opened back in the 90's it was rated on the list of America's Top 100 golf courses (it was #86 on the list) and given the honor of "Best New Upscale Public". Conditioning through the 2000's is the reason it fell out of the rankings. However, the past few years the conditioning has improved and, in my opinion, this place deserves more attention from the magazines for inclusion into the rankings lists simply based on how much fun it is to play.

Bottom line here: If you're in a hurry, play somewhere else. If you're easily frustrated by difficult terrain, or haven't honed your golf skills yet, play somewhere else. If you gasp at the sight of a few washed out bunkers, play somewhere else. If you want to play a severely underrated and unique course, PLAY HERE.

I live in the neighborhood this course was built within, and have for some time. What was once a good layout was ruined in the early 2000's by the extraction of many of the clubs bunkers, most of which were fairway bunkers. With the extraction of the bunkers went much of the visual appeal of the course, but alas it's still a serviceable venue. The majority of the reason why it still serviceable is the new management. Up until about two years ago, the course was run by a real estate investor who had marginal interest in managing the golf course. He let it fall into disrepair. The homeowners association in the neighborhood purchased the course, and hired a management team that has been very successful in restoring the conditioning of the golf course. That said, course conditioning is now typically very good here. Greens run average, if not slightly fast (don't start me lying about the Stimp - h**l if I know what they run).

There are some fun holes. The second hole is a short par five, reachable in two shots. There is a lake that borders the front of the green, offering some risk/reward. The eighth hole is the signature hole, which has a cross running fairway bunker just past another lake you must carry on your tee shot. The holes on the back nine are similar to the front in style and character.

But there's one common theme about this course, and that's the neighborhood. There are few holes where homes don't come into play, and they are visible on basically every hole.

Overall, it's not a course he would seek out to play, but if you are around and interested in playing, it is definitely your best option on the lower Virginia peninsula outside of the Williamsburg courses.

The title says it all. I've been playing the score since I was 17 years old and while I would recommend it,there's also nothing to write home about it. It does have a good mix of left to right, and right to left holes, as well as short holes and long, easy holes and difficult. The greens are typically slow, but they're also relatively true rolling. I prefer a lightning fast, but most players they would appreciate the speed of these greens. I will say, the fairways were much better than they normally are. They were actually very well conditioned during this round.