Black Bear GC
A view from Black Bear Golf Club.
GolfPass Icon
Rating Index Rating
Tooltip Information Icon
4.2
527 Reviews (527)
5 Stars
184
4 Stars
191
3 Stars
72
2 Stars
38
1 Stars
42
Conditions
4.0
Value
3.9
Layout
4.4
Friendliness
4.4
Pace
3.8
Amenities
4.1
88.5%
Recommend this course
431 out of 527 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.6
15 Reviews (15)
5 Stars
9
4 Stars
6
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
4.4
Value
3.9
Layout
4.5
Pace
3.6
Amenities
4.4
StaffFriendliness
4.6
100.0%
Recommend this course
15 out of 15 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.2
43 Reviews (43)
5 Stars
22
4 Stars
14
3 Stars
3
2 Stars
2
1 Stars
2
Conditions
4.1
Value
3.9
Layout
4.2
Pace
3.7
Amenities
4.0
StaffFriendliness
4.4
90.7%
Recommend this course
39 out of 43 reviews
Read Reviews

About

Holes 18
Type Public/Resort
Par 72
Length 6673 yards
Slope 129
Rating 72.4

Black Bear Golf Club is part of the Crystal Springs Resort, which offers six other courses, though, it's hard to remember they're connected since they each offer a distinct character and look. Unlike Ballyowen and Crystal springs, two of the resort's most well known courses, Black Bear has more of a parkland layout. The course tumbles across rolling hills covered with trees, which come into play along the undulating fairways and greens. Water only comes into play on three holes but there are a whopping 65 bunkers coming into play. It's challenging but not frustrating. Both low and high handicappers will enjoy not only the golf course but also the beautiful scenery. Black Bear is one of the best values in the area and has garnered a strong local following.

Book a Tee Time at
Black Bear Golf Club
Powered by GolfNow.com

Course Details

Year Built 1996
Fairways Ryegrass
Greens Bentgrass
Golf Season Open: 3/15 Closed: 12/31
Architect Jack Kurlander (1996) David Glenz (1996)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - included in green fees
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Golf School/Academy Yes - "David Leadbetter Golf Academy"
Golf Simulator Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Indoor Practice Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard, Amex Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No

Food & Beverage

Bar, Snacks, Restaurant, Beverage Carts

Available Facilities

Showers, Lockers

Accolades

The Best Way To Book Is With GolfPass+
waivedfees
10 rounds of waived fees
golf ball.svg
$120 in tee time credits
teetime protection.svg
Tee Time Protection
redeemtrophy
Redeem GolfPass points

Reviews

4.2
527 Reviews (527)
Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

Beautiful Course

Really well maintained course than last year.
Staffs are real nice and kind.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Previously Played

Pretty good

The course was in good shape. However, the greens were rather slow and a bit inconsistent from one to another.

Rounds here (at least in the afternoon) can take a little while, so bring your patience :-)

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Poor
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Great course to play

Well maintained and fast play. Great course. Excellent service.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser

great couRse. Great layout

i play 3-4 times a week all over Nj. Best st course I've played in a while. very nice course and layout. Overall great experience. hood rate for this course. You def get what u pay for. I recommend this course to avid players.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0

Course has some very nice vistas and is very well maintianed

Enjoyed my round of golf at Black Bear .
Situated in the vernon valley area of Northern New Jersey
the course offers some very nice views in the mountains .
There are many very interesting, scenic and challegeing holes.
Although it is a ways away from my home I will be going back to golf here.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser

Good course for the right price

Black Bear is a fun course and its in pretty good shape. Not worth the standard $95 green fee but I booked through golfnow and we got it for $60 and for $60 its a great deal. Course is not long but its fairly challenging, its tight and you can get yourself into trouble with an errant shot. Greens were in good shape but not very fast.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Fair
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 9
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser

due to aeration it was hard to evaluate tee box.

I used locker room for shower after play. there was no towel, and when I asked staff to give me one, he took one from used towel box. I do not know whether he knew where new towel was. They need to train staff properly.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Fair
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser

Decent Course for the money

I found a 12:15pm teetime for 50 + golfnow fees, so it came to 121.60 for 2 people. I thought that was a decent deal so I booked it. I have played Great Gorge and Cascades before so I wanted to try another Crystal Springs course.

I thought Black Bear for the money was good. If I was paying retail price for it, I would have thought I overpaid. The fairways were in great shape and some holes were quite challenging, but overall I was floored by the course. The tee-boxes were quite sandy and not too green. All the greens were in good shape however.

Basically, if you can't afford Ballyowen, Wild Turkey or Crystal Springs I would say this is the next best course.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser

Probably the best value of the Crystal Springs Resort courses.

Course is well maintained and challenging but not a quick play. In years past have seen marshals on the course to maintain pace of play/assist high-handicappers but not in last few years. The course is usually full so you can figure it will be a 5 hour round. There is a beverage cart on the course. The staff and facilities are pleasant but short of the high end marque of Wild Turkey or Ballyowen.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Poor
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Verified Purchaser

ok

course is in good shape, friendly staff, needs to be a little more manicured.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Poor
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser

Greens

The greeens that didn"t have a lot of replacemnt sod are still recovering from being aerated. Condition of greens drags the course ratings down. Lefty3

Conditions Poor
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 2
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser

Very friendly staffs & they allowed me to drive cart to fairway. Some green is rough but everything was fine.

Some green was rough and some area were wet. But this is excellent course. I love it.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 19
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser

Some pretty holes. Friendly staff.

If greens condition is important to you, then I would recommend that you look for another course to play. The fairway was only comparable to a county course level. The grass on the fairway need to be cut and much smoother. There were places where the grass in the fairway was unevenly cut. The greens were simply horrible. Bumpy, slow and not smooth at all. They need to either cut the greens more or press it down. Will not go back there again soon. It used to be a good course to play even if you have to drive to get there. Not any more. Also, incredibly slow people on the course and the ranger is no where to be seen. Waited on EVERY hole from # 4-18.

Conditions Poor
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Poor
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser

This course is in a great shape for April.

The golf course is very challenging especially playing from the black tees. The course is very well maintained but greens are very bumpy and slower than what it was in the past. Overall, I was very pleased with my round.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 26
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser

Enjoyable Round

Course was in great shape with the exception of a couples greens that had some new sod layed in recently......Slow players in fron t of my group were moved up from the blue to white tee's and started playing ready golf when asked to by the ranger 4 1/2 hour round as promised could have been much longer if not for the active rangers

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser

Course condition

The greens are in HORRIBLE shape. Considering the amount of play this course gets, I foresee the greens only getting worse as the season gets into full swing. I play BB alot. They are in trouble with the greens.

Conditions Poor
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 7
Handicap 20-24
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser

The great golf course

some course was easy but some were very chanllenging
it was great

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
2.0
Verified Purchaser

not the best around

there are so many good courses in the area. pick another one.

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Friendliness Poor
Pace Average
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a month
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser

Black Bear Franklin, NJ

The course was very nice i felt the greens could have been kept a touch shorter than they were but wasnt a huge issue. The staff was very accomodating and freindly, the food was amazing, and the pace at which they sent golfers out was perfect, I would recomend visiting this course for sure.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 16
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser

Fun and Challenging

Always love to play this course as there are some great holes on it. Too many holes were cart path only at this time and greens were very bumpy, that should change as season gets on.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Nearby Courses
Franklin, New Jersey
Private
4.0
1
Hamburg, New Jersey
Semi-Private/Resort
4.4872918681
399
Hamburg, New Jersey
Public/Resort
4.1465217666
328
Hamburg, New Jersey
Semi-Private/Resort
4.2193558294
439
Hamburg, New Jersey
Resort
4.1436401018
181
Sparta, New Jersey
Semi-Private
4.347585402
674
McAfee, New Jersey
Public/Resort
4.135366163
1051
Vernon, New Jersey
Public/Resort
3.7442218798
145
McAfee, New Jersey
Public/Resort
4.135366163
1051
McAfee, New Jersey
Public/Resort
4.135366163
1051
Oak Ridge, New Jersey
Semi-Private
4.3109101749
682
Golf Packages

Seaview Stay & Play Golf Package

CLICK BELOW
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ | Enjoy lodging accommodations at Seaview, A Dolce Hotel and golf at Seaview Golf Club - Bay & Pines Courses.
Seaview Golf Club - Bay Course

Seaview Stay & Play Golf Package

CLICK BELOW
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ | Enjoy lodging accommodations at Seaview, A Dolce Hotel and golf at Seaview Golf Club - Bay & Pines Courses.
Now Reading
  • Home

  • Memberships

  • Library

  • Account