Black Horse at Bayonet/Black Horse Golf Course

Weather was cool (50's/60's) and a bit foggy. Starter summed up the course perfectly: forgiving off the tees, challenging to get to the greens, challenging putting. Fortunately for my handicap, the greens were NOT super hard and fast, but very rolling and slopey. I had several fails on reading the break. Many putts with 2 breaks, some with 3. Approach shots are crucial, getting your ball to the correct zone on the green and sticking it there. Played blues, slope 135. I found it more challenging than that. Looking forward to Bayonet soon. Finished 4.5 hrs.

Great value. Fantastic course. Love every time I play here.

Overall a very enjoyable course. We've played there before and unfortunately they had a watering problem after punching tee boxes and some fairways and lost the grass. Tee boxes are coming back - but some are still pretty rough, but improving. Some fairways are not fully recovered, but are certainly playable. Given a little more time all areas should be back up to their normal excellent condition. Don't be afraid to put it on your schedule when In the Monterey area.

Could not say enough about this course. Views all around are fabulous , greens are smooth and fast, club house staff are friendly and very professional. This is a must play course.

Blackhorse and Bayonet are two great local courses. They are planning to plug the courses this week we heard. The fairways had gotten some kind of a treatment and were covered in a lot of grit that seemed to carry over onto the greens. They might be trying to eliminate some sort of weed or fungus in the fairway and on some tee blocks as many areas had very little turf. Golf is in trouble in our area. When we left at 1pm the parking lot was half full on a holiday weekend.

Great course. Strategic places bunkers and trees with quick but fair greens. Lots of fun

We were not told that the greens were sanded the morning of our round. Neither on golf now or at the front desk.

We should have been told so we could have played second course or they should have reduced the green fee..

I play this course at least twice a month and only real issue I have and have from people I bring there is the unfriendly front desk.

Best course for value in Monterey.

Love this golf course. Great facility the cart attendant welcomes you upon pulling up. The clubhouse personnel are very welcoming and the starter is also. The courses are both great tracks and fun to play. I gave the conditions two stars only because they had just recently aerated the entire course (Blackhorse). But they had an aeration special and gave us a voucher for a free round next visit how can you beat that. The previous rounds I have played here the course was immaculately maintained. Do yourself a favor and play one or both courses.

even though the course is being aerated it was still fun and challenging.

First time in 45 years. Still magnificent. A classic Monterey course, full of pine trees with Ocean views. Course is getting into shape. Will return for the PGA Championship.

I just completed playing a tournament at Del Monte over the weekend and got a good deal at Blackhorse. This course is fantastic for the golf course layout. This is the way golf needs to be designed around the country. So many cookie cutter Nicklaus, Miller, and Robert Trent Jones courses have designed perfect layouts for their own model of fabrication. The course uses the terrain amazing. The tee boxes do provide you a solid view of the course if you do not know the layout. The fairways are pure and the first tier of rough is in good condition. I never had a bad lie all day long. The greens are massive so, you need to fire at the pin because they have two and three tier greens and on the wrong side automatic three putt. So, know where the flag is and give yourself some extra distance. The greens give you a target to aim at along with bunkers that are difficult and steep along with grass around them is tough and you will want to be in the sand more than the grass around it. The greens provide you safe places to bail out and this is the gem of a great course architect. The course will reward you for a good shot off the tee and you do not have to be perfect. The key to the course is your iron game. You must have your distances dialed in and the yardage and outcomes are fantastic. I did not have to back away from to many shots and only due to the wind. The greens are beautiful and the shapes of the tiers are genius but you must be on the correct side. The course has a reputation for being long and I played from the blues with a little wind and I hit 4-6 Irons on some par 4's and reached the 5th short Par 4 with a driver pin high. I also hit a 6 iron and had 52 yards in. There are four par 4's that are not long at all but the second shot is critical. I felt the distance that people talked about did not apply to my round and I'm not a bomber. The pace of play for me was great 3:30 hours and I played 2-3 balls testing out distances and iron but they just aerated the fairways and greens so, kept many at home. The staff was great and the players on the course knew how to play. I had two groups allow me to go through with a smile and that is refreshing. I give this course a 9.5/10 on course layout. The fairways and rough even being aerated are solid and in three weeks this will be a 9/10. The greens are tough but honest 7.5/10. I will play this course again for sure and would take this layout over Silverado and many other top tier course. The views are fantastic and the strategy of playing the course gives you multiple options so, if you score high you made poor choices. Perfection not necessary and good shots will give you good outcomes. Stay on the high side on the greens because those greens are not going to be an automatic up and down. A great course and one of the best in the Nation.

Not the easiest place to play. Many hills and uneven greens. It was interesting and fun with great pace of play.

Other than the beautiful views, the bunkers were not filled with sand, felt like I hit the ball out of cement. Hopefully that is a quick fix for next year's PGA Professional Championship. Other than that really enjoyed the layout and we are not in a drought anymore so you can water the greens to make the course easier.

Black horse greens are so difficult but very much challenging. I loved played there and glad find out new renovation course.

The course had just been aerated and was not in pristine condition as has been the case in the past when I have played here. We did receive a voucher for a free round at a later date so all was ok. If I had known the course had just been aerated I would have considered playing somewhere else. Putting was all but impossible and the tee boxes were in very bad shape.

Word of warning stay away from this golf course for the next week or two. Both greens and fairways are plugged and being aerated. There is a lot of sand on fairways and its like hitting out of soft sand on fairways- not a lot of room for error. The one huge benefit is that the course is completely empty i played on a Sunday and there were only a few people on the entire course!

Course had just been aerated so was not ingreatest condition. We're given certificate for free round of golf with cart to compensate. Overall very good experience,