Black Bear GC
View of a green at Black Bear Golf Club.
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Rating Index Rating
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3.8
1735 Reviews (1735)
5 Stars
601
4 Stars
721
3 Stars
246
2 Stars
84
1 Stars
83
Conditions
3.5
Value
3.8
Layout
4.3
Friendliness
4.2
Pace
4.2
Amenities
4.0
78.2%
Recommend this course
1443 out of 1735 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.4
51 Reviews (51)
5 Stars
10
4 Stars
13
3 Stars
17
2 Stars
8
1 Stars
3
Conditions
2.9
Value
3.3
Layout
4.1
Pace
4.3
Amenities
3.9
StaffFriendliness
4.2
62.7%
Recommend this course
32 out of 51 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
3.7
117 Reviews (117)
5 Stars
33
4 Stars
44
3 Stars
23
2 Stars
8
1 Stars
9
Conditions
3.4
Value
3.8
Layout
4.2
Pace
4.2
Amenities
3.9
StaffFriendliness
4.1
76.1%
Recommend this course
89 out of 117 reviews
Read Reviews
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AI summaries based on real golfer reviews
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Course Highlights
Black Bear's hilly, non-traditional Florida layout consistently earns high marks for its challenging elevation changes and well-regarded course design. Friendly staff, smooth pace of play, and strong overall value make this a rewarding round worth revisiting.

About

Holes 18
Type Semi-Private
Style Links
Par 72
Length 7041 yards
Slope 139
Rating 74.1

P.B. Dye-designed Black Bear Golf Club offers good value and a challenging day. Six sets of tees give you plenty of options. This 18-hole championship facility course, located within 45 minutes of the Orlando attractions boasts of a complete practice facility that includes a double ended driving range, as well as a 40,000 sq. ft. short game area.

Golfers at Black Bear can count on the Dye trademark touches which include sandy waste bunkers, undulating greens and dramatic elevation changes-in short, Black Bear Golf Club is most definitely a "do or Dye" golf course.

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Black Bear Golf Club - Orlando
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Course Details

Year Built 1995
Fairways Bermuda Grass
Greens Bermuda Grass
Golf Season Year round
Architect P. B. Dye (1995)

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - included in green fees
GPS No
Pull-carts No
Caddies No
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Bunker Yes
Golf Simulator No
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes
Practice Hole No

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard, Amex Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No
Walking Allowed No
Dress code Proper golf attire required

Food & Beverage

Bar, Restaurant

Available Facilities

Clubhouse
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Reviews

3.8
1735 Reviews (1735)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 32
Patio Dining 17
Brunch 13
Course Challenges Include:
Bunkers 62
Elevation Changes 55
Undulating Greens 49
This course/club is great for:
Locals 40
Advanced Golfers 34
Seniors 18
This Course's Location is:
Worth the Drive 49
In the 'Burbs 29
Convenient to the City 7

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Reviewer Photos

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Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 136
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 250 Contributor
Previously Played

Course is in good shape. No issues with the greens or tees. Some of the bunkers could use some work due to the rain. There is a temp green at #6 - but just drive it, wedge it up and take your 2 putt par, at least you will have 1 par on your card. The rough is long, miss the fairway and you will have trouble finding your ball. The greens are very narrow and have plenty of undulation. Black Bear is fun to play, especially in its current condition.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Played On
Reviews 146
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 150
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 250 Contributor
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart

Rough Around the Edges

The course was in great shape minus some of the areas on the sides of the fairways that are filled with weeds and void spots.

The pace of play was a bit slow, and finished in about 5 hours. The ranger did not help in speeding up play. Thankfully the beverage cart came around frequently..

Conditions Good
Value Average
Layout Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 146
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Excellent
Played On
Reviews 3
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Hot weather
Used cart

Come back often

I love this place, play here often and it is challenging. Course is in great shape compared to others around Central Florida, worth the drive

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Average
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 20
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played

Great course and amazing layout!

I had not played this course in a while. Hands down its the best course in the area. Great layout. They are working with some of the greens but once work is done this is one of the best courses around

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
2.0
Previously Played

It's not what it used to be

I played black bear in the USGA Pub- links qualifier about 16 years ago and it was a great golf course in phenomenal shape. I just played again today and I'm sad to say that it has really gone downhill. The greens were so slow that you could barely get a putt to the hole and the rough is overrun with weeds. The bunkers, it looks like they've just given up on trying to keep there in shape. The pace of play was great because there was literally no one else out there. I really hope that they can get this course back into better shape because it truly was a fantastic golf course back in the day.

Conditions Fair
Value Fair
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 10
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
1.0
First Time Playing
Wet weather
Used cart

COW PATCH!!!! Disappointing

I had higher hopes but terrible disappointment. WEEDS Everywhere. Such a shame this course is not closing soon. It appears it should be shut down. !!!!

Conditions Poor
Value Poor
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 28
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
2.0
Previously Played

another one bites the dust

another course in central florida that won’t spend money to maintain conditions. greens are laughably slow. weeds and dirt around greens. hole 6 has a temporary green. so disappointing. won’t be back in awhile.

Conditions Fair
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Fair
Pace Good
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once every three months
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

Really Fun Round!

The layout is great! It's really open off the tee, except for well placed fairway bunkers. Then the raised green complexes are very challenging with unique shapes, multiple levels, and lot of interesting contours. Overall the course is in great shape!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 38
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Rough and bunkers needing some TLC. Many bare spots in fairways and rough.

This course has the potential to be top notch, it’s just poorly maintained.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Good
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played
Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 4
3.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing

1 green

1 green is unavailable so they made a makeshift one on the fairway. Very hilly course and had many very low lying areas that pool quite a lot same with bunkers

Conditions Average
Value Average
Layout Fair
Friendliness Average
Pace Excellent
Amenities Fair
Played On
Reviews 11
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Excellent
Played On
Reviews 5
2.0
Verified Purchaser
First Time Playing
Perfect weather
Used cart
Conditions Poor
Value Fair
Layout Good
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 41
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Challenging and scenic

Unlike most courses here in Florida, this is NOT flat. Very hilly fairways will either reward or punish you. Well placed shots are a must. Greens were in great condition except for one that was being worked on. I haven’t played here in years and it was great to play it again. I recommend playing it.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Played On
Reviews 19
Handicap 0-4
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
3.0
Previously Played
Perfect weather
Used cart

Great layout in rough shape

I have played this course several times and I love the layout. I could tell they aerated the greens a few weeks ago and most of them have come back nicely. The greens were a little slow probably due to this though. The first issue came as I stepped on the 6th tee. I look down the fairway and see a flag in the middle of the fairway and none on the green. After I hit my drive I see the sign saying the green was in rough shape so they have a temporary flag. They did not cut the fairway differently just put a few ropes around an area they considered to be green. The sign also said just try 1 putt and pick it up. This in itself is not an issue, just the fact no one mentioned it in the clubhouse. It seems like a fairly important thing that patrons may want to know. My other issue comes with the 18th hole. A challenging hole that demands a good tee shot and a second shot of 130 yards plus over water. I guess this was too hard, so they took the front part of the putting green and made it an alternative hole for whoever does not want to hit over water. I think just instituting a local rule that if your approach shot goes in the water you take a drop on the other side of the lake would have been just fine, but I am not the GM. Overall, this course could be better, but it could also be a lot worse. Hopefully, my next round will not see it the latter.

Conditions Fair
Value Poor
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Difficulty Somewhat Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Average
Value Good
Layout Good
Friendliness Good
Pace Good
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 8
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played
Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Amenities Good
Played On
Reviews 41
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Previously Played

Beautiful course

I haven’t played here in a while and I was impressed with the conditions. The fairways are in great shape and the greens are lush…tricky course demands accurately placed shots. Sand traps are the only reason I didn’t give it a 5 star rating. I recommend playing this course, it’s a superb design.

Conditions Good
Value Good
Layout Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
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