Played in the Thursday night twilight event. 7/12/18 Course is in really good shape. There are a few brown/dry areas in the fairway’s. Mostly along the edges, but mostly in very good shape. Greens were great. Very receptive and were running at a good speed with only some minor bumps.
ALERT: Aeration
Will be aerating the greens on the Dinosaur Course 7/23 – 7/26, reopening 7/27.
* Although Greenskeeper.org researches all alerts before posting, we ask that you please contact the golf course for confirmation.
Reviewed by: sixpez, Rancho Mirage, CA
Golf Playing Conditions 6.45 GOOD
Played here yesterday morning. Took the chance (despite UNCLEDDBOY’s best efforts to talk me out of it : ) and got lucky with a break in the active monsoon weather this week. Had a 6:40 tee time and was paired with a twosome. We were second off. Lead group played very quickly and we never pushed them thanks to the nicely spaced 10-minute tee times here. Good overall pace of about 3:15. Price was $55 (plus AZ tax, so $58 and change).
The course was in solid summer condition, looking pretty lush and green throughout (sure all that rain has helped). The tee boxes were good. Just a few of the blues on the back nine could use some leveling out. The fairways were generally good with a few thin spots here and there and a couple that had some aerated sections. The rough was good, cut low and easy to play from. Bunkers not pebbly and well-maintained, but a very coarse desert sand that doesn’t provide much cushion. The greens were just okay. Not very fast and a bit bumpy in places. The practice green was really ugly, but the ones on the course were better. They were pretty receptive as summer desert greens go and I think they will benefit from the upcoming aeration on 7/23.
The facilities here aren’t too impressive at first glance. The driving range is stocked with rock hard yellow balls. The parking is kind of weirdly laid out and things don’t look like a “resort” course facility like what you expect from the top courses in this area. However, once you are on the course, all is good. This is a really fun layout with lots of elevation changes and a great overall look. There’s a flatter stretch in the middle that isn’t super exciting, but everything in the hills is a blast. Depending on the tees you play, it’s not a terribly long course. The fairways are forgiving and the greens are reasonably big without a ton of protection. A lot of mounding around them that is often helpful. The starter warned us that the greens were the main defense here, but I found them fairly easy to read and our group was dropping putts left and right. Definitely seems like a place you can post a great score as long as you stay out of the desert. I can definitely see why this is one of the best-rated public courses in the valley. Recommended.
Played here Sunday June 17. 7am. They take public play right now before 8am and after noon, I believe.
They punched 3 weeks ago, and told me over the phone, but I really wanted to check this out.
The greens were sandy, playable, but definitely affected speed. Pretty empty, played through a threesome. The course is in pretty immaculate shape, overlooking the ocean with South Maui as a backdrop. It’s about a 1000 ft up the West Maui Crater. The course’s holes run back and forth along the hillside, so most of the holes are in parallel to each other (aside from a few par3s), which is my main nitpick. But the holes are interesting, and the views are great.
For conditions and a private course feel, this is your place. For value, I will probably play some other courses if I come back to Maui. Nonetheless, I had a great time and am glad I had the privilege to play.
I played Papago for my second round of the day on June 29. Rate was $36. They are doing a lot of construction to get the course ready to be the new home of ASU. The practice area is currently closed and the clubhouse is a temporary trailer. I think when they complete the renovations Papago will be a great place to play. The clubhouse looks amazing.
The Review
I thought Papago was the best conditioned course I’ve played this summer from tee to green. Tee boxes were nice as were the greens and fairways. The normal summer bare spots but nothing to really affect play. Greens were receptive and consistent.
The course is on the long side and definitely challenging. Lots of elevated greens and sand traps. Par fives are a nice challenge as are the variety of par 4s. I can’t imagine playing this course from the tips. One par 3 was 250+ yards!!
Final Thoughts
They provide numerous water stations as well as an ice machine you see twice. A small amenity but nice to have especially this time of year.
Papago is a place to play now based on the conditions I had today.
Rode the Blues this morning 6/29/2018 with my buddy RGM2525. Thanks to Ron I played with a Golfmoose coupon which came out to $22.00 a person. Weather was high 50’s tee off warming to low 60’s with just a slight breeze–it was great golf weather. Ron and I saw multiple groups in front of us so we slowed down our pace to not catch them and finished in 3 hrs 50 minutes. Great staff in pro-shop, two putting greens and a nice big range to warm up on.
The Review
The greens were in great shape. Softer and slower than I am used to here but rolling great. No ballmarks. Only #2 green had a minor fungus on it. Rating the greens a 8/10.
The fairways were semi-lush to lush. Green and healthy looking–very few problem areas. Rating 8/10
The tees were lush, mainly level and even the par 3’s looked good with minimal divot damage. Rating 7.5/10
The rough was healthy, lush and a club grabber. It seems like it was not as thick and penal and high as it can be but is still always a factor here. Rated 8/10
Was in one greenside bunker on #9 that was raked and maybe could have used a little more sand. Still easy to get out of. Rated 7/10
Final Thoughts
I love the layout here-could play it 2 times a week. Super challenging, beautiful scenery(we saw multiple deer’s today). Very Recommended.
La Purisima Golf Course Lompoc California GK Coupon
Ran the GK Cup Final last Sunday at Black Gold Golf Club. Teed it up in the final group with lotrgolfer48 and I watching the excitement unfold between AndrewZ28 and Itslikeimsayin. Was great match going extra holes with AndrewZ28 coming out on top. Congrats Andrew!
Current Host of the last 3 GK Cups
Black Gold Golf Club is the only course to have now hosted 3 GK Cup Finals and all of them have been a great experience. It’s a tough yet fair track. You can be a player with a great short game and do very well or a player with good ball striking and very do well. All players need to be accurate off the tee yet not overly dead on or long. All players need to putt well. The layout is very interesting where bombers benefit on the Par 5’s with eagle chances yet be punished significantly on the back nine when off line. It has one of the best finishing holes in Southern California. Demanding par 5 with a water guarded green complex making it an exceptional risk/reward hole. Was a blast seeing the clubhouse patio balcony cheering on the finals group at the end. Super course for competitive golf.
The Review
It’s also a golf course consistently in great shape. Sunday was no exception. Being a Sunday afternoon round on weekend with heavy play the greens were not as smooth and fast as my previous Black Gold rounds but they looked very healthy, were medium/fast and held shots. The fairways were mostly lush kikuyu as was the rough. The rough was hit and miss as far as having a difficult escape or not. I had a couple greenside pitch shots just buried in the kikuyu I had to chop a lob wedge out. Puts a premium on your approach shots for sure. Tee boxes in good shape. Bunkers all containing quality sand and well cared for. Some dry thin areas out there in the fairways and rough but not bad enough to impact play. Again overall great shape.
Thank you Black Gold for hosting our GK Cup 11 championship and everyone that came out for the fun!
Played The Crossings on Thursday, 6/28, teeing off about 1:40pm with larryq2001 on a lovely, mostly sunny and 70s day, mostly calm, with up to a 1-club wind at times. Friendly greeting in the pro shop and by the starter. $40 Crossings Club member rate.
Teeing off as a Twosome, we were then paired up with the Twosome behind us, as the starter sent them up to join us as we teed off. A nice couple, he had a real good scoring day, but they were both a bit pokey. A single played through at the turn, and our POP ended up at just about 4.5hrs.
The Review
Course was in very good overall shape. White tees – all good and level. Fairways rolled out very nicely, and provided good lies. Only issue for me, with a few approach shots landing short of greens, the aprons were over-watered up to 30 feet in front, meaning no extra bounces, leaving plug-n-play, muddy balls, squishy turf and tricky chip shots to front pins.
Rough in a few spots was very dense and grabby, at least a club penal, and in other areas was a more typical choppy coverage, where the ball would sit down, but the grass/shot was a bit more manageable. Was in 3 greenside bunkers, which was good, as I was trying out a newly-modified SW. Sand was pretty decent, mostly a new, fine sand, but with not too much – about 2 inches, to get to the base. Had one ‘fried egg’ lie on the par3 14th.
Seemed that about 1/2 the greens have been re-punched a few days earlier, with slightly smaller holes than a full punch, but not the tiny ones. No sanding was evident, I can’t say that putting was affected too much, but greens were slow putting uphill, and medium-speed overall.
Final Thoughts
Great service after the round by Katie in the bar, with good food, too. A fun round, and it was fun to watch Larry play a very good scoring, and consistent round. I estimate the greens will be fully healed in 7-10 days.
Played Thursday 6/28, first out at 0630. It’s been awhile since I’ve played here but after missing the GK Guru Visit and reading all the positive reviews I decided it was time for a visit. Used a Groupon promotion, 2 player special for $79. My opinion it’s a good deal.
Customer service was outstanding during check in. Only negative was the driving range is closed for upgrades and only a small putting greens is available for a warm up. Played as a twosome with my brother and was paired up with another twosome. Pace of Play (POP) was right at 4 hrs. Men’s Club had a shotgun gun start at 0730 starting at holes 11-18. They were never an issue. Marshall and cart girl made their rounds and even a visit from the pro shop just checking to make sure we had no issue and enjoying our round.
The course was in very good condition from tee box to greens, rough and bunkers very well maintained. Only a few thin lies and brown patches. Nothing that impacted play. No negative conditions. Personally I still like the back nine better. The par 3s are a formidable challenge and don’t forget the picturesque Hole 18.
If you haven’t been there in awhile, maybe it’s worth a visit. I think you’ll enjoy it.
ALERT: Aeration
