Black Bear Golf Club

I have played black Bear many times and the new ownership has done well to keep this course consistently in pretty good condition. They have a temporary green setup on hole #6, and the greens were a little slow but aside from that I was very happy with the course. This is a staple for my weekly foursome. In regards to the slow greens, I excpwct this time of year, many courses will hesitate to trim real close due to the extreme heat.

I’ll play this course regularly!

Booked two tee times, three of our players backed out. 1 hr before tee time Illness. They charged my credit card for the 3 no show’s.
$172.
They told me I should have read the fine print.
The 8 of us normally play there 10 times per year. $4,500
Never again. Good management decision?

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.

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..

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

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

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. !!!!

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Love the layout, but course is definitely not in good shape right now

I’m a longtime fan of Black Bear, but this was my worst experience in almost 20 years of playing out there. First and foremost was the lack of warning that the greens were being aerated. This is definitely something you should be told prior to booking. This may be a Golf Now problem and not a Black Bear one. The bunkers were very inconsistent and the green side rough had large growths of weeds on a lot of the holes. As much as I like this course, it’s overpriced given the current conditions. If you can get on for high 20’s or low 30’s, that would be fair. Over 40 for a course in this shape seems a bit too high. That said, I’m sure I’ll be back once the greens are sorted.