Black Bear Golf Club

Don't know what all the fuss is about this place as was told by many people that it is a top notch "public Golf facility".  Tee Time made over the computer with little to no issue for weekend on Memorial Day Sunday.  Ease of Making tee time should have given me a heads up to what to expect.

Driving range ($5.00) For bucket is down into a ravine off rubber mats which OK just to loosen up but certainly not optimum to getting ready for good golf.

Already know it is going to be a slow round watching the group of us tee off in fact multiple groups tee off from tees they have no business playing. Guys if your an upper handicap type golf use the white tees, you do not get a set of balls for playing tees you have no business on.  Either way Late teeing off by 15 minutes STRIKE 1 and totally unacceptable.

Ranger gives us the speel keep up with group ahead yada yada. Well there was no problem keeping up as our foresome was up the ass of the 3 some in front of us all day and it still took 5 hours to complete this. Note Rangers who were present did nothing to speed up play.

Fairways and tee boxes were well not "Fairway type Conditions" but the public park where the rough was well ROUGH and the fairways some semblance of what should have been fairway.   Understood that plenty of rain fell over the few prior days but the bunkers were washed out, not raked, and or unplayable.  Now us get to the real masterpiece of this extravaganza the horrendous greens.  Bumpy, hairy, uneven speed from one side of the green to the other to the next hole where no speed was alike.   Simply put, I've seen better putting greens on a muni track in the middle of Texas during a drought or flood.  Simply horrible.

Course itself had some character and potential if conditions were better, but based on my one experience, I certainly would not be driving 45 minutes from Morris County up to play this cow pasture again.  I THINK NOT AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

This past weekend, my friends and I made the hour trip to upstate NJ (Sparta) to play a round at the Black Bear Golf Club. My one friend is a "member" which can be bought for $110 that gives you advanced tee times, cheaper rates, and a couple free rounds.

Since we played so early in the season, green fees, cart, and 30 range balls only cost us $45, which is unbelievable on a Sunday afternoon. Besides this, the place was basically empty as we never really saw anyone on the course the entire day. This is rare for someone from Union County as it's normal to be waiting on tees for the group in front.

The course is tough for the average golfer. I typically shoot between 100-110 and I shot a 115 here (I thought I hit the ball well haha). The entire course for being early in the season was very nice except for a couple holes that were being repaired, not a big deal to me. The 7th hole is very nice and tough as you have to hit over water onto the green. Also there are a number of holes where the back of the tee box looks over upstate NJ which gives some great views.

Black Bear is not a course to be walking as a few of the holes are out in the distance from previous holes. There were a few times when I actually said, are we going the right way? I also did not enjoy the thicker cut of grass on the fairways, but I suppose this is changed when the spring/summer golfers come to play.

Black Bear is a challenging golf course that features some great views and tighter fairways. The entire course seemed in good shape for golfing early in the season and for no one being on the course, we finished in 4.5 hours. I plan on playing here again in the future and I'm sure I'll throw an update up when that occurs.

I've played Black Bear 5-6 times over the years and it is a well balanced and very well maintained course.  It's not a terribly long course (less than 6,000 yards for a par 72 course), but the tips are challenging and if you can't keep the ball straight you better have some extras in your bag.  There are a couple of tough holes here-7th is a par 3 over water, 2 is a medium length par 5 but water comes into play in front of the green and 6 is the longest par 5 on the course; 13 is a long par 5 with a slight dogleg coming into the green so placement is important.  Last five holes are a pretty short finich, but beautiful.  

I actually really like playing Black Bear because for some reason I always play it well and it holds a special place in my memory.  In fact, Black Bear was the course that I shot a 79 for the first time (only did it twice).  

Overall, this is a great course that will challange the average golfer a bit, but if you're looking for a great day with great views, this is a course for you to try.  And I can't stress enough the importance of stopping in the clubhouse for a bite to eat and a cold beer to finish your day...OR to start your round-either way, it's a great day!