Black Horse Golf Course

Black Horse is the newer and, since its 2008 renovation by Gene Bates, the more visually refined of the two former military courses at Fort Ord. General Edwin Carnes designed the original layout in 1964, a decade after Bayonet opened next door. Where Bayonet is direct and demanding in a military tradition, Black Horse has developed a more contemporary character through the Bates work, with fescue-framed fairways, serrated-edge bunkers, and several elevated tees that open up Pacific Ocean views from the back nine.

You're playing 7,024 yards, par 72, slope 141, slightly higher than Bayonet's 139. Fairways are wider than Bayonet's and bunkering is more strategic than punitive. The Bates renovation made the course more forgiving off the tee while demanding equivalent precision on approaches. Greens are well-contoured and receptive. The difference between the two Fort Ord courses shows up most clearly on the finishing holes: Bayonet closes with a gauntlet of long, narrow par 4s, where Black Horse offers more variety and more options for course management.

The front nine routes through relatively flat terrain along restored grassland habitat. The back climbs to the elevated sections where the views open up, and the final stretch rewards solid ball-striking without the all-or-nothing character of Bayonet's finish. The elevated holes can be windier than the front; bring layers.