Half Moon Bay Golf Links -Ocean, Half Moon Bay, CA Golf Course Reviews

prov1tony on 2009-08-17 wrote the following regarding Half Moon Bay Golf Links -Ocean:

The Half Moon Bay Links course has two beautiful courses I played the Ocean coarse which is a real links style course that starts out easy but can get real tough. It is an Arthur Hills design built in 1997 but they are already upgrading it to make it harder. One of the things that make this course challenging to me was the speed of the greens the are sloped links style greens that are hard and fast. The grass in front and behind the greens is cut short and so your ball moves fast making it hard to hit greens in regulation. The pro told me they are adding 200 yards to the ocean course which will bring the length to 6900 yards. I played the blacks today but once it is lengthened I may settle for the blues. The first hole is a great look at the ocean behind the green and is a solid 400 yard par four with plenty of room in the fairway, a good way to start your round. It is the #3 handicap hole but I played my 3 wood and let the wind help me. Leaving me an 8 iron into the green. The only thing was keeping your approach below the pin on this sloping green especially on the first green so you get a feel of how fast they really are. The second hole is another chance to warm up a short par 4 with trouble on the right. I did not pull the driver out till the fourth hole. It is the first par 5 but even from the blacks was only 475. If you are going to miss on this tee shot it is best to favor the left side but not too far left it is OB from tee to green if you go to far left. When I got to the fifth I was glad it was not the first time I had pulled out the driver because it is an intimidating hole. This par four played only five yards less than the par 5 fourth. This is the #1 handicap hole because of its length mainly. The fairway is wide enough to miss on either side if you aim down the middle. Standing on the tee you have the ocean in front of you with the wind in your face and long long fairway in front. I went for it with driver and 4 iron on my approach and still came up a little short. It is a sloping links style green and is a challenge to get up and down. I was OK with my boogie. The sixth was a fun hole with a big fairway. Just be careful on your approach I did not have a problem but my son shanked it into the hill on the right and had a lost ball. It is a sunken green with trouble on all sides. The seventh was my favorite hole. I love going over water though. It is only 160 from the black and has a real wide green just not very deep so a cut shot worked for me. If you go to long and left you will be wet so you don’t want to be short or to far left. The tenth hole is a beautiful way to start the back nine. It is a long par 5 but they give you plenty of room. It is hard to make this one in two so you can leave the driver in the bag on this one. The Ritz Carlton is sitting behind the green and looks like a castle from the tee. I did not pay attention to this one the green is sloping from back to front so plan your approach. It is easy to three putt this one. The 11th is the hole where you can see the whole course from the tee box. This is a long par 4 but you have the wind at your back so it plays shorter. I did not calculate how strong the wind was and only gave it one club. I ended up hitting the back of the green and going into the rough. This was my only bad hole for a double on a lost ball. The wind kicked my butt on this one. The 14th is a grip it and rip it hole that plays up hill I played the right side with a draw and got a good roll but my ball was behind a swell. This green was the most difficult of the day with a back right pin placement. I landed in the font and had putt that broke twice and was up and down. The last three holes play along the ocean on the left with strong gusts coming over the cliffs. The eighteenth is a great finishing hole with the ocean on the left cliffs in front and the Ritz in the background. It is a long par five and is best played with a confident shot down the middle so I left driver in the bag and finished with a par. This was the hardest links course I have played. There was fog in the morning and wind most of the day sometimes helping sometimes not but you can be sure it will challenge you. The restaurant was a little too expensive for me. We went into town and got sandwiches at the deli and ate on the beach. I rate this course 5 of 5 stars. If you are an NCGA member show them your card and get the discount.

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