Half Moon Bay Golf Links - Ocean Course

Played on 10/4. Course was in great conditions. Greens firm with undulations and rolling pure. Fairways were nice and plush. Like walking on thick carpet. Add that with amazing view and you have one of the best courses ever played. Only downside was staff as a whole was not helpful or friendly ( some were borderline impolite)
Didn’t let that bother me though. I was paired up with a super nice local regular player. That and the course made it a great experience

best links course in Ca. When it is overcast you fell as if you are in Ireland.

Started the year off with a new course that I've been trying to get out to for 2 years now. Course did not disappoint. Weather was sunny (but chilly) with a 12-15 mph wind. Conditions of the track were excellent as expected. Greens were a solid 9. Rolled true at a medium fast pace. Greens were the perfect speed, size and offered jus the right amount of undulations to be challenging but not overwhelming.

Fairways ranged from a 9.5 down to a "low" 8. The only exception was number 18 which had some thin areas. Rough was manageable. With rain a week or so ago followed by a few sunny days, my guess is the rough had recently been mowed down to a respectable height.

Tee boxes were level semi-lush and divot free. I somehow managed to avoid the sand traps all day.

Layout of the track is spectacular. Several views of the ocean throughout the course along with some forced carries over a couple of ponds/lakes. There is just enough elevation change (albeit slight) to keep the track from being completely flat. None of the holes have any real severe dog legs and a few of the tee boxes look down double fairways. I was with my buddy who's a member so he knew the layout which helped a ton. Otherwise it would be very easy to hit (purposely) onto the wrong fairway.

Overall, it's a great course, with both views and conditions being in the excellent category. Probably a new Top 10 course, though it's getting harder and harder to knock courses out of the top 10 when a new one comes in.

It's one of those courses I'd like to play a few times but not every day. This course is all about the Pacific Ocean views. It has amazing vista's I'm mean breath taking views. But the course doesn't offer more than than that. Unlike Pebble Beach where the ocean is part of the story, the ocean is the story. The rest of the course plays up and down the hills and valley's. Take extra club on approaches up some steep hills. Pick out distant targets to find your line. Fairways are well wide and generous...classic resort style layout.

Greens were just coming out of aeration and basically just better than Fred Flintstone's bowling alley. The course was wet from heavy rain. It's still in pristine shape at an amazing resort. It's a perfect birthday cake,,,but who wants birthday cake every day?

Yes the layout, course condition, and staff were all top notch.

But, all I remember from the day was #17 and #18. Besides Pebble, these two finishing holes are the best around!

If you haven't played the Old Course at HMB, put on your must play list!

Ocean Course

Beautiful view (nearly every hole has a view of the ocean. Course was in very nice condition. Not a super difficult course but very easy to lose balls if you don't hit it in the fairway.

The carts were disappointing for this level of course (no GPS or ice chests)

Played front 9 in about 1.5 hours, then got to the 10th tee with three groups waiting (I was the fourth). Back 9 was probably 3.5 hours. They could really improve the overall experience by having marshals on the course to keep people moving and to help spot for lost balls (especially on the nastier holes). It really lessened the overall experience having two or three groups waiting on every tee box.

I got to play first thing on a weekday morning. The staff were very friendly and offered tips about playing the course. The course was in perfect condition. The greens were a little slick but rolled true. They have a warm up area for chipping and putting but no range. If you have time, stop by Oceanview Driving Range over on nearby Kelly Ave before arriving at the course. The greens fee included a cart and I wanted to play another 18 that afternoon so I rode, but the course is very walkable.

Worth every penny. I was told that the views and coastal golf were similar to that of Pebble. Every hole I had to stop and take it in.

Course was in fantastic shape. From tee to green it was immaculate. I am used to Texas fairways and was loving the softness of the turf. I was able to take pro 8 inch divots while shaping my ball flight in the wind. The greens were quick as expected, but rolled perfect. You really have to hit it close or risk a 3 putt. The course is not long so I played from the tips. I tend to hit my drive 280 on average. The longest par 3 was ~205 from the tips and most par 5s I was within 50 yds for my third shot. No range at the course. They do have a small chipping and putting area. Go play it!

I didn't realize just how close Half Moon Bay was to San Francisco until I made the drive from SFO down to the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay. It can be done in 40 minutes flat and it's certainly a scenic drive, to boot.

So maybe the Monterey Peninsula is a little too far away for a quick city escape, but Half Moon Bay is certainly worth the detour from all the city splendor that is SF. There are two very different courses at 36-hole Half Moon Bay and I think I curry favor by the slightest of margins to the Ocean Course (possibly because I played it twice - familiarity seems to breed favorability in golf travel, I've found).

The course certainly looks like a links, especially with the morning fog and brisk breeze. The turf is a little too spongy to call it a "true links," but the fairways and in perfect shape and the greens are wonderful to putt. There are a lot of neat holes here, but the par-4 16th is the real deal. It's a wonderful elevated tee shot overlooking the beach. 17 and 18 play alongside the cliffs as well.

I view this course as a kind of 4.51 overall rating, and considering they allow walking and it's a good walk, pushed it up to 5. The folks here are great too, and while your most avid architecture buff might wish for firmer turf, I don't think anyone walks off the 18th at Half Moon Bay unhappy. It certainly warrants consideration in any Top 10 public NoCal experiences. And I was actually pretty surprised to see that tee times are dynamic and usually in the $100-175 range, which probably doesn't get you a meal for four in Fisherman's Wharf these days.

Speaking of, the restaurant here, Mullins (named after their former head pro of 30 years) is fabulous. They even have lawn games and tons of spots to watch games. Doesn't get much better. We even ran into Robert Trent Jones Jr. and his family one night.

A disclaimer - we golfed on a discount so the cost factor made this course (Ocean) exceptional.

We also had a picturesque day. In a way, I wish it was cold, windy and miserable so I can experience Scottish troon golf. Well, maybe not.

The course was in great shape and the layout is excellent. My only mistake was playing the white tees (6052 yds) instead of the blue tees. The fairways are generous so just freely swinging the club made it more fun. There are few holes where you can actually hit a ball through the fairway so accuracy is your friend. I can see how this course would bite if the wind picked up. Overall a fantastic experience.

Always intrigued me to play a course aligning the Ocean. The first couple of holes and the last couple will have you quenching that thirst. The others in between, eh! If you would have dropped me off blindfolded on number 4, i could have mistaken it for being a local course in Virginia and not the one showcased on must plays in San Fran area. Maybe because it was a weekday, but i did not feel any wow factor from bag drop off to check in, to hitting on the range, but wait, there is no range, and this i discovered after i carried my own bags to the cart, and then after i felt hurried to pay my green fee and get moving, ummm okay. Course is okay, played it after some rain, so very very wet. My pants were gray but at the end, mixed in with lots of black. Pedestrians walking all over the place, and cart path only which made for a long round as this place is hilly which is not shown on pictures. Again, being an out of towner it was a must do, but possibly again, i dont know.

The Old course or the Ocean? I still haven't decided what's my favorite course at Half Moon Bay. They're both high four-star/almost five-star experiences that are entirely unique. It's too bad the land for the Ocean course wasn't given to someone with a better links pedigree than Arthur Hills. I can only imagine what Tom Doak or David McLay Kidd might have created. Hills cooked up too many elevated greens for my liking. Some greens accept bouncing approaches but not enough. Several contrived humps, like the one fronting the first green, actually repel shots. I am a big fan of the five par-5s/five par-3s routing, though, and the vistas from several elevated tees - no. 2, no. 13, no. 16 - are what make playing along the coastal cliffs so much fun.

We went to the course basically because of a decent offer that they made us in december. But it was worth it. The course was in a good shape. Playing just at the ocean front was great. Would recommend it.