While spending a few days recently playing the world's greatest golf course, I snuck out for an afternoon at the "new and improved" Bayonet and Black Horse complex in Seaside, Ca. To piggyback on what's been written already, I'd played around 10 years ago, prior to renovation, and remembered quirky, overgrown, difficult tracks with patchy conditioning. For those who do not know of these courses, they were designed on the site of the former Fort Ord, by one of its' Generals, who apparently was a budding architect and, from what I recalled, clearly hit a big hook.
Gene Bates was asked to redo the courses a few years ago, with plans to transform and open up/regrass the courses, soften some of the quirk (blind tee shots, sharp doglegs) and to bring a housing/academy component and from what I understand to bring the daily fee to the $200 range.
My take on the remodel: big time whiff. The site is fantastic, rolling, lined with mature cypress and pine, and routed within what was originally the dunes of Seaside, and has views of the bay on a number of holes. They've tried to bring a housing component inbetween holes (ouch!), and in doing so, the terrain is exposed and is awesome. Holes seem so easy to identify within these sandy corridors.
The good: $59 to walk. I finished 18 holes walking in under 3 hours. Great looking range/practice complex. Above average conditioning. Some of the quirk left i.e. the stretch from 11-13. Nice bay views. Nice patio out back to enjoy a beer afterward.
The bad: homogenous, predictable bunkering. I did not play the Black Horse course, but some of its' mowing lines were awful and bunkering looked waaay overdone. Greens with lots of predictable, overdone internal contours.
The end game: Fun, and an affordable taste of MP golf. But in the big scheme, a big whiff. In the land, I see a Wild Horse or Mid Pines-type course that could easily compete with its famous neighbors. Opportunity lost.