Black Bear vs Blackstone

It looks like SE Denver might be our landing spot...close to S. Parker and Mississippi. I know its about a 30 min drive, but it looks like these are my club options due to price.

Any thoughts on these ClubCorp Clubs?

Thanks! Look forward to teeing it up with you guys.

AJ

Congrats on moving to the sensible side of town.

It's probably worth your while to get the membership to both courses.

Overall, I find Black Bear to be more challenging. However, "The Gauntlet" at Blackstone (holes 13-16) is absolutely brutal.

The only downside to both courses is that they are both very not walker-friendly.

You should also look at Lone Tree GC as a membership opportunity. It's a nice Palmer-designed course that would be a quick 15-20 minute drive (on the weekends) from your proposed location.

AJ : We just joined Club Corp and so far it's been very good. FYI: Club Corp includes both Black Stone and Black Bear

They are currently offering a 50% initiation fee. There are 4 levels of memberships (If I remember correctly)
- Black Bear ONE: Limited to Black Bear pay greens fees ($8 weekday / $10 weekend and cart fees ($15)) with limited access to Black Stone
- Associate: pay greens fees ($8 weekday / $10 weekend and cart fees ($15))
- DUAL: only pay cart fee when you play / $10 monthly food minimum
- ultimate: pay nothing when you play / $10 monthly food minimum

Another program they have that your automatically entered into in the ONE program. At the courses it's 50% food for dine-in and the beverage cart (alcohol not included).

As for the courses:
I agree with Swede that Black Bear is a bit more difficult especially off the tee. In my opinion it favors someone who plays a bit of a draw off the tee since the majority of the holes there is trouble on the right.
The front of Black Stone plays relative short and you have to keep your head above water because the back is much tougher. I would say the fun starts on hole 11 and continues to 17. The Gauntlet is tough but manageable if you hit good shots. If you don't, big numbers can come into play. The 2 toughest holes on the back are 13, which is a 607 yard par 5 (playing the tees one-up from the tips) that requires 2 forced carries over the gully. The other is 16 which is a 230ish yard par 3. We played it on Saturday into a slight breeze and we all hit 3-woods. In the summer the greens at Black Stone are fast... very fast.

Let me know if you have any other questions. If you decide to tour or talk to them, let me know I'll hook you up with the membership coordinator.

Bert