By Vinnie Manginelli, PGA
Black Gold Golf Club is a 2023 Golf Range Association of America (GRAA) Top 50 Public Facility and has made the list every year since 2012. Detroit native, Joe Reilly is the PGA of America Director of Golf. Reilly came on board at Black Gold in 2015 and earned Kemper Sports’ Golf Professional of the Year honors in 2019.
Introduced to the game of golf at seven years old by his grandfather, Reilly played competitively as a junior, as well as in high school, before heading to Ferris State University for its Professional Golf Management Program.
Owned by the City of Yorba Linda, California, Black Gold Golf Club was built on an old oil field, which is where the name is derived, and opened in November of 2001. Tipped out at just under 6,800 yards, the Par 72 Arthur Hills design is a high-volume course that hosts more than 65,000 rounds each year, about 10 percent of which are attributed to the many outings and special events held.
Black Gold has a stellar driving range and practice facility that encourages golfers to practice, learn and socialize, increasing their enjoyment in the game, undoubtedly contributing to those many annual rounds of golf played.
“The range is elevated, enabling you to see the majority of Orange County from the tee line,” Reilly explains. “The course was built on one of the highest points in Yorba Linda, and Orange County, as well. In fact, on a clear day, you can see Catalina, Disneyland and Angel Stadium from our driving range.”
The range has grass tees and mats which are used as needed based on weather and volume, ensuring a pristine hitting surface that supports up to 40 golfers at a time. The body of the range has a unique feature that hearkens back to the origins of the land – replica oil derricks – in addition to three real grass target greens. In addition, there are two expansive putting greens and a short game area with a chipping green and bunker that are utilized by golfers striving to improve and golf students with similar goals in mind.
As for the programming at Black Gold, Reilly says they have a very successful junior program with more than 250 juniors participating each year. The Black Gold Junior Academy is managed by Jane Rosenberg, a Quarter Century PGA Member who’s worked with such leaders in the game as former PGA Tour Professional Jim Colbert and legendary instructor Jimmy Ballard. Through the junior academy, Rosenberg offers private, semi-private and group lessons, as well as on-course instruction and kids’ summer camps.
Reilly, who does the buying for the golf shop, says custom fittings are done with the use of Trackman technology and boost hard goods sales each year. Bustling and popular before the pandemic, sales in the Black Gold retail space have been buoyed even further by the influx of new golfers since COVID and include clubs, balls and apparel, as well as a significant corporate business.
Check out its website and you’ll see special events like a South American Adventures Wine Pairing Dinner in March, the Yorba Linda City Championship, custom club fitting experiences, junior golf programs and a menu at Derricks Grille that will rival any stand-alone restaurant in the area.
You can hold your tournament, corporate event or wedding at Black Gold and enjoy the scenery of the surroundings and the hospitality of the professional staff on duty. That team includes nine PGA of America Members or Associates and is lead by PGA of America General Manager Richard Cessna.
They’re running tournaments, giving lessons, welcoming new golfers and creating an environment where Black Gold’s long-time dedicated clientele wants to be every time they tee it up. It’s quite a feat to be a Top 50 facility for 13 years running, but seeing what they’re doing at Black Gold makes it easier to understand how it’s possible.
