Black Bear Golf Club in Franklin, NJ is part of Crystal Springs Resort. I usually like playing there but there are three major problems. While a few of the bunkers have been 'upgraded' with new sand, most of the bunkers are in horrendous condition - loaded with pebbles and stones. The condition of the tee boxes (we played the forward tees) are a major disappointment as well - not level and not maintained. Additionally the golf carts need to be replaced - they are old, SLOW, and don't have GPS. Very disappointed considering the greens fees and the fact that It's part of Crystal Springs. read more

Just attended the Easter Brunch at Crystal Springs Golf Course Black Bear Room. 10 adults. Was not a large selection of hot foods and the amount the display is limited. The eggs were cold, they give you tiny pieces of turkey, scraps, the shrimp was unpeeled, they didn't bring out more steak, the stuffed fish cold, practically no deserts, coffee was bitter, I had to ask for half and half, and sugar. None on display. We traveled almost two hours. Never ever again. What a disappointment. read more

The management team at this golf course have a complete lack of respect and appreciation to be in the service industry. Charging a premium fee and marketing your course as a resort, only to treat paying customers like inconveniences is the ultimate insult. Truly a shame, this use to be a nice course to play. read more

$88 for a course with unraked dirt bunkers. Pins were in unfair places. Halfway house wasn't open for food. Cart lady had gray hair. With 50 other places to play in NJ, no reason to go here when better places are cheaper, better manicured, food at the halfway house, and course itself is OK nothing great read more

I attended a dinner here with 175 people that went very well! The bartenders were terrific - attentive and quick. All of the food was very good although nothing was truly spectacular. What was spectacular was the venue itself. The outdoor area was very well kept and included a scenic gazebo. The inside was expansive, providing plenty of space for dancing for the 175 people in attendance. And for those who avoid the dance floor, there are 3 tvs at the bar area. read more

I've played Black Bear 5-6 times over the years and it is a well balanced and very well maintained course. It's not a terribly long course (less than 6,000 yards for a par 72 course), but the tips are challenging and if you can't keep the ball straight you better have some extras in your bag. There are a couple of tough holes here-7th is a par 3 over water, 2 is a medium length par 5 but water comes into play in front of the green and 6 is the longest par 5 on the course; 13 is a long par 5 with a slight dogleg coming into the green so placement is important. Last five holes are a pretty short finich, but beautiful. I actually really like playing Black Bear because for some reason I always play it well and it holds a special place in my memory. In fact, Black Bear was the course that I shot a 79 for the first time (only did it twice). Overall, this is a great course that will challange the average golfer a bit, but if you're looking for a great day with great views, this is a course for you to try. And I can't stress enough the importance of stopping in the clubhouse for a bite to eat and a cold beer to finish your day...OR to start your round-either way, it's a great day! read more

Black Bear Golf Club - Golf Near Me - Franklin, New Jersey

Beautiful course. Good for all skill levels. Beautiful location. Worth the drive. Recommend staying at their Minerals Resort & Spa nearby

I LOVED it here me and my family all had a great thanksgiving dinner it was so good and the experience was lovely! read more

Black Bear Golf Club - Table - Golf Near Me - Franklin, New Jersey

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Course was in decent shape. Bunkers were concrete. The food and booze prizes are insane for that area. 15 bucks for a burger at the turn?!?!! read more

Where do I start.... This is for the experience, the golf itself is all on what I do on the course - Starter - seems knowledgeable informs us of the do's and don'ts -- Opening hole, starter says when you see them close to the green you may begin.. That's not the case here. The next group behind us was a group of 5 (3 cars and a single player) how this can happen is beyond me when it's not -- 2nd home, we finished the 1st hole within 8-10 min which is pretty good considering - a guy YELLS from the 2nd t box HURRY UP.. I should've left then but no I decided to ignore the ignorant. After each drive the following group just kept hitting on hitting on us and we couldn't go anywhere because the group ahead of us was playing within the 8-10 min a hole. Unreal.. Fast forward, I'd had enough of the a-holes hitting on us that when the turn came I went to the men's room, ordered a hot dog (that was microwaved) to heat the original starter walk past me and say they're on the 9th green hurry up. WHAT!!! You can't go to the bathroom at the turn and walk to get a drink? WT*???? I said to him are you kidding me, what type of place is this - who plays golf in such a hurry. I've played golf for 20 years and NEVER have I witnessed such an experience. The starters really need to take a beat and the person that books the Tee times should have golfers starting every 10-15 min not like today where it was 7:06 then 7:12 - found that out when listening to the starter yell this out. I thought it was a mistake but should've listened to this nonsense from The start. If you're in a rush to play a course then you'll enjoy it but heed my post and pay attention it's not worth the experience. read more

Better than the wedding of our dreams!!! We booked Black Bear for its simplistic beauty and incredible value. I received so many compliments that I was such a calm & stress free bride (really meaning that I wasn't the bridezilla that many expected), but this was really no credit to me. From the start, the staff was the epitome of professional & knowledgeable, and no issue was too much for them to handle. Julie, Silje & Kim worked tirelessly to help us plan & execute an amazing day. Every minute detail was addressed prior to the wedding, leaving us worry free and able to enjoy the day. Due to a Spartan run the same weekend of our wedding, Minerals/Crystal Springs ran out of rooms much sooner than anticipated. For months, Julie tracked room availability until we were able to secure 45 rooms for all of our guests. I couldn't get over how beautiful the venue was the day of. The flowers & aisle signs added to the gazebo area made it seem dreamlike. Our ceremony pictures are gorgeous! With minimal effort, the cocktail & dining area were also beautiful. The personalized touches that we added were displayed so nicely. Unfortunately, our florist dropped the ball, but everything was handled by the staff of Black Bear without our knowledge prior to our arrival. Mark, our Maitre D, was incredible, as was the rest of the staff, throughout the day. Everyone went above & beyond to meet the needs of my husband & I and our guests. We had about 30 children & a heavy drinking crowd in attendance, and the staff members were incredibly friendly & patient despite things getting a little wild at times. You never know what to expect prior to a big event, but the food was incredible. Thanks to Chef Andy & staff many of our guests called us after to say the food served during the cocktail hour & dinner was the best that they've ever had at a wedding, and there was plenty of it. The cake included with the wedding package was beautiful & delicious. There truly aren't enough words to express how grateful we are to the staff of Black Bear for making our day the BEST ever!! read more

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The 18-hole "Black Bear" course at the Black Bear Golf Course facility in Franklin, New Jersey features 6,652 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 72 . The course rating is 72.2 and it has a slope rating of 130. Designed by Jack Kurlander/David Glenz, the Black Bear golf course opened in 1996. They have a rang but off mats. The biggest drawback is bunkers are awe full. Not raked full of rocks beaten up. Staff a bit arrogant and nj rude. Updated June '16 2 and a half hours plus for the front nine. Bunkers are just rock beds... 80 dollars a round for a muni course. Stay away for sure. Half my 4 quit after 6 holes. Crystal springs ought to be ashamed of running this course read more

Black Bear Golf Club - Golf Near Me - Franklin, New Jersey

I've been playing Black Bear for many years. It is currently in reasonable shape, however the sand traps and fairway bunkers are absolutely terrible. There is no sand, damaging rocks and virtually no way to safely hit out of those hazards. For the price they charge, I would expect sand in the traps. read more

I play an annual out there really like playing Black Bear only played it twice Overall, this is a great course that will challenge the average golfer a bit, but if you're looking for a great day with great views, this is a course for you to try. And I can't stress enough the importance of stopping in the clubhouse for a bite to eat and a cold beer to finish your day...OR to start your round-either way, it's a great read more

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Course is in very good condition and a fair match for most golfers. Our group was told on 2 occasions that were behind schedule when we were able to see the group ahead of us on almost every hole and the group behind us was spread out proportionately. (They send out golfers every 9 minutes here when other courses typically space out groups a bit longer) Starter was efficient and had things in good order. It was difficult to hit driver at range as rubber tees that fit into the artifical grass mats were missing in almost all of the stalls. Food and drinks are overpriced. read more

Went to the driving range and then for cocktails and a quick dinner. Bartender/waitress was not welcoming at all, so although the atmosphere was lovely not sure ill rush to go back. 3 drinks, quesadillas and pulled chicken dinner came to 140$ read more

attended the Easter Brunch in the Grill Room and it was a horrible experience! they advertised a piano bar and instead had a guy singing too loud on a karaoke machine! buffet food was cold, overcooked, bland, and poorly presented. no Easter decor except for a guy dressed up in a bunny suit. very expensive, also. read more

Course is decent. A lot of slow play but the Marshals do their best to keep things moving. So many pitch marks on the green that haven't been repaired. It's such a shame. I was in two fairway sand traps that had thousands of stones and pebbles in them. My clubs were scraped. This is completely unacceptable in my opinion. Customer service in bar is crappy. We waited around like tools trying to get served a beer and some food. Walked out after 10 mins and went to the Irish bar down the road. Crystal springs have something special with their resorts and golf courses but their customer service is pretty rubbish!! I was just saying this in my fellow golfers on the course and then we all witnessed it first hand at the end of round. Crappy, crappy, crappy service! read more

Don't know what all the fuss is about this place as was told by many people that it is a top notch "public Golf facility". Tee Time made over the computer with little to no issue for weekend on Memorial Day Sunday. Ease of Making tee time should have given me a heads up to what to expect. Driving range ($5.00) For bucket is down into a ravine off rubber mats which OK just to loosen up but certainly not optimum to getting ready for good golf. Already know it is going to be a slow round watching the group of us tee off in fact multiple groups tee off from tees they have no business playing. Guys if your an upper handicap type golf use the white tees, you do not get a set of balls for playing tees you have no business on. Either way Late teeing off by 15 minutes STRIKE 1 and totally unacceptable. Ranger gives us the speel keep up with group ahead yada yada. Well there was no problem keeping up as our foresome was up the ass of the 3 some in front of us all day and it still took 5 hours to complete this. Note Rangers who were present did nothing to speed up play. Fairways and tee boxes were well not "Fairway type Conditions" but the public park where the rough was well ROUGH and the fairways some semblance of what should have been fairway. Understood that plenty of rain fell over the few prior days but the bunkers were washed out, not raked, and or unplayable. Now us get to the real masterpiece of this extravaganza the horrendous greens. Bumpy, hairy, uneven speed from one side of the green to the other to the next hole where no speed was alike. Simply put, I've seen better putting greens on a muni track in the middle of Texas during a drought or flood. Simply horrible. Course itself had some character and potential if conditions were better, but based on my one experience, I certainly would not be driving 45 minutes from Morris County up to play this cow pasture again. I THINK NOT AVOID AT ALL COSTS! read more

Omg what a great atmosphere. 5 stars on the potential. Bartender was not great nor was the wine selection. Such great potential. Will give it another shot in the summer. read more

I came here in 2008 to shoot some balls at the driving range. Driving range was fun but not long enough. Here's where things go downhill We decided to eat after hitting the Driving Range. The people were rude and just stood there as if we were in the way and people walked past us without greeting us or asking for a table. We drove to Homestead, about 5 miles west and we got MUCH BETTER service. We will not be back. read more

Front nine holes are interesting and often challenging. Back nine holes were forced in to land and it's evident and the holes get real tight. Course is not difficult and they have some holes that are fun to play. As a local golfer, there are MANY other courses within 5 miles and I advise you to try them. Wild turkey for the all round game, Ballyowen for the scenery and Crystal Springs for the difficulty. Black Bear is the cheap and simple golf course that unfortunately is "guarded" by rangers who have no idea about pace of play. When approached by one of them, kindly tell ten to go back to their cart and shove it. The course superintendent had an embarrassing 2013 as the course was closed for weeks due to the greens being so bad they were forced to close. I have played at this course multiple times and have often completed a round knowing I should of paid more and hit Wild Turkey. Restaurant is ok...nothing worth writing about aside from it being a little pricy. How this course has a four star rating baffles me. read more

Can't comment on golf but restaurant here is HORRIBLE. Food was awful but worse was the attitude of the waitress. Asked for a refill on soda when she came with food and she actually said with an attitude "I can only do one thing at a time!" I never ever had any server say that. She was so nasty. My feeling is she prefers to bartend and only serve the male customers! Avoid this place. read more

Nice course! A lot of outings played here so you can find balls everywhere. Pretty challenging however they aerate the greens in the summer and it makes for a crappy round. read more

Honestly it's a beautiful course, it's challenging on a few holes or so. One of the rangers really rubbed me the wrong way though. They told us (a three sum) to "close the gap" when there was no gap to close. This incident happened on hole 15 when we've been waiting on the four sum in front of us every hole! Like asshole why don't you pay attention and look at the gabronies in front of us. Overall beautiful course but the rangers might be blind... read more

Played there on 8/10/13.** I am rating my experience given the conditions when I played.** Positives: Secluded feeling once you pull in off of Rt. 23. Friendly staff, nice pro shop, cool little wood burning BBQ at the turn, driving range ($5 for about 30 balls) although hitting off a mat, course layout is great. We played from the blues - white tees may be too short a course for some. Fairways and tee boxes, although not cut, were in good shape. On-course beverage cart was well stocked and always near-by. Negatives: Greens, unfortunately due to the recent heat wave, are pretty much non-existent. Some of the greens right now are essentially just sand. All of them are aerated. There are a few greens that are somewhat putt-able. To their credit, they only charged us $42 per person with cart on a Saturday at 2:30. It was cart-path only, and this is by far the worse course I've ever had to play on with this rule enforced. If you're in the right rough and the cart path goes left along the fairway, you may have a LONG walk to your ball. I would not play it again under those conditions given the opportunity to get a refund. $9 for a small burger and $3 for a bottle of water. Felt that was a bit over-priced. I would give Black Bear a 4 or 5 star rating once they get their greens back and I get a chance to play when a cart-path only rule is not in effect. The layout of the course is really fun. Just tight enough to be challenging, but not too much so to make it a long day for average golfers. Greens could also be spectacular. read more

Played on a Saturday morning in sept. Not worth $90. Mainly due to clueless ranger (George) who cared more about our expected pace of play even thou theire was no one waiting beyond us. He had the balls to challenge us to play next 3 holes in 30 min. Or else we will be asked to skip a hole. Guys beyond us never waited for us so we told him to get a life and take a hike. Course is in decent shape but layout and variety of hole shapes not there. Plenty of better courses nearby. Staff unfriendly. Don't plan any golf outings or boys weekends here. Stick to atlantic city or poconnos read more

OK So I am a full on newbie to golf and a women so you may want to take this with a grain of salt. I went here a few weeks ago with my boss. I've been having relationship issues and he wanted to take my mind off of it. I own golf shoes (Oakley from like 8 years ago that I've never worn), so he said wear your gold shoes, dress warm, and no jeans. ummmmm ok? I dressed like Ellen and wen went to Black Bear. He taught be how to golf, which was really fun, I used his college suns old clubs. I learned I need gloves for both hands, i have 3 blisters. I also learned I'm not terrible at golf, I got 54 on the front 9. Drinking, smoking cigars and golfing. Yes I am so straight, and I'm told I'm pretty cute, and I enjoyed all of the above! Now who wants to buy me some clubs? :) read more

Black Bear is part of the Crystal Springs family. It's well maintained and fair. The greens are of medium speed. The course is very short from the whites and average from the blues. Hitting wide off the tee results in a lost ball. We tested that a few times. The marshalls are friendly and the pace of play is around 4.5hrs. Had a great caesar salad with cajun shrimp after the round. Good friendly service at the bar. read more

It's all about the bartender named Brian. Go there and ask for the strangest drink you can think of and he will make it. Brandy Alexander for example read more

One of my favorite NJ golf courses. Very fun, not too tough, the starters and employees all have a great sense of humor which as a NJ resident is tough too find. Only problem is when it rains course sometimes holds a little more water then most courses and they enforce the cart path only rule. Aside from that really fun easy course. read more

I don't know if the course mgt knows but Saturdays are a very big day, but judging from playing yesterday they must be cutting corners to save $$$$. Its safe to assume there will be some leaves on the course, but this place is ridiculous! Yet the greens fee were a normal $89.00. There wasn't one maintenance guy on the course, nor one leaf blown off the course. Terrible!!! There were holes that if you hit the ball on the fairway you couldn't find it. I say there are many other courses to play up in that region, so stay away from this one till they get a clue. I won't be back! read more

I would give it a 0 if it was an option. I'm starting by saying worst service ever for Mother's Day brunch 2019. I would not recommend or ever go back. Not worth the price. Our reservations was for 1:30 we arrived at 1:15 there was no welcoming or host in site finally we found one around 1:45 and not seated until 2:15 They were under staff we waited for the waitress for another ten minutes who looked stressed and unhappy not even a hello took our drink order that came 20 minutes after we were done with our lunch not even water was served and when we did get our drinks the coffee was ice cold the desserts were super market bought served on the plastic it came in. We spoke to the hostess regarding their service she agreed it was bad but nothing changed. The food was ok chicken parm was very dry nothing out of this world. They ran out of plates another ten minute wait for plates. Very disorganized comes down to poor management. read more

I had a great time! The fairways were nice and full and the greens were tight. A lot of holes were very pretty with mt cliff, water and stones. You get a lot of bang for your buck on this course. I'm going tomorrow I'll let you know how I made out again! read more

Don't eat here Ordered simple snacking food wing, shrimp and something they call rib bites....just terrible all if it ! read more

We were at Black Bear for my daughter's wedding. I can't say enough about how courteous and helpful the staff is or how delicious the food. Since the day was warm and sunny, they set up chairs outside by the gazebo for the wedding ceremony. All of our guests were impressed with the quality of food that was served starting with the appetizers. Everyone at Black Bear made my daughter's special truly memorable. We have eaten here on Mother's Day at their buffet and the food is excellent then too. read more

A poorly run club from the bottom up. The green fees are much too high, the food at Black Bear,absolutely horrendous. Go to Berkshire Ridge or Farmstead, for less money, and no Ranger to ruin the round. Nothing more to say, just read the other ratings. read more

The stepchild of Crystal Springs. Played golf here 9/29/19. I am being generous with my three stars. Being part of a resort one would assume that the amenities of the Mother Ship (Crystal Springs Resort) would trickle down to the offsite Black Bear Club. It does not. Let give the positives first. The fairways and greens were in very good shape with a fair and reasonable golf challenge (4 Stars). The staters and golf bag attendants were professional. Now the negatives: The practice range experience is terrible. You hit off plastic mats with rock hard golf balls. These balls must have been a couple years old. The sand traps were awful. They should be called dirt/clay traps. The golf carts were also old with a lot of mileage on them. After golf we sat at the bar for a beer. The bartender had no personality and looked like she just got done cleaning the bathrooms. I was served a beer in an 8oz plastic cup. My brother ask for a glass with his $9 bottle of Heineken and the bartender seemed annoyed. We asked for a lunch menu and was told they didn't offer them when the outside barbecue was in operation. We went outside and had a pulled pork sandwich, which was fine but not great. There was no wait service which was another indicator that they are not Crystal Springs caliber. Bottom line: play golf there but eat and drink somewhere else. Keep your expectations low. read more

The golf course itself was in great shape and played well. However, I will never return back here for 1 main reason. The Course Rangers are Black Bear are among the biggest jerks I have ever encountered in life, let alone on a golf course. Our 4 some had 1 player who is a beginner. The Rangers followed us around the entire round telling us that we were slowing everybody else up. They would tell us "You just played an 18 minute hole in 16 minutes" even though the course was Cart Path only and the group in front of us were also playing slow. Our group kept up with not only the group in front but also maintained with the group behind us. The Rangers were particularly picking on us because we were younger guys and we had a beginner. They made the entire experience very unpleasant. Another ranger drove up to our cart on 2 occasions, tapped our beer bottles and accused us of not buying the beers at the course, which we clearly did. Its one thing to be rushed on your shots and to be made felt unwelcome but its a completely different ballgame to accuse us of essentially "stealing" beers. Never again will Black Bear Golf Course get my money. There are too many other courses in the area that actually have friendly staff members working there. read more

Today was one of the worst Thanksgivings ever. Had brunch at the restaurant, which was a disaster. The food was cold, no turkey dark meat and the service was nonexistent. The topping came when they presented the bill. Over $120 for 2 without drinks. Think twice before you go so you won't be greatly disappointed. read more