I have played the "old" Bayonet only prior to Saturday. The new front side is greatly improved in my opinion as the trees have been trimmed nicely and the primary design features (greens, bunkering, and tees) are more upscale and visually enticing. The hole corridors are the same and I don't think that there was much tree removal (reportedly over 1,000 trees were removed- some transplanted to the periphery of the property- on the Black Horse course), so it remains relatively tight. On a couple of holes, fairway bunkers pinch the fairways against trees on the opposite side, making the landing area extremely narrow.
The greens themselves appear to have considerably greater slope and more internal contouring. They are very firm, and chipping is difficult. Perhaps they will soften up a bit as they mature, otherwise, the combination of tight fairways (bent, I think), thick rough, and slope will make for very long, difficult rounds at what is planned to be a resort facility.
Personally, I liked the new nine. The high, thick stuff they planted around and in front of many of the tees is absolutely nuts, but I suspect that they will either mow it down or thin it out to about 10% of its present consistency. The 9th hole is absolute madness given its length, uphill second shot, bunkering scheme, and shallow green. They can move the tees way up and perhaps shave the back hillside to use as a backboard, but I can't fathom what the architect was thinking when he built this hole.
From what we could see of Black Horse's second nine, it looked much more appealing with its free-flowing fairways and greens, ragged-edge bunkering, and openness. Reportedly, it should play a couple of strokes easier than Bayonet.
The business model is quite another matter and worthy of a separate thread. It appears that the feds retain some control of the property, perhaps via deed restrictions. I would be interested in learning the roles of the city of Seaside (?) and private sector interests in the development and ownership of the formerly military property. It is my understanding that the courses will attempt to compete with Spanish Bay and Spyglas Hill, and the hotel will seek to attract similar clientele as the facilities at Pebble Beach. A projected green fee of $200+ was mentioned by some folks at the club, which, if true, seems to be highly overpriced. We paid $105 for the new front side and a poorly maintained back (closes this week when the Black Horse back nine opens). I wouldn't pay that kind of money to play the course again.