Month: April 2022

Number 105 (Ocean County Golf Course at Forge Pond)

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Date played: 11/27/2020

Like almost anywhere, a vast majority of the public courses in New Jersey are regulation length. It’s something I used to lament when my friends and I just started playing the game in the early 2000s. We picked up the game on a pitch-n-putt course and were only brave enough to work in a couple par-3 and executive courses to the rotation of courses we were willing to play. I had always wished for more short courses.

Fast forward 20+ years, I’m more than halfway through my quest to play all the publics in NJ. Not only have I found more of these courses, but there have even been a few times where I’ve played them either on the same day or in subsequent outings.

My 105th public course was another such outing. After playing the beautiful par-31 Minerals course in Sussex County a week earlier, I booked a Black Friday round at Forge Pond with my good friend Matt.

Listed formally as the Ocean County Golf Course at Forge Pond, the course is a par 60, comprising six par-4 holes and 12 par-3s. Not knowing anything but its par and length before playing, I expected very simple design elements, straightforward holes, and flat circles for greens. What I found instead were incredibly well-designed green complexes, great use of the overall yardage, and a few great tee-shot decisions to make on the par-4s.

The green at 2. There is a touch of a false front and a distinct shoulder in the back where this pin was placed.

The layout is separated into two sections, with holes 3 through 7 situated on the southeast corner of the property. From the green at 2, the walk to the tees at 3 is about 300 yards, and you’ll take the same path back when making your way from 7 to 8. Apart from that stretch, the course is very walkable.

I was excited at the prospect of playing another executive course. I thought of it as an opportunity to try to go low during the off season. Realizing on the practice green that I forgot my putter at home though, the air was taken out of my hopes. Matt suggested I putt with my 3-hybrid. Given that the pro shop didn’t have a putter to rent or borrow, I didn’t have much choice.

Golf is such a funny game. When you think your chances are gone, sometimes things go your way. Somehow, I chipped in once, made my way around in 31 putts with the hybrid for the other 17 holes, two of which were birdies, and played really well overall.

One of six par-4s at Forge Pond
Holes 3 through 7.
The greens at 11 and 14.
Number 105 (Ocean County Golf Course at Forge Pond)

Numbers 104 (Minerals Golf Club)

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Date played: 11/21/2020

Designed by Robert Trent Jones, Minerals Golf Club is a nine-hole executive course that rolls along the side of the same mountains that compose the Mountain Creek ski resort. While set in a beautiful mountainside residential community, there aren’t many places where it feels that the homes encroach on the course, giving golfers the freedom to swing away.

A look at the downhill 3rd, with some of Sussex County’s mountains as the backdrop

Billed as the family-friendly choice of the six courses in the Crystal Springs resort system, Minerals is a great place for learning the game that is a step up from pitch-n-putt or par-3 courses. Each of the greens include a second pin that has a larger, 8-inch cup for younger or beginner golfers. The course features four par-4 holes and five par 3s that include some truly picturesque holes, particularly the par-4 third and the long par-3 sixth.

The par-3 6th, from off to the side. At 230 yards from the back, this is a tough green to hit.

It was truly a joy to be out on a course like this. I’ve been playing golf for just over 20 years, the first four of which were played almost exclusively on par-3 and executive courses. Places like Twin Willows in Lincoln Park and – over the border in Rockland County, NY – the Rockland Lake executive course were the next-step training grounds for my golf game after leaving the comfort of the 50-yard pitch-n-putt where I learned to play.

Being at Minerals reminded me of those places, but with considerable improvement in course quality. Checking in on the list of places that remain on my journey, I can see that there are many nine-hole courses, a few of which are par-3 or executive-length. I can only hope to find more that are like Minerals.

The 7th and 5th, straddling the main thoroughfare through the community.
All nine holes from the foggy skies over Minerals
Numbers 104 (Minerals Golf Club)

Number 103 (Concordia Golf Club)

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Date played: 11/16/2020

At the end of 2017, I thought I had played all of the public courses in Middlesex County after my trip to the Plainfield West 9 course. At the time, that was true.

But, as I’ve written before, this journey is ever-so-slightly amorphous. From the time I began tracking my travels in earnest, the list of public courses in New Jersey has seen some close (see: Beckett Golf Club) and some new ones open (like Skyway). Occasionally, a formerly private course decides to become fully open to public play. That was the case with my 103rd course, Concordia Golf Club.

Located in Monroe, the previously private course is set in a senior-living community. While the routing doesn’t quite follow it, the course is laid out in something of a figure-8 around two large portions of the neighborhood, with most holes flanked by homes. Depending on how wayward your shots can be, water is a factor on at least seven holes, which is a nice feature for a community course.

Behind the teeing grounds at 13, the first water-lined hole on the lengthy back nine.

At just under 6,300 yards from the back tees, the course has a deceptive façade of not seeming long on the scorecard. It’s misleading because while the front will play short at under 2,900 yards, the back nine stretches to almost 3,400. I was lulled into a sense of ease by the front nine, not realizing what was in store on the way back in.

There is also a great variety of holes overall. There are drivable par-4s in holes 3, 5, and 10. Some holes play to immensely wide fairways – like 6 and 8 – while many will challenge your driving accuracy with much narrower targets. My only criticism is that the par 3s were all relatively the same yardages from the back tees (186, 194, 194, 176).

The green at 4, the first of the par 3s. The COVID pins were still in use!

While the conditions of the greens were a bit inconsistent, they were great overall. The fairways could use a little TLC, but the rates are very reasonable (I paid $30 to walk on a weekday). Overall, I really enjoyed my experience here and would recommend it for a first-time visit. I’m glad I got to play it and complete all of the Middlesex County public courses… again.

A look back at my final hole of Middlesex County… again.
Number 103 (Concordia Golf Club)

Number 102 (Centerton Golf Club)

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Date played: 11/6/2020

My 102nd course came about as another great instance of what social media has added to my journey. Tim Casale is a south Jersey resident who initially reached out on Twitter to ask which courses I had yet to play down his way. I let him know that I still had many to go in a number of southern counties and cited some of the specifics in the counties closest to him.

A couple months later, Tim mentioned that he’d be taking a weekday off to play some golf and asked if I wanted to join and check another course off my list. It was a no-brainer for me, and with time-off-work to burn in the calendar year, I confirmed I would join. Tim looked to find tee times at some courses. We thought we might have something at Indian Spring and then Pitman, but both fell through.

After an exercise in synchronized booking through GolfNow, we were set for a Friday round. Eventually, we landed on a round at Centerton.

Seven years into my journey, this would be only my second trip to Salem County, and three years after the first, which was a 2017 impromptu stop at Town and Country Golf Links. Located in Pittsgrove, it’s only about 20 miles from the Delaware River border at the Turnpike/I-295 crossing. It was a bit of a hike from the middle of the NJ where I’m located, but having played just about everything in the middle third of the state, most of the remaining courses are.

From left to right, 18, 1, 9, and 10 at Centerton

We arrived at the course and made our acquaintances. Tim’s brother and father would also join us, and it was nice to meet them and feel like I was part of a regular group. After chipping and putting on the practice green for a bit, we made our way to the first tee.

While I could not have started the first hole any better – piping my drive down the center of the fairway and making a routine par – it was pretty shaky from there on. I snap-hooked and pulled my tee shots on 2 and 3 respectively, and though I recovered well from 4 through 7, I fought those misses around the remainder of the course.

The first par 3 is a long one. I probably missed this green a cool 30 yards left.

The course is very flat and walkable. There is room to miss, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it a second-shot course. Some tee shots do require attention, like the drives on 2 (which is narrower than most) and 10 (which is a dog-leg right that will require a placement decision). Then, there is the 6th, where a poorly struck tee shot may have you stuck behind Roger’s Tree.

Depending on the tees you play, Roger’s Tree is located anywhere between 80 to 110 yards from the teeing grounds on this straightaway par 4. (OK… so it would have to be a really bad tee shot.) I don’t know why, but I was intrigued by the idea of such a tree.

Roger’s Tree. Or is it The Rogers Tree?

Presumably, it’s a memorial. I’ve seen benches and in-ground plaques that are tributes to those who have passed away or even just member donors. But this one has a relatively crudely thrown together piece of plywood, painted white, with “ROGERS TREE” in black lettering. I’d love to know the story behind it. Who is/was Roger? Did he plant the tree? Was he always hitting it off the tee? If so, did his buddies put the sign up as a joke?

Whatever its history is, I’m glad to have avoided it. I’m also glad to have met up with Tim and his family as I continued my journey.

15 green, watched over by a tree that is not Roger’s
Can you spot Roger’s Tree on the 6th?
Number 102 (Centerton Golf Club)