atlantic

Number 132 (Pomona Golf and Country Club)

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Date played: 12/31/2021

Why use one font when you can use three?

Somewhere around the 8th or 9th hole at Brigantine, I realized that I might still have enough daylight after my morning round to knock another one off the list before trekking back home. Over the next couple holes, I pulled up my list of public courses on my phone to see what I could make work.

By then, I knew that I would be able to finish around 1:30 pm. Given that the sun would set just before 5:00 pm, it was unlikely that I would be able to travel anywhere and finish an 18-hole round. That left Pomona Golf and Country Club as the only viable option in the area.

Located in Egg Harbor City, Pomona has a great small-town feel to the whole property and experience, which serves as a charming respite from the bright lights of Atlantic City, the Garden State’s casino mecca just 18 miles away.

The patio at the clubhouse.

Walking into the clubhouse, the starter was regaling patrons at the bar with his story of surviving a lightning strike (!!!). Though I was a bit early for my 2:00 pm tee time, he checked me in and sent me right out as a single.

Coming off the 2nd green, I pulled my cart up to the single ahead of me, who was also waiting for the group ahead of him to tee off on the 3rd. Pairing up made sense to me, and when I asked if I could join him, the single – who let me know his name was Alex – obliged.

Alex and I finished the round together, talking about some of the golf in the area as well as my journey. He asked about some of my favorites so far, and I did my best to rattle off my “must play” recommendations. He let me know that Vineyard National at the Renault Winery – less than 5 miles from Pomona – was definitely one to look forward to.

Like Brigantine, the course at Pomona is almost entirely level, but very tight in some places. Tee shots on 2, 5, and 9 will be affected either by overhanging branches, narrowing the target landing areas. Greens are small and will test your accuracy. Once you’re actually on the greens though, your putts will generally have level lies for straight lines to the hole. Fairways were quite muddy on the day, but Alex assured me that was likely due to an extended period of recent rain, and that they are dryer in peak season.

The 1st green at Pomona.

Compared to most of the other publics I’ve played on the journey, conditions at Pomona leave something to be desired. Having said that, there is still a worthy purpose to this short course. At $17 to walk and $23 to ride – for two trips around the 9-hole layout – it’s a great place to practice and bring family to play.

One last note: Pomona is a cash-only facility. So, if you’d like to avoid a $2.10 ATM fee – plus whatever your bank might charge you – make sure you have USD on hand!

Here are a few more shots from the day.

2nd hole. Par 3, 150 yards. The tee shot is very much obstructed by trees on the right side.
5th hole, 290-yard dog-leg-left, from the tees. The landing area is the center of the frame, past the flanking, pincering trees.
5th hole, from jail, after failing to cut the corner.
The par-3 7th, 126 yards.
The approach into the green at 8.
“Mudball! MUDBALL!” -Bubba Watson
Number 132 (Pomona Golf and Country Club)

Number 131 (Brigantine Golf Links)

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Date played: 12/31/2021

Coming up on very near 100 years at Brigantine.

Having been out earlier in the week at Spooky Brook on Tuesday, 12/28, I thought I had played my last round of the calendar year. When I posted about it on Twitter, fellow New Jersey native, John, let me know that I should check the weather for later in the week.

The forecast for New Year’s Eve was in the 50s. Some places were pushing almost 60 degrees.

Knowing that I’ve been overcome with a desire to wrap up this journey soon, and having the entire week off of work, I had to play again. I decided to head to Atlantic County, where I still had plenty to play. The choice would be an 8:27 tee time at Brigantine Golf Links.

Known formerly as The Links at Brigantine Beach, the course bills itself as New Jersey’s only authentic Scottish style links course. Located almost essentially on the Atlantic Ocean, the course sits on a narrow parcel of land on the bay-side of the beach-town community of Brigantine.

My tee time had me join up with father/daughter pairing Wayne and Megan, who I quickly found to be perfect golf company, which really just amounts to being pleasant and supportive of others in the group. Through our conversation during the round, we even had a “small world” moment when we found out that Megan and I actually work on the same campus (though, for different companies). To top it all off, I had my best round of the year: two birdies, each followed by a bogey, 13 pars, and one triple-bogey totaled a 75 (+3). I don’t break 80 often, and this – although an off-season round – was by far my best differential (3.8).

While I’ve never been to Scotland, from what little I know of its golf courses, I would say that calling Brigantine Golf Links “authentic Scottish style links” is quite a stretch. It’s a quaint, almost entirely level routing where you’ll see plenty of neighborhood homes around the course. I’m not sure how the course plays in the summer, but I don’t think it would play all that firm or fast. The best greens on the property are probably the ones on 11, 16, and 18. The remainder are typical public course greens.

Being on the very outskirts of Atlantic County, I don’t know that I would send anyone a great distance to see Brigantine. But, it’s a course whose greens fees won’t break the bank, and if you’re already spending the weekend in say, Atlantic City, then it’s a nice local option for a beach weekend.

Here are some pictures from around the course!

2nd hole
3rd hole
4th hole
7th hole
11th hole
The path to 11 green
16th hole
16 green
17th hole
18th hole
Number 131 (Brigantine Golf Links)

Number 108 (Seaview Golf Club – Bay Course)

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Seaview from the far corner over 2 green. You can see the resort and clubhouse in the background in the upper left.

Date played: 1/15/2021

Having carried over vacation days that I didn’t use during the COVID lockdown of 2020, I took the first forecast of warm weather in 2021 as an opportunity to take the day off and knock another course off the list. Heading to Atlantic County for only the second time on my journey, the Bay course at Seaview Golf Club would be my 108th destination.

Built in 1914, the Seaview Bay course is known to LPGA fans as the venue for the Shoprite Classic. In 1942, it also provided half the holes – along with some of the resort’s Pines course – for the tournament setup of the PGA Championship, where Sam Snead won his first major. While Donald Ross receives top billing for designing the Bay course, it more accurately credits its design to Hugh Wilson, with only the bunker work being installed by Ross a few years after the course’s completion.

Quality flags reminding you how old this historic course is.

My first round of the new year was an extraordinary one with quite a few highlight memories. I started the round with a birdie and would go on to card the most I’ve ever made in a single round. One of those was a chip-in from 25 yards on the par-4 14th. On 16, after essentially shanking a low bullet off the tee towards OB on the right, I watched it hit a tree and carom left into the first fairway bunker. I successfully scrambled from there to make par. It was just one of those rounds where it felt like not much can go wrong.

I had a great time being paired up with three members, two of which have either worked at or caddied at the course. It was fun to listen to stories of how the Bay Course has changed over the years, having been a private club until the 1980s. It was described by the members as a course that used to be pristine.

A look across the bay at Atlantic City.

Conditions have changed however, attributed in large part to increased traffic over the years since opening to the public. Among public courses though, it remains a beautiful layout and pretty well conditioned. Interesting views are always a bonus for a golf course, and you’ll get a number of peeks at Atlantic City from the holes just along the marsh area of Reeds Bay.

In trying to find a course to play, I debated whether it would be worth playing Seaview in winter conditions. Greens were recently punched, and – being a links-style course – the native grasses lining the lateral limits of many fairways were cut accommodatingly low. But $39 for a course that costs well north of $100 in prime season was too good to pass up. Overall, it was great value for a winter round and easy to see why this history-laden course should be a “must play” for any public golfer.

Boldly welcoming you to the Bay Course.
This helpful plaque explains everything.
Love everything about the signs here, especially the small plaques indicating whether the hole was a part of the composite layout for the 1942 PGA Championship.
A look back at the first of the par-3s, the 7th. In the background, you can see the teeing grounds tarped off in preparation for the upcoming season.
Staring into the sun, you can see the gentle contouring of the green at 10.
Number 108 (Seaview Golf Club – Bay Course)

Number 92 (Harbor Pines Golf Club)

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Great old school ball washers at Harbor Pines

Date played: 9/8/2019

My first trip to play a public golf course in Atlantic County required begrudgingly breaking my precious sleep schedule. An early morning tee time at Harbor Pines meant that I’d have to be on the road at 5:00 am.  I don’t mind waking up early – especially to play golf – but waking up before 5:00 is pushing the limit. Nevertheless, the journey called and I was on my way.

The course winds through a dense forest, with almost every hole lined on both sides by trees. With the possible exception of the 1st and the 18th, wayward tee shots won’t have a chance of finding the fairway of a neighboring hole. When a course is mostly a winding tunnel of hole after hole, I find it difficult to appreciate unless there is great variety, and a majority of the holes at Harbor Pines are straightaway.

That’s not to say that there aren’t areas of the course that are noteworthy. The 4th is a long par 4 with a 90-degree elbow. The greens across the course are in great shape, and many have clever undulations that make for great hole locations, with the complex on the 9th being a great example.

Shadows across 9 green

You start the back nine with a tough par 5 that requires a tee shot that needs to avoid water on the left. Water is a factor on multiple holes, but perhaps nowhere else more so than the 12th. It’s a daunting short par 4 where a tee shot needs to carry and navigate water for at least half the carry distance, only to find that water must be avoided to the right of the green on the approach.

At over $80 in prime season for a round with a cart, Harbor Pines measures itself among the nicer public courses in the state. Through that lens, it comes off as somewhat average. Having said that, it’s certainly worth a play and would be a good option in a line-up for a multiple-day trip of golf in Atlantic County.

The par-5 18th
Number 92 (Harbor Pines Golf Club)