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.

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).

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.