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Number 123 (Suneagles Golf Club)

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Date played: 10/21/2021

“I maintain that the Suneagles Course ranks among the best of my creations.”

– A. W. Tillinghast

That quote can be found on the scorecard for Suneagles Golf Club, the 123rd stop on my quest. For those familiar with Tillinghast’s courses, that is really saying something. In New Jersey alone, he designed the layouts for renowned private clubs such as Ridgewood, Somerset Hills, and Baltusrol.

Whether or not he meant it, it’s always interesting to play a course designed by a famous architect. For the average golfer playing municipal courses and other daily-fee publics, it’s unlikely you’ll run into many of them. Oddly enough, Suneagles is about two miles from another Tillinghast design, Old Orchard Country Club. However, having the same designer is where the similarities end.

The quality of Suneagles is certainly above what I found at Old Orchard. Granted, while I played them at two very different times of the year – October versus February – the condition of tee boxes, greens, and bunkering at Suneagles were noticeably better. The bunkers in particular seemed brand new, just one example of an ongoing renovation effort.

With that renovation has come increased cost to golfers, which is certainly understandable. Peak season rates can reach over $100 to ride on weekends. Thankfully, I was able to walk the course on a weekday for $37. Apart from knowing that you’re playing a course with some history, I don’t know that I could justify $100 tee time to the average weekend golfer.

The course is in good enough shape, but there are some low-lying holes – like 8, 10, and 11 – that did hold some water which made conditioning difficult. At that price point, though, you’re approaching some of the best publics in the state, and most golfers will want to see that value all around the course.

Having said that, I liked my time at Suneagles. I chose to play from the 6,385-yard back tees and managed relatively well for my game. That is about the course length limit that I enjoy playing and none of the holes felt too long, with its yardage being distributed evenly among the par 3s, 4s, and 5s. One interesting note about the course is that the holes are each named, something which is almost an exoticism for public courses – at least in New Jersey – and that I can only remember seeing at Laguna Oaks. The par-3s, for instance, are named “Puck”, “Lake”, “Clipper”, and “Island”.

Whether you’d like to add Tillinghast to your list of architects whose courses you’ve played, or you’re just looking for another public golf option in Monmouth County, Suneagles is certainly worth a look at its cheaper rates. If you need to play on a weekend, I recommend walking in the afternoon. At the time of writing, that should get you a rate between $50 and $60, a price for which the course can certainly provide adequate value.

The opening tee shot on “First” at Suneagles. Until the 8th hole, all of the driver holes are pretty straight.
Bird’s-eye view of the green complex at the par-3 2nd, “Puck”. I thought it looked like an elephant, but some on Twitter cleverly noted that it resembles Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”.
The approach into 6 (“Brook”) if you’re a little left of the fairway.
One of the two eagle statues that line the clubhouse drive, with the green of the par-3 7th in the background.
The 7th (“Lake”) from the tees.
A look at the landing area, pond, and green at 10 (“Turn”).
A wild drive placed me on the wrong side of these trees to the right of the dog-leg-right fairway at 13.
Looking back at 13 (“Jonah”).
The green at 18 (“Home”).
Number 123 (Suneagles Golf Club)

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 101 (Hendricks Field Golf Course)

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Date played: 9/22/2020

Do you remember the scene in Forrest Gump where he was running across the country? Red shorts. Sweaty, yellowed shirt. Scraggly beard hanging below hyper-focused eyes. He said he just felt like running. He didn’t explain his purpose. Viewers simply witnessed his inexplicable need to continue running – compelling him and leading him through his journey.

And in some ways, I understand that unrelenting urge to accomplish something. To triumph.

My golf journey hasn’t been as eventful. Nor has it been Oscar-worthy. And there is no way my wife would let that beard happen. But it’s my journey, nonetheless. Call it a bit of wanderlust – an attainable adventure across the Garden State.

I don’t always have something new to say. The grass is green. The ball is white. And the sky is almost always blue. But it’s the little things that keep me going. I meet fellow golfers, play interesting courses, or just experience New Jersey locales that I likely may have never visited otherwise.

Blue sky over Hendricks Field

Having finished at Darlington early enough in the afternoon, Brian and I decided to see if Hendricks Field still had available tee times. We hopped in our cars, made the 40-minute drive south to Belleville, picked up lunch along the way and got to Hendricks. Thankfully, after a short wait, we were able to walk on.

Brian and I have played a few times together since connecting over Twitter. Over the past couple of years, I’ve gained several new, regular golf partners. I’ve also met interesting characters, like Kermit, who unknowingly started me on this quest after telling me he was already on it. At Hendricks, we were joined by a single, whose name I unfortunately can’t remember. Some new friends stay, while others are fleeting and sometimes fascinating details in my story.

Our unnamed third, teeing off on the 3rd, with a buck just a stone’s throw from the tee box

The courses are all a little different, but it’s nuances of each outing that stick with me the most. Whether it’s the people I play with, the shots I hit (or didn’t), or the intriguing details about the golf in my home state.

For example, did you know Hendricks Field was originally designed by Charles Banks, one of the prominent architects from America’s “Golden Age” of golf course design? Shortly after we played there, Hendricks underwent a renovation which honored Banks’s legacy of thoughtfully crafted holes, while also incorporating new features to support environmental sustainability (i.e. grass that requires less water and pesticides).

At the time of writing, I am about 75% of the way through my journey. As I close it out, I will see more green, white, and blue along the way. I look forward to what I might learn and who I’ll meet on the next course, each detail adding a little more color to my journey. Subtle moments shading and painting a picture of the New Jersey landscape.

Located in Belleville, Hendricks was the last course I needed to play to complete the Essex County publics. As I move on to courses in other counties with my own hyper-focused eyes and Gump-like determination, I am grateful for the opportunity to do something I love and tell the world about it.

He didn’t hate it, but he was not impressed
Number 101 (Hendricks Field Golf Course)