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.
I had taken a Friday off work and traveled up to northern New Jersey to play a small private/community course with an old family friend. Afterwards, I also played the short par-3 course at Anchor Golf Center and decided to stay up in the area to try to play another new public course on Saturday. I was able to crash at my brother’s place and find a tee time at Orchard Hills.
Like most courses in New Jersey – but especially in Bergen County – Orchard Hills is tightly surrounded by suburbia. Situated adjacent to the Bergen Community College property and across the street from Paramus Catholic High School, it’s relatively easy to miss if you’re not looking for it. The course is nine holes and doesn’t even reach 2,800 yards from the tips, but as its name suggests, it does roll up and through the hills of the property.
Though it’s an easy course on paper, I somehow managed to play some pretty terrible golf. Looking back at pictures now, there is all the room in the world to land your tee shots on the six par-4s and the lone par-5. The course also features two par-3s that are a bit long on the scorecard, but certainly fair in reality.
Hole 4, the first of the course’s two long par 3s
While I carded a poor round, it was a good feeling to cross off another Bergen County course from the list. Orchard Hills was pretty well maintained and pace of play was decent for a busy golf course on a weekend. The course became my fourth public played in the county.
If I had to guess, I’d say the 90th public course I played in NJ is one whose legitimacy in my list is questionable to many. It’s something between a pitch-n-putt course and a par-3 course. There are mats for tee boxes, it “tips out” at under 800 yards, and the greens are a mix of clover and other weed growth. You could probably install cups and flagsticks in your backyard, set the lawnmower to the lowest mow height possible, and you’d get similar results.
It’s completely open to the public as a daily fee course
Apart from the greens, there are a couple other items of note about the course. Following an extended period of rain, the course was soggy, especially at the back of the driving range on holes 5 and 6. There were also a couple tee shots (on holes 4 and 7) that were at least partially obstructed by trees, which may trouble the beginner but add an element of challenge for an experienced player.
Pretty sure this is a Raynor template. The pallets under the tree give it away.
At the time of writing – November 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic – the Anchor Golf Center website says that the Par 3 course is “closed until further notice”. It’s unclear if that means closed for the winter season or closed for good, but it would be a shame to lose a place like this.
In my opinion, these short courses – suboptimal conditions and all – deserve a place in the golfing world. They’re places to learn the game. The easiest way to make the transition from driving range to regulation course is by using these short courses as an intermediate step.
While I’m counting them all, and my criteria may seem loose to some, I’m curious what you think. Would you count a place like this on a list of public courses? If not, how would you define your criteria for such a list?
After growing up and living in New Jersey his entire life, getting married and starting a family here, my cousin let me know that he and his family would be relocating to South Carolina. Knowing that we would be hundreds of miles apart for the foreseeable future in a matter of weeks, I suggested that we should play a round of golf before the move.
While not an avid golfer, my cousin was interested enough that we often talked about getting together to play, and he agreed we should make it happen. Being up in Bergen County and needing the course to be close to him so he could get back to the family soon afterwards, I booked a round at the Blue nine at Rockleigh Golf Course.
Located about a half-mile from the state’s northern border with New York, Rockleigh features 27 holes, split into an 18-hole course (the Red and White nines) and the par-33, nine-hole Blue course. Most of it plays very level, with only the slightest incline into some of the greens. While there are areas of the course that seem neglected, word has it that Rockleigh is limited in what they can use to treat the grasses, as it is protected park land. In spite of that, the greens are well maintained and play fairly. At $17 to walk on a weekend, it is tremendous value for casual or high-handicap golfers who don’t want to break the bank to hone their craft.
The green at 9
My favorite part of playing with high-handicappers is rooting for them and celebrating their victories. Whether it’s a 15-foot putt that’s holed or just a well struck shot, those moments in the game make great memories, so it’s special to me to serve as a witness to the occasion. At Rockleigh Blue, I got to see my cousin – who averages less than one round per year – make a legitimate par at the fifth hole, a short par 4 with a lateral hazard to clear on the approach.
If I’m going to bear witness to his next golf memory, it would more than likely have to be at my cousin’s new home in the Palmetto State. In the meantime, I’ll be continuing my journey around the NJ publics, perhaps joined by other casual golfers looking to make memories of their own.
With its nines straddling Haddonfield Road in a V-shape, Pennsauken CC is short par 70, playing at 6,250 yards from the back tees. The first three holes play east of the road while the remainder of the front nine is played across the street.
Overall, it was a great day out and I had good company for the round with some locals who were able to help me sort out some holes.
Here are a few of the memorable holes from the course:
The 4th is a long par 4 with a blind tee shot playing uphill.
The 14th hole is an excellent par 5 which forces three shots for a majority of golfers. Your final approach needs to cover a creek to an elevated green with a false front on the left side.
The approach into 14
17 is a fun driveable par 4
The closing hole is a long par 4 playing from left to right around a pond. The approach plays slightly uphill to a green that is sloped severely from back to front.
Saddled between Routes 15 and 23, the 81st course on my journey is technically a county-less one. Berkshire Valley resides in Oak Ridge, NJ, an “unincorporated community” (gotta love that designation) between West Milford in Passaic County and Jefferson Township in Morris County. As far as the golfing community is concerned though, it is part of the Morris County Park Commission, and it was the last one I needed to play to complete the county altogether.
Designed by Roger Rulewich – whose work can also be found in the Crystal Springs Resort courses in Sussex County – Berkshire Valley is a picturesque ridge-and-basin layout beside Green Pond Mountain. It starts on the ridge with five holes playing in one direction along the side of the mountain before returning in the other direction with some eye-catching undulation on holes 6, 7, and 8.
Back across the ridge on the par-3 6th
After that, it’s down to the basin on 9. Where it felt tight on the ridge, the course exhales here for the first time with a wide-open fairway. The lower side of the course continues and features some great holes where water is in play, either to carry or to mind as a hazard to one side. The basin rolls delightfully around these bodies of water in links-style, where you’ll contend with native grasses more than trees.
A look out at some of the back nine in the basin
The morning I played, all players were sent out on 9 – to play 9 through 18 twice – as the first five holes were closed due to snow that still needed to melt. It would’ve been disappointing to have to come back to the course to complete it, but by the time we wrapped up on 18, enough snow had melted that they allowed us to play the front after all.
Shadows across the beastly 2nd
Berkshire Valley is truly a hidden gem. It’s the one course I’ve played so far where enough people haven’t heard of it, and it is an absolute recommendation in my book. The views from the ridge are striking and make for great pictures, not to mention the challenge you’ll face in that first third of the course. Its width in the basin makes it quite replayable, offering multiple angles on a number of holes.
If you haven’t seen it, it is an absolute must play. Give the unincorporated community of Oak Ridge a visit and discover a public treasure in Berkshire Valley.
From this vantage point, you are standing on the Links, looking across the Pines, eventually out to the Ridge in the distance
Date played: 3/17/2018
My journey took me to Eagle Ridge Golf Club after one of my best friends invited me to a golf outing. Located in Lakewood, Ocean County, Eagle Ridge is a facility with three distinct nines, named (or at least supposed to be) for their differentiating topographic and architectural features: Ridge, Pines, and Links. Interestingly, while the holes are numbered from 1 to 27 – Ridge 1-9, Pines 10-18, then Links 19-27 – the nines are all handicapped as individual nines. As I mentioned about my time at Flanders Valley, to me, this is a defining characteristic of considering the course as separate nines, as opposed to an 18-hole course and a 9-hole course (or in the case of Flanders, four 9-hole courses as opposed to two 18-hole courses).
The Shamrock Shootout (still the best name for any sporting event on St. Patrick’s Day) was set to be a 2-man scramble with Stableford scoring on the Ridge and Pines nines. If that would hold true, I don’t think I could’ve counted them as complete on my quest. Scrambles are fun, but playing them is not the same as playing your own ball, where you get a sense of the challenge of a course and its setup. Thankfully, we would be playing with some golf buddies of my friend, who were more than amenable to having us all play our own ball and enjoying the round.
The 18th at Eagle Ridge, coming out of the Pines
Pines (73)
The scramble began at 9:00 am with a shotgun start, which meant our round started on the par-3 16th of the Pines nine. Playing a course out of order is always an appealing change in principle – like my time at Beaver Brook – but it definitely leaves you wondering what the experience would be like on the normal routing.
The Pines is named for the trees that line most of the nine, though there are areas that open up, such as the 18th fairway, and an attractive set of approaches for the 12th and 14th greens around a pond. There is a good mix of both tight and wide landing areas, and you will need accuracy to score well here.
The 5th is a dog-leg left par 5, playing to the bottom of the Ridge
Ridge (74)
The Ridge nine plays as something of a ridge-and-basin layout. The “ridge” would be the outskirts of the Pines along the long par-5 7th and the bottom of the “basin” would be the body of water along the green of the par-5 5th. However, the slope across holes is gradual, making it more of a “side-of-a-hill” layout.
In general, the Ridge plays far more open than the Pines and is therefore much more forgiving. I’ve mentioned before that it’s difficult for me not to enjoy or appreciate a layout when I’ve played well, and I played some of my best golf on the Ridge nine. I think of it as something of an ideal course. There is beauty in its elevation changes, there is character in its greens, and it’s almost impossible to be penalized by a good shot.
Welcome to the 19th
Links (75)
THERE’S AN ACTUAL 19TH HOLE! As I mentioned earlier, the Links nine are actually marked both on the card and the course as holes 19 through 27. I also alluded to the fact that, while Ridge and Pines are appropriate descriptions for those nines, I don’t think “Links” accurately describes its nine holes. There isn’t much on offer at the Links that you don’t see at the Ridge. The Links nine are spread out over a much larger plot of land, so you do have vast grown-out areas between some holes, but there isn’t anything that really offers a “links” feel.
By far the most interesting hole on the Links is the 25th. A short par 4, the landing area for the tee shot is blind, requiring a stone at the end of a plateau as a target. The fairway is generous, so most tee shots will land safely, but the approach is 90 degrees left, almost entirely over water.
The 25th green is on the left in the distance, but you’ll need to aim over the stone at the end of that walking path
Eagle Ridge as a whole…
Apart from the two-out-of-three-ain’t-bad naming for its nine-hole courses, I rank Eagle Ridge highly among the public courses I’ve played so far. The course’s condition is more than worth the in-season rate of $86. Also, I’m not sure it applies all season, but I was able to get a great replay rate of $25 for playing the extra nine, which would be a great touch for a great course.
How I played…
Pines-Ridge wrap-around: Poorly on the pines, remarkably on the Ridge. The highlight would definitely be the lack of a three-putt hole.
Links: Meh. Pressed for time, I was in a bit of a rush to get done and get home, but that’s no real excuse. I played mediocre golf.
Just coming off a miserable three-putt finish on the 9th of the Par 3 course, I immediately went into the pro shop to pay for a round on the Executive course. Much like the Par 3, the Bel-Aire Executive layout plays very short overall, at only 3,201 yards from the “back” tees. Like most executive courses, the lion’s share of holes is par 3, with six par-4 holes that bring par for the course to 60.
I’ve never started a round as well as I have on the Executive Course. A group had just walked off the first tee, and I was playing solo. They waved to acknowledge that I could play through once I finished the first. I quickly got up to the 1st tee box, hit a ¾ knockdown shot – to stay out of the wind – to a foot from the hole and tapped in for birdie.
The group let me tee up on the 2nd ahead of them, and I proceeded to hit the essentially the same shot, this time to four feet. I felt great about the shot, and unlike MANY times where I’ve missed a putt from that distance, I made it (even with the small audience behind me watching).
Two under through two. I felt absolutely invincible.
Of course, as it often goes in golf, my invincibility was fleeting, and apart from another (more straightforward) birdie on 10, I couldn’t produce any other bits of magic. I would play both nines in +4 each, but to give you a sense of how easy the course plays, my +8 for the round against the 55.9/84 rating/slope translates to a 16.3 adjusted differential.
Unlike the Par 3 course, the Executive seems much flatter overall, with the exception of an interesting routing choice that puts the 17th tee on top of the hill in the middle of the Par 3 course (a bit further back and higher than the 7th hole on the Par 3). Most holes are right in front of you, but the 9th is a slight dog-leg right and the 15th actually has a corner you have to negotiate.
The best hole in my opinion is the driveable par-4 7th, which has the most water you’ll contend with at Bel-Aire. It’s a clever setup because it’s bunkered in front, and for the average player that isn’t trying to drive the green, there are a couple fairway bunkers both left and right that could swallow timid, misplaced tee shots.
There’s water to cover from the tee on the 7th. There’s plenty of room to land, but beginners should also be wary of the fairway bunkers.
As an average golfer, it’s difficult for me not to enjoy a course in retrospect when I’ve played it well. Most of the start of my golfing “career” was playing pitch-n-putt, par-3, and executive courses, so they’ll also always have a special place in my heart. However, I can objectively say that the Executive Course at Bel-Aire is definitely a wonderful place for beginners to ease their way into eventually playing regulation-length golf.
Looking back at pictures from the day, Bel-Aire is an incredibly well-maintained facility of short courses. Part of the Monmouth County Park system, Bel-Aire comprises both a Par 3 course and a Par 60 Executive course. Described on the park system website as “a wonderful place to learn the game of golf in a fun and relaxed setting,” I couldn’t agree with the description more.
Able to get out during the week on a late autumn day, I was looking to play as many courses as I could. I figured I could knock out the two courses at Bel-Aire as quickly as possible, and then see what other local Monmouth course would be available. Arriving to Bel-Aire with only two other cars in the parking lot, I liked my chances.
While a few people were out on the Executive Course, I was able to immediately walk onto the Par 3. It’s difficult to describe – at least to non-golfers – the feeling of having a golf course to yourself. I suppose it needs to start with an appreciation of the outdoors. You can hear every sound for large portions of a mile, and on good weather days, the scenery is usually a picturesque escape from the regularly-scheduled programming you call life.
Over the last three years, I’ve taken to playing in colder weather, simply because it means there’s a greater chance that I might have tens to hundreds of acres of course to myself. Most times, I would take freezing temperatures and an open course over hot/muggy conditions when it’s crowded.
Though it was a great walk in some uncomfortable new golf shoes, my game wasn’t quite there. Two doubles, two pars, and a bunch of bogeys meant I would finish the nine in +9. Notable holes are definitely the 169-yard 1st, which plays to a nicely sloped, slightly-elevated green, and the 158-yard 7th, which plays a touch downhill. All greens are small – probably no more than 10 to 15 paces at their widest – which adds some challenge to make up for the lack of yardage (1,142) overall.
As always, the picture belies the elevation. Nevertheless, the 7th hole plays a bit downhill.
I was really impressed with the Par-3 course at Bel-Aire. For a December round, the course was in great condition, and the greens seemed to roll true and with decent speed. I would highly recommend the course to anyone in the area that’s just learning to play the game, and it’s even a great stop for a quick round if you’re headed into or out of the shore area.
The Academy Course at Neshanic Valley is something of an unusual bird to me. As its name implies, it’s meant to be a learning facility, apart from the Meadow, Lake, and Ridge nines that offer championship golf. It plays at par 32 through its nine holes, with only par 3’s and 4’s on the card. From the longest tees, it’s just over 2,000 yards. Other than Galloping Hill’s Learning Center 9 – which I have not yet played at the time of writing – I haven’t seen or heard of any other courses like it.
In keeping with the spirit of the spontaneity of my 56th course, I also happened to make the Academy course the 57th on a whim. I was wrapping up my day at work, realized I would have time on that late-spring evening, and decided I would drive out there immediately after I had “clocked out”. It was the continuation of a great week for me, as I had just seen Iron Maiden in concert for the first time at the Prudential Center the night before.
Unlike my round at Town & Country Golf Links, where I was just hoping for decent golf and ended up playing some of my best golf, at the Academy Course I was hoping for some of my best golf… but only ended up playing decently. It was slightly breezy, but nothing unmanageable. I played poorly off the tee, only hitting one of five fairways and none of the par-3 greens. Still, I managed to make par on the 5th, 8th, and 9th and finished +7.
As with the championship layouts, the Academy Course is in impeccable condition. I have recently taken to walking courses more often; partly for cheaper greens fees and partly because I haven’t really been getting any other exercise. As short as the course is, I would strongly suggest walking it. From most of the Academy course, you have great views of some of the Meadow nine, and the course itself is beautiful. The walk down the hill on the 9th was particularly picturesque, with the sun setting in the distance to the left. Other notable features are the 2nd, which is a 166-yard par 3 that plays slightly over water, and the 8th which – at the back tees and depending on your strategy – has a tee shot that may need to be played through a window of natural overgrowth.
The par-3 2nd… what water?
Overall, the Academy Course holds its own in adding value to the experience of golf that is on offer at Neshanic Valley. Yet another reason it remains, for the time being, my favorite public course in New Jersey.
Orson Rosas Golf 