Date played: 8/24/2019

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.

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.