ron jaworski

Number 129 (Valleybrook Country Club)

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Date Played: 12/13/2021

After talking on a Friday about our available time off for the remainder of December 2021, my friend Matt and I decided to take Monday off and play a couple courses left on my journey. Late that evening, we confirmed our schedules and booked a tee time for the first course we would play, Valleybrook Country Club.

A few interesting notes about tracking this course on my list of New Jersey publics. First, for the longest time, I incorrectly had Valleybrook listed as a Gloucester County course. It is located in Blackwood, which is an unincorporated community in Gloucester Township… which is actually in Camden County, not Gloucester County. Second, it is not to be confused with Valley Brook Golf Course, which is about 110 miles to the northeast in Bergen County. Finally, it is a Ron Jaworski property, and it would be third I’ve visited after Ramblewood and Running Deer.

We were joined by locals Brian and Vaughn, who were able to help us navigate some of the course strategy, though most of it is right in front of you. The first five holes make their way around a neighborhood that is enveloped by the course. After that, you reach one of my least favorite layout design choices a golf course architect can make.

The stretch of holes from 6 through 11 are a series of par 4s and 5s that run parallel to each other, one going in one direction, the next one coming back in the other.

The middle third at Valleybrook CC.

I don’t know what it is about that pattern that bothers me so much, but it definitely sticks in my memory. For example, the same design choice can be found in holes 4, 6, 7, and 8 (with 5 being a short par 3 that breaks the pattern) at Harkers Hollow in Phillipsburg, NJ, the 32nd course played on my journey. Coincidentally, both Harkers Hollow and Valley Brook also have a body of water that runs perpendicular to these sets of holes (Lopatcong Creek and Pines Run respectively).

Similar back-and-forth in this section at Harkers Hollow.

In its defense, the water crossings in the set at Valleybrook are far more interesting. While Lopatcong Creek is a very narrow hazard with land that is level on either side of it, the Pines Run plays like a much wider ravine, coming into play for tee shots on the even-numbered holes and approach shots on the odd-numbered. Also, 9 is a par 5 that plays as a dog-leg with the hole crossing the water at an angle.

The middle section finishes with what might be considered the signature hole, the par-3 12th. It also plays across the same body of water, which by the 10th hole approach has widened significantly. It is slightly downhill and should play roughly 170 yards from the white tees we played. However, it was around 130 yards on the day, making it a very different hole than on the card.

The 12th hole from our unusually short tees.

The final third of the course has a much nicer flow to it. The 16th is indexed as the most difficult on the course and it is a great risk-reward par-4. From the tee to the landing area, the Pines Run flows along the left side of the hole. Long hitters who can move the ball from left to right may be tempted to bypass the main section of fairway and cross the creek for a short-wedge approach. Depending on your tee box, anyone laying up will only have 200-220 yards of runway that eventually ends up in a pond. While the smart play is somewhere safely in the middle of the landing area, you’re still left with 150-yard shot uphill into the green.

17 and 18 play around the driving range, and that takes us back to the clubhouse. Apart from the occasional grill food at the turn, I have rarely stopped to enjoy on-course food when there is a restaurant. However, having made good time that morning, we thought it might be worth checking out the food at Riley’s Pub before heading to our next destination.

The burger and fries were first class! I’m sure I was hungry, but that was objectively quality food. My hat’s off to the chef.

It was almost good enough to make me forget about the layout of 6 through 11.

Almost.

The 4th hole, an almost-drivable par 4.
11 green. The parallel zig-zag is over.
12 looking back up at the elevated tee boxes.
Classic signs at Valleybrook.
Number 129 (Valleybrook Country Club)

Number 110 (Running Deer Golf Club)

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Date played: 4/6/2021

I was invited out for a weekday round at Running Deer by Chuck Wanamaker, who also had me out at Scotland Run in 2019. The course is just a 3.5-mile drive from Centerton Golf Club. In fact, if you walked off the 12th green at Running Deer and headed west-northwest through the forest, it’s only about a third of a mile to reach the 11th green at Centerton. As close as they are geographically, these two Salem County courses are worlds apart in terms of quality.

One thing about this journey that I’m not ready to burden myself with is ranking the courses I’ve played. For one thing, there are 169 public courses (as I’ve defined them) in New Jersey. I couldn’t possibly tell you the difference between what might rank a course 38th as opposed to 37th, let alone 138th as opposed to 137th. The gradations over 169 courses would become extremely fine.

Having said that, what I am comfortable doing is maintaining an unranked list of “must plays”. These are courses that immediately come to mind when I think about my journey. Running Deer absolutely makes that list with an indelible first impression. One of a handful of Ron Jaworski golf properties in New Jersey, it is far and away the best of the ones I’ve played to date.

Many public courses suffer from a lack of variety. Whether it’s multiple adjacent holes that just run back and forth like the line for an amusement park ride, or flat, unappealing terrain, you sometimes feel like you’ve seen the hole already. At Running Deer, you may not be able to find two visuals on the course that are similar.

There are short par 4s, forced carries for par 3s, water featuring in a number of places to make you tentative, and par 5s that are reachable in two but require excellent approaches. Whether natural or not, the end result of the terrain gives every hole a unique look. The bunkering alone really allows for even the straightaway holes – like 4, 6, 8, and 10 – to appear incredibly different.

The stretch from 9 to 12 are some of the most memorable in the state. Here’s a look:

10 – a short par 4 – going out on the left, the par-5 9th – with its massive waste area – coming back on the right, and the remote openness of the farmlands of Salem County in the distance.
Looking back at the green at 11, surrounded by hazards.
12 is a beast of a par-4 with a serious risk/reward decision off the tee. You can cut across the corner on the other side of the creek, but your ball must navigate a few pines.

To top it off, the green complexes are incredible. Many of the putting surfaces have significant undulations, some funnel-esque slopes, backstops, and tiers. Surrounding them are excellent bunkers and run-off areas. They’re also likely to be some of the biggest you’ve seen on a public course that isn’t a resort. Even if Running Deer were as flat and open as a parking lot, the greens alone would make it a great course.

If I haven’t made it clear already, let me be explicit: I highly recommend this course.

It’s not often you can see undulations on camera in afternoon sun, but I think it’s pretty clear on this green at 3.
Some video of the wavy character of 3 green.
The par-3 5th, set up with a sucker pin to tempt you into the pond.
The green at 7 is massive, measuring over 50 yards wide.
More waves on the green at 8.

Number 110 (Running Deer Golf Club)

Numbers 59, 60, and 61 (Ramblewood Country Club – Red, White, and Blue)

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Date played: 7/1/2017

If Ramblewood Country Club has any claim to fame in the list of public courses in New Jersey, it’s that it’s one of Ron Jaworski’s properties. Jaworski owns seven golf properties in all, and Ramblewood is the newest of his properties, purchased in 2016. It would be my first of the five in NJ.

Ramblewood CC is a 27-hole layout, split into the Red, White, and Blue nines. It was a bit of a drive for me, so I always had it in the back of my mind to play all three nines in one trip. Making a Saturday morning tee time though, I was conscious of not leaving my wife burdened with the kids for too long. To give myself the best shot at a quick round, I booked a 6:00 am tee time.

White (Number 59)

Meeting a Twitter golf buddy for the round, we were able to get squared away with the starter and sent out immediately. I was able to hit the fairway on the first, but bladed my approach slightly to put me over the green. After chipping on through a tree, I three-putt from 31 feet for double-bogey. I made five straight bogeys from the 2nd to the 6th, before finally making par on all three holes into the turn to finish +7.

The White nine is generally unremarkable. It is mostly level, with some rolling features. All three nines of the property are set inside a community, so there are house-lined holes and a few tree-lined fairways. Apart from its average routing and features, it is a well-maintained golf course. Greens are kept in great shape, and they roll slightly faster than the average public course in NJ.

Blue (Number 60)

After finishing the White nine, we knew we were making good time, so we jumped onto the Blue immediately. I continued the par streak on the par-3 1st and par-4 2nd. On the par-5 3rd, I lost a ball in a lateral hazard after my 3-wood flailed out to the right, and was only able to make double-bogey after the drop. After bogeying the 4th, I hit four of five fairways from the 5th to home. However, poor ball striking meant I only carded par on 7 and 9. Bogeys on the rest of the holes meant I would finish the Blue in +6.

Coming off the 9th, the starter was swarmed with groups, everyone waiting to get out – night and day from the start of our morning. We looked down at the time, and it was only 8:35. There have been a number of superlatives on my journey so far, but 2 hours 35 minutes is far and away the fastest I’ve finished 18 holes of golf.

The Blue made for more interesting play than the White as it is much tighter, particularly on the 3rd, 4th, and 8th holes, and it’s in equally good condition.

Red (Number 61)

Amidst all the groups looking to get out, full credit goes to the starter who was able to get us on the 1st tee of the Red nine in just 30 minutes. Perhaps excited that I was going to be able to complete all three nines, I completely botched the first. A weak and lazy drive meant I would slice it into the lateral hazard. A drop and a couple attempts to get onto the green resulted in triple-bogey.

That pretty much set the tone for the rest of the nine, over the course of which I played mediocre golf at best. There wasn’t anything particularly challenging about the Red nine, but I couldn’t put anything together. The highlight was certainly my approach on the 8th, a relatively long par 4. After pulling my drive left, I had 184 yards uphill to the green. I also needed to draw around some overhanging branches, and it came off just right. With a bit of draw, I was able to avoid the bunker on the right, and land just off the green. I chipped my third shot to 3 feet.

The lowlight was missing the 3-footer for par.

I was able to par the 9th to close, which was nice. But, with the 2nd being the only other par on my card for the Red, I would finish +9. Starting at 9:05 and wrapping up at 11:11, the Red nine took nearly as long as the first 18 we played.

The Red nine is much like the White, and perhaps even a bit more open. Again, the overall condition was great. Being the weekend before Independence Day, all pins flew American flags, which – according to my playing partner – is something Jaworski does at all his courses around the holiday. My only complaint was the “replay rate” we got for the Red nine. The fees for the pre-booked White-Blue combination was $69 ($34.50 for each nine), but we paid $37 for the Red. Not the end of the world – and both rates included the cart – but I would expect a rate that would beat an online booking through the course website.

Overall, however, the price of golf at Ramblewood is commensurate with its quality relative to other public golf in NJ – just a touch above average. I look forward to playing the other Jaworski-owned properties.

Numbers 59, 60, and 61 (Ramblewood Country Club – Red, White, and Blue)