union county

Number 124 (Scotch Hills Country Club)

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Date: 10/23/2021

Just six miles from Baltusrol, nestled between Routes 22 and 28 is without a doubt the most historic stop on my journey through New Jersey.

In 1921, the Shady Rest Golf and Country Club was formed as the first black-owned golf club in the United States. From 1932 to 1964, John Shippen – the first American-born golf professional – called the club his home, offering his services as head pro and clubmaker.

Today, we know the course as Scotch Hills Country Club.

The svelte-looking Scotch Hills CC with the 5th green in the foreground and the clubhouse in the distance.

A nine-hole course set on a narrow piece of property, Scotch Hills runs uphill towards the back of the course at the 5th green and then turns back down the hill towards the clubhouse. While the opening and finishing holes are on relatively level ground, there is a fun test of elevation changes from holes 2 through 8. The course offers small greens as targets, so if your approach play is off, you’ll need to make sure you have your short game on hand in order to score.

The course opens with a straightaway par 4. Anything wildly left or right will have room to land, but will only offer an obstructed approach shot as two sets of in-play trees line the fairway within 100 yards of the green.

The first hole.

The 2nd – which I would consider the course’s signature hole – is a par 4 which plays through a tight chute off the tee and slightly uphill. Most of the fairway sits on a very rounded mound which will deflect balls off to the left. Approach shots from the downhill collection area will be playing to a green 10-20 feet above the lie.

The view from the tees at 2.
Flyover from the opening tee shot, through the chute at the 2nd tee, and up past the greens at 2 and 6.
Looking back from the green at 2, you can see the pronounced mound in the fairway.

The 3rd hole is a downhill par 3, where anything long is potentially dead in the woods.

The 3rd.

The 4th hole has you back on the some of the lowest lying area on the course, teeing off uphill. Approaches on this par 4 will be to a green that slopes away from you and is at the end of the foothill. Players will have to decide whether to carry a lofted club to the green with spin or try to land short of it and allow the ball to trundle down the hill and onto the putting surface. A bunker further down the hill and beyond the green awaits any approaches that are sent too far.

The green at 4 in the foreground, with the 5th fairway running up the hill on the left with the green in the distance.

A significantly uphill par 4, the 5th hole is drivable. However, driver may be too much club for many players. After playing a 4-iron safely to the fairway, I played a second ball for fun with a 3-wood, and the ball went through the green and was just kept in play by some stray branches on the ground. If you’re going for the green, err on the short side based on your club yardages.

A look back at the green at 4, showing the downhill approach and a view of the collection bunkers.

The 6th is a VERY short par 4, playing only 220 yards from the back tees. There is ample room to take on the green, but players need to carry a bunker in front that is about 15 yards short of it.

At the par-3 7th, players are faced with another downhill tee shot to a slightly tricky target. It slopes downhill to the left, so the best tee shots will be ones that are fortunate enough to play right of center on the green.

The 7th. From the tees, while you can’t see the green, you’re almost given a hint as to its right-to-left downhill contour based on the crest of the hill before it.

The 8th hole is the course’s longest par 4 at 380 yards from the back tees. On the tee box, it feels very narrow with the trees lining OB from the road on the left. The fairway is cut to favor this side with almost no rough on the left before your lie could be obstructed by the overhanging trees. There is much more room on the right, but there is a significantly wider rough area before a penalizing patch of trees. Any long (and straight) hitters should be careful not to drive the ball through the fairway as there is a water runoff collection area where finding a ball may prove difficult. The green slopes right-to-left and back-to-front.

The approach into 8. Beyond the hill that crests across the front of the green in this shot is the water runoff area that should be avoided. If a poor drive finds you too far to reach the green, your second shot should be played out to the right, towards the greenside bunker.

The finishing hole is a long par 3 – roughly 190 yards when we played – and ever so slightly uphill, albeit to a generous green.

The green at 9, with a view of the green at 1 in the distance on the right.

My good friend Ed and I walked the course on a quiet Saturday. Some rain had fallen before we went off and seemed to threaten to start up again, but thankfully, we remained relatively dry throughout the round. Neither one of us had our “A” game with us but we always have a good time regardless, and playing Scotch Hills to complete all the courses in Union County was no exception.

For more information on this significant piece of golf history, please visit the Preserve the Shady Rest Golf & Country Club site!

Number 124 (Scotch Hills Country Club)

Number 71 (Ash Brook Pitch & Putt)

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Date played: 12/21/2017

Arriving at Ash Brook at 2:40 pm on the winter solstice, daylight was at a premium. Lucky for me, I was only looking to play the pitch-n-putt course to wrap up my three-course day.

Pitch-n-putt golf will always hold a special place in my heart because it’s how I learned to play the game with a group of high school friends. I discovered the Ash Brook pitch-n-putt when I played the regulation course in 2015. It seemed like a sequestered practice area, and I didn’t give it much thought beyond that, but this was also about six months prior to realizing that I would want to play every bit of public golf in New Jersey.

A nine-hole course spanning 673 yards, there is no hole over 100 yards. Depending on a golfer’s ability, there may be a couple holes where you’re taking a full wedge shot – like the uphill, 92-yard 1st – but most holes will be “feel” shots from the tee box.

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A look at the 2nd hole. Even though you’ll tee off from mats, you will appreciate the quality of the maintenance on this short course.

Which brings me to the one point of disapproval most golfers will have with the pitch-n-putt course; it plays off mats (the horror!). Personally, I don’t mind. It certainly isn’t good practice for ball striking, but the pitch-n-putt isn’t about that. This is really a place for beginners and younger players to learn the game. And with that in mind, I have yet to play at a better place than the Ash Brook pitch-n-putt.

Beyond the mats for tee boxes, the course is in immaculate shape. The greens are expertly manicured, with clear distinction to the fringe and again to the rough. The rough around some of the holes will be a true test, especially for someone learning to play the game. There is a mix of level holes and a few with elevation changes. It is remarkable what they squeezed into this plot of 700 yards. Again, you would be hard-pressed to find a better pitch-n-putt facility. All of this for a twilight rate of $7 on a December afternoon.

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Beginners will learn to hone their tee-shot accuracy as the well-grown rough is a deterrent.

There are some who might argue that this shouldn’t count as a course on my journey. Whether it’s the mats, or the overall lack of yardage and minimal club choices, there are reasons “this isn’t real golf”. That may be true. For me, it’s somewhere the game – or at least some semblance of it – can be played, and it’s open to the public. And for that, it will be counted as Number 71.

Number 71 (Ash Brook Pitch & Putt)

Number 69 (Galloping Hill Golf Course – The Learning Center Nine)

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Date played: 12/21/2017

Having finished a day of three courses (Bel-Aire Par 3, Bel-Aire Executive, and Spring Meadow) just a few weeks earlier, I had it in my mind again to get in as many courses as possible. Though cold, the December weather was great for golf and I knew there would be almost no one on the course (well, no one on any course really). I decided to head to the Union County area as there were a few courses in mind that are relatively close to one another. My first stop was The Learning Center Nine at Galloping Hill.

I got to play the regulation course at Galloping Hill earlier in the year, albeit with a busted wrist. It is reputed as one of the nicest courses in the area, with its well-maintained facilities and remodeled clubhouse overlooking the Garden State Parkway. I would say nothing to disagree with this notion. The course does well to maintain this reputation all year long, and it was looking no-less lovely when I showed up on this December morning.

Some may be able to remember that – prior to the renovations that included the building of the Learning Center – there was actually a pitch-n-putt course on that area of the property. The Learning Center Nine starts its routing near the clubhouse, runs along the left (south) side of the front nine of the regulation course, and finishes just alongside the new driving range where the actual Learning Center is.

Your round at the Learning Center Nine starts with a walk up to the top of what presumably is the actual Galloping Hill. The 1st hole plays into a miniature valley with your approach shot coming back uphill, while the 2nd is uphill the whole way, its green being just about the highest point on the property.

The 3rd hole is easily the most fun of the nine. Teeing off from the top of the hill, it’s a short par 4 that must be around a 40-foot drop to the green. Decent players probably won’t need driver for any of the nine holes, and unless you’re trying to putt for eagle, you certainly won’t need it here. If you’re going for the green though, just don’t lose it short right as there is a small pond about 50 yards out.

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The tee box on the 3rd. It’s all downhill from here.

After the 3rd, the Nine alternates between par 4 and par 3 holes. Holes of note are the par-4 6th, which is a hard dog-leg right teeing off from the woods, and the finishing par-3 9th, which needs a well-struck tee shot to clear water about 15 yards short of the green.

Much like the courses at Bel-Aire, the Learning Center Nine offers a great way to enter the game of golf or even a place to get in a practice round. At just over 2,300 yards from the back tees, it also plays just shy of 2,000 yards from the forward tees for youngsters who are just picking up the game and are looking for situational practice outside of the driving range. At $20 to walk, you can likely find cheaper places to play, but you get great value for the condition and challenge of the course.

With only one GIR to my name through the nine holes, I was lucky to get away with a 9-over 42. Regardless, it was the start of another all-golf day, and I was eager to continue to my next venue, the Plainfield West 9.

Number 69 (Galloping Hill Golf Course – The Learning Center Nine)