South Jersey Magazine’s annual golf roundup.
For this year’s look at South Jersey golf, we reached out to the pros, general managers and directors of golf at our area courses to get their take on the local scene. Our survey included asking these professionals to rate each course in categories like aesthetics, clubhouse and dining, how challenging the course is, practice facilities and overall conditions. Read below to get some feedback on what the pros like and what they don’t like about the courses they’ve played. We also provide some basic info on each course, including the slope, rating, and yardage from the blue tees. You’ll find what’s new at some locations, as well as the most updated membership fees where available for the private courses and the summer fee with cart for the public clubs.
Private
Burlington Country Club
Architect: Alexander Findlay
Rating: 71.4; Slope: 125
Yardage: 6,436
Membership fee: $3,600 per year
What’s new: New chef Tom Clark recently joined the club and has already upgraded the menu to give diners a new experience in both the Grill Room and the Main Dining Room.
What the pros are saying: Burlington scored well across the board in our survey, with one rival pro describing it as a “good, challenging course [and] well maintained.”
Laurel Creek Country Club
Architect: Arnold Palmer
Rating: 72.5; Slope: 142
Yardage: 6,564
Membership fee: $6,510 per year
What’s new: Laurel Creek is renovating its bunkers by installing the Matrix Liner System, which uses porous asphalt as the base beneath the sand.
What the pros are saying: Laurel Creek is one of the highest-ranked courses by the local pros. “My favorite golf course to play,” one pro says. “[It gets] criticized for [having] houses right on the course but that doesn’t take away how good the course is, in my opinion.”
Little Mill Country Club
*27 holes, three different 18-hole combinations to play
Architect: Garrett J. Renn/Bill Gordon and Dave Gordon
Rating: 70.8/71.5/72.1; Slope: 134/129/135
Yardage: 6,579/6,774/6,775
Membership fee: $4,668 per year
What the pros are saying: Little Mill is considered by the experts to be one of the most challenging courses in South Jersey, who also like the variety you get here. “Twenty-seven holes at a private course is always a bonus,” one says.
Medford Lakes Country Club
Architect: Alexander Findlay/Harold Purdy
Rating: 69.7; Slope: 130
Yardage: 6,141
Membership fee: $3,600 per year
What’s new: Lisa Fortunato is the new chef, while head pro Brad Hare, who is one of the leaders in the area in teaching the sport to juniors, has paired with the New Jersey Golf Foundation to bring a “Golf in Schools” program to South Jersey. The program is kicking off this spring in the Medford Lakes School District.
What the pros are saying: Consistency across the board in all aspects of the golf experience is what defines Medford Lakes in the eyes of the local pros. One calls it a “nice course, on the shorter and easier side.”
Medford Village Country Club
Architect: William F. Gordon
Rating: 72.8; Slope: 139
Yardage: 6,705
Membership fee: $4,000 per year
What’s notable: Medford Village is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
What the pros are saying: Medford Village was praised in our survey for all of its aspects, but especially the difficulty it presents local golfers. “It’s a very tough course,” one pro says. “The greens are usually extremely fast.”
Merchantville Country Club
*Nine holes
Architect: Unknown
Rating: 71.2; Slope: 135
Yardage: 6,204
Membership fee: Not available
What the pros are saying: Merchantville, which opened in 1892 and calls itself “the 10th-oldest course in America,” was rated highly for its modern clubhouse and course conditions.
Moorestown Field Club
*Nine holes
Architect: Samuel Allen
Rating: 69.2; Slope: 127
Yardage: 6,089
Membership fee: $2,750 per year
What the pros are saying: Moorestown Field Club was well received, although its limited practice area brought its overall score down.
Old York Country Club
Architect: Gary Player
Rating: 71.1; Slope: 135
Yardage: 6,770
Membership fee: $6,500 per year
What the pros are saying: The pros gave high marks to Old York’s demanding, but beautiful, layout. “A really pretty, scenic course,” says one.
The Riverton Country Club
Architect: Donald Ross
Rating: 71.1; Slope: 126
Yardage: 6,490
Membership fee: $6,000 per year
What’s new: Riverton is in the process of adding a few natural areas to the course with fescue grass. Several of the greens have also been expanded, leading to new pin positions.
What the pros are saying: The experts who frequent this course enjoy its challenging nature.
Tavistock Country Club
Architect: Alexander Findlay
Rating: 69; Slope: 124
Yardage: 5,888
Membership fee: Not available
What the pros are saying: Year in and year out, Tavistock is considered one of the top private clubs in the area, and the pros were especially fond of its aesthetics, clubhouse and conditions. “It’s still the industry standard for social life and membership in South Jersey,” one says. “It’s No. 1 as far as the country club experience.”
Trump National Golf Club (pictured)
Architect: Tom Fazio
Rating: 72.3; Slope: 147
Yardage: 6,530
Membership fee: Not available
What the pros are saying: “The most dynamic and scenic course,” one pro says. “Beautiful views and a great property. It’s a hard golf course to play. You can’t play it without losing a ball.”
Public
Deerwood Country Club
Architect: Dick Alaimo and Jim Blaukovitch
Rating: 70; Slope: 123
Yardage: 6,400
Greens fee with cart: $61 Tuesday, $80 Wednesday through Friday, $88 weekends
What the pros are saying: “A short golf course but always well maintained,” one pro says. “It’s fun to play as it is pretty open off the tee and yields many birdies.”
Golden Pheasant Golf Club
Architect: Stephen Kay
Rating: 69.2; Slope: 125
Yardage: 6,273
Greens fee with cart: $50 weekdays, $60 weekends
What’s new: Golden Pheasant recently redesigned several holes, with plans to renovate several more, as more than 300 trees were added to the course. The club is also celebrating its 50th year of business this season.
What the pros are saying: While Golden Pheasant drew mostly average scores in our survey, one pro finds the Medford course impressive. “It’s a great piece of land,” he says. “A couple of holes are close together, but there are some very fun holes with elevation changes. The par 3s are very hilly and fun to play.”
Pennsauken Country Club
Architect: Unknown
Rating: 70.8; Slope: 128
Yardage: 6,250
Greens fee with cart: $47 weekdays, $60 weekends
What the pros are saying: Pennsauken, known for its player friendliness, received high scores for its aesthetics, conditions and clubhouse, but its overall score suffered due to its lack of practice facilities.
Pitman Golf Course
Architect: Alexander Findlay
Rating: 69.4; Slope: 118
Yardage: 6,125
Greens fee with cart: $50 weekdays, $56 weekends
What the pros are saying: Pitman received solid scores in all areas, especially for its clubhouse and practice facilities. “It’s a nice, affordable course that is fairly challenging,” one pro says.
Ramblewood Country Club
*27 holes, three different 18-hole combinations to play
Architect: Ed Ault
Rating: 72.4/71.7/72.1; Slope: 132/127/131
Yardage: 6,883/6,624/6,723
Greens fee with cart: Not available
What’s new: Ramblewood renovated its clubhouse last year and recently installed new signs for all 27 holes to freshen up the course’s look.
What the pros are saying: Ramblewood’s prime Mount Laurel location and the fact that it has 27 holes were cited by several of the pros we talked to, and one was impressed by how the club handles special events.
Rancocas Golf Club
Architect: Robert Trent Jones Sr.
Rating: 71.5; Slope: 131
Yardage: 6,602
Greens fee with cart: $40 weekdays, $59 weekends
What the pros are saying: The pros give high marks to Rancocas for its aesthetics.
RiverWinds Golf Club
Architect: Ed Shearon
Rating: 72.3; Slope: 132
Yardage: 6,843
Greens fee with cart: Unavailable
What’s new: RiverWinds has a new fleet of golf carts for 2014 and has improved the drainage throughout the course, especially in the bunkers.
What the pros are saying: Most of the pros we surveyed had great things to say about the aesthetics at RiverWinds, as the views of the Philadelphia skyline and the holes along the Delaware River stand out. One pro says it has “a nice layout and really improved conditions since the [Ron] Jaworski takeover.”
Scotland Run Golf Club
Architect: Stephen Kay
Rating: 71.8; Slope: 133
Yardage: 6,516
Greens fee with cart: $85 weekdays, $95 Fridays and weekends
What the pros are saying: “The back and front nine are entirely different aesthetically, with the quarry holes providing a different perspective off the tee,” one pro says. Another felt conditions have been lacking recently.
Wedgwood Country Club
Architect: Garrett J. Renn
Rating: 72.6; Slope: 131
Yardage: 6,728
Greens fee with cart: $54 weekdays, $62 weekends
What the pros are saying: Wedgwood can challenge local golfers with its “tough layout and tough greens.”
Valleybrook Country Club
Architect: Dave Beakley
Rating: 67.7; Slope: 121
Yardage: 6,008
Greens fee with cart: Not available
What the pros are saying: Valleybrook is viewed as solid but not spectacular by local pros. “It’s a good course with some weird holes,” one says.
White Oaks Country Club
Architect: Steve Fillpone
Rating: 70.4; Slope: 122
Yardage: 6,240
Greens fee with cart: $60 weekdays, $70 weekends
What the pros are saying: Another course that received respectable scores all around, especially for its aesthetics and clubhouse. “The bar at White Oaks is great,” says one pro.
Woodcrest Country Club
Architect: William Flynn
Rating: 71.9; Slope: 138
Yardage: 6,528
Greens fee with cart: Not available
What the pros are saying: Woodcrest was praised in our survey in every category, from its beauty to its challenging layout to its conditions. “Woodcrest is by far the best overall offering [among public courses] but also carries the highest price tag.”
Published (and copyrighted) in South Jersey Magazine, Volume 10, Issue 12 March, 2014).
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