Any discussion of golf in New Jersey will and should begin with what many consider to be
the best golf course in the world – Pine Valley Golf Club.
Located in the southern part of NJ in Camden County, Pine Valley has ranked No.1 in every edition of Golf Digest’s esteemed ‘America’s 100 Greatest Course’ except four times – when it was second to Cypress Point.
George Crump’s tree-lined masterpiece is regarded as golfing nirvana for many, although getting a tee time will require playing as a member’s guest, so be prepared to get checking the family tree if you want to experience what is widely considered to be the ultimate test of golf.
First opened in 1919, such was its difficulty it took fully three years before anyone shot 70, while some of the early members are understood to have won quite a bit of money betting first-time visitors that they couldn’t break 80.
Although Arnold Palmer famously took all the bets going when he played it in 1954 and cleaned up when shooting an impressive 68.
Described by Robert Trent Jones as a ‘beautiful monster’, it’s worth selling your grandmother to play alongside a member for the day at a course which places high demands on every shot.
OVER 275 GOLF COURSES
But if your connections don’t cut it, New Jersey is thankfully blessed with plenty of alternative world-class venues, with ten of the Garden State’s 275-plus courses featuring in Golf Digest’s top 200, including some of the best designs by the game’s classic architects.
AW Tillinghast lived for much of his life in New Jersey and built both courses at seven-time US Open venue Baltusrol, whose magnificent Lower Course also hosted the PGA Championship in 2005 and the Women’s PGA Championship just last year.
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