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Description and Basic Information ::
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Over 34 million visitors travel to Atlantic City each year, and many of them are drawn to the resort’s games of chance. Many are also drawn to other amenities offered by Atlantic City and the surrounding area, including fine dining, exciting attractions, clean beaches, and a game of skill tat has become a large part of the Southern New Jersey landscape: golf. Those who yearn forte fairway need travel only minutes from the ocean — in any direction — to find world-class courses that combine challenging play, exemplary service, and magnificent natural beauty.
Traveling toward Atlantic City on Route 9, the majestic Seaview Marriott Resort is comprised of two par-7l, 18-hole historic golf courses, each wit its own personality. The undulating greens and steep-faced bunkers of Seaview’s Bay Course exude a Scottish influence, while the parkland-style Pines Course features long, free-lined fairways winding through the pines of Galloway Township. Play at either course, but be sure to bring three friends along; Seaview includes a forecaddie with each foursome from May 1 through November 1.
Just minutes from Atlantic City, between the Bay and the Ocean, lay the treeless terrain and concave bunkers of Brigantine Golf Links. Tackle the mounding and the water hazards found on 14 of the 18 holes on this authentic Scottish links-style course, and you may find yourself on the way to the British Open. Some of modem history’s most famous golfers honed their skills at Brigantine Golf Links while enjoying its scenic ocean news.
Traveling south of Atlantic City on Route 9, visitors can find a contemporary golf course in traditional country club surroundings at Greate Bay Golf Club in Somers Point. Designed in 1923 by Scottish architect Willie Park, Jr., the course was redesigned in 1978 by the renowned George Fazio. Fazio’s strategic bunkering and slope of greens make for a great test of golf, requiring precision shot-making at every tee. Despite its challenges, Greate Bay is an appropriate course for golfers of all skill levels.
Golfers who venture further west for just a few minutes hit a veritable golf jackpot, finding four top-notch courses within ten square miles. The first of these courses, Harbor Pines Golf Club in Egg Harbor Township, winds around the perimeter of a 520-acre, heavily-wooded site. The woods are a double-edged sword; they provide undisturbed enjoyment, but they also affect your play, at virtually every hole. Just two of the course’s twelve shimmering ponds require a carry shot. The rest run laterally along the fairways of this parkland-style course, whose bent grass fairways and short rough are reminiscent of Augusta National.
Located on 175 acres of pristine pinelands, Mays Landing Golf and Country Club prides itself on offering a challenging game, a beautiful setting, and affordable prices. Advanced players as well as novices will enjoy the free-lined fairways and wide landing areas of this course, as well as the distinct design of each of the 18 holes.
Slightly more than putting distance away, Blue Heron Pines Golf Club in Cologne is one of the area s finest upscale daily fee courses. Renowned architect Stephen Kay created the course in the image of the famed Pinehurst and Pine Valley courses. In fact, those who have encountered “Hell’s Half Acre” on Pine Valley’s seventh hole may experience deja vu when they tackle the fairway waste area of sand and shrubs that accompanies Blue Heron Pines’ Hole 14 on the West Course. Golfers get the benefit of two spectacular courses at Blue Heron with the addition of the East course. Designed by Stephen Smyers, Blue Heron Pines East is completely different from the original Blue Heron course, but just as impressive. The links-style course features a championship black tee of 7,300 yards, wide fairways, challenging bunkers, and generous tees and greens.
Approximately 30 miles south of Atlantic City on Route 9, golfers can experience the stunning layout of the Sand Barrens Golf Club in Swainton. Named one of the “Best Courses in the State” by Golf Digest magazine, Sand Barrens features three sets of nine holes, each a 36-par. Some will be drawn to the course for its majestic free-lined fairways, vast scrub bunkers, and massive undulating greens, while others may be more impressed with The Prolink GPS Tracking System, found in every golf cart at the course. With the course layout, exact yardage, pace of play, shot measurements, and play advice provided by The Prolink System, you may even conquer Sand Barrens’ challenging par-3 Hole 17.
Also on Route 9 in Swainton, Avalon Golf Club boasts a championship layout with eight natural lakes and free-lined fairways. Avalon offers four sets of tees for the enjoyment and challenge of all levels, but even the most experienced golfer is thrown by the par-4 sixth hole, which requires an accurate 230-250 yarder that clears two fairway bunkers on the left and woods on the right.
Near the southern tip of the New Jersey Shore, Cape May National Golf Club surrounds a 50-acre, private bird sanctuary. Nicknamed “The Natural,” this environmentally sensitive course blends natural habitat and indigenous plants with a par-7l championship course layout.
For female golfers, the grass in the Atlantic City area could not be greener. After considering account membership status, tee-time access, golf instruction and clubhouse policies, Golf for Women magazine rated four of these world-class courses (Blue Heron Pines, Brigantine Golf Links, Greate Bay Resort and Country Club, and Seaview Marriott Resort) among the Top 100 women-friendly courses throughout the United States and Canada.
Choosing the right course is the most difficult part of golfing in the region. However, unlike other parts of Atlantic City, you just can’t loose on these fabulous courses. |
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