Our Picks for The 10 Best Golf courses in New Jersey
1. Pine Valley Golf Club – Championship
Address: 1 E Atlantic Ave, Clementon, New Jersey 08021, Camden County
Type of field: Desert
Course access: Private
Length of play: 18-hole course
Slope index: 155
Course Rating: 75.6
Total par (men’s tees): 70
Total yardage (men’s tees): 7,057
Scorecard: Link
Pine Valley was founded in 1913 by a group of amateur golfers from Philadelphia. It was ranked the number one course in Golf Magazine’s 100 Top Courses in the U.S. and the World in 2012, 2015, 2019, and 2020. George Arthur Crump designed the course, his first and only golf course design, but he brought together celebrated architects such as A.W. Tillinghast, Hugh Wilson, George C. Thomas Jr., Walter Travis, and H.S. Colt to help him create the course.
2. Somerset Hills Country Club
Address: 180 Mine Mount Rd, Bernardsville, New Jersey 07924, Somerset County
Type of field: Parkland
Course access: Private
Length of play: 18-hole course
Slope index: 137
Course Rating: 73.2
Total par (men’s tees): 71
Total yardage (men’s tees): 6,784
Scorecard: Link
Somerset Hills is another marvelous A.W. Tillinghast design, one of the few that has remained virtually unchanged since it opened in 1918. Somerset Hills is perhaps one of Tilly’s finest creations and it’s a jewel that fits the contrasting land like a silk glove. The Club was originally situated along the Raritan River, partly in Bernards and partly in Bedminster Township. In 1918, the Club changed locations and the Club was built at its current site.
3. Plainfield Country Club
Address: 1591 Woodland Ave, Plainfield, New Jersey (NJ) 07061, USA
Type of field: Parkland
Course access: Private
Length of play: 18-hole course
Slope index: 136
Course Rating: 73.6
Total par (men’s tees): 72
Total yardage (men’s tees): 6,865
Scorecard: Link
Established in 1890, Plainfield is a world-renowned country club steeped in tradition and history. It was founded as the Hillside Tennis Club. Its golf course was designed in 1916 by golf course designer Donald Ross, and opened BC for play in 1921.
4. Baltusrol Golf Club (Lower)
Address: 201 Shunpike Road, Springfield, New Jersey (NJ) 07081, USA
Type of field: Parkland
Course access: Private
Length of play: 18-hole course
Slope index: 139
Course Rating: 75.5
Total par (men’s tees): 72
Total yardage (men’s tees): 7,721
Scorecard: Link
In 1985, Baltusrol became the first club to have hosted both the U.S. Open and Women’s U.S. Open on two different courses. It was founded on the same year by Louis Keller. Baltusrol Golf Club was named after Baltus Roll, who farmed the land on which the club resides today. Baltusrol has hosted 15 USGA-sponsored championships and two PGA Championships.
5. Ridgewood Country Club
Address: 96 W Midland Ave, Paramus, New Jersey 07652, Bergen County
Type of field: Championship
Course access: Private
Length of play: 18-hole course
Slope index: 128
Course Rating: 68.4
Total par (men’s tees): 68
Total yardage (men’s tees): 6,186
Scorecard: Link
This golf course was designed by A. W. Tillinghast in 1929, and the clubhouse was designed by Clifford Wendehack. Founded in 1890 in neighboring Ho-Ho-Kus, but has been at its current location since 1926. In 2018, Ridgewood Country Club ranked #56 Classical in U.S by Golfweek magazine.
6. Hollywood Golf Club
Address: 510 Roseld Ave, Deal, NJ 07723, USA
Type of field: Parkland
Course access: Private
Length of play: 18-hole course
Slope index: 139
Course Rating: 75
Total par (men’s tees): 71
Total yardage (men’s tees): 7,040
Scorecard: Link
Hollywood Golf Club is home to a well renowned championship golf course designed by Walter J. Travis in 1917 and masterfully restored to its original intent by Tom Doak and Renaissance Golf Design in 2014. Its initial 9-hole course lasted only four years before the club moved to another site, where it remained for eleven years before the members moved to their current location.
7. Mountain Ridge Country Club
Address: 713 Passaic Ave, West Caldwell, NJ 07006, USA
Type of field: Parkland
Course access: Private
Length of play: 18-hole course
Slope index: 129
Course Rating: 73
Total par (men’s tees): 71
Total yardage (men’s tees): 6,803
Scorecard: Link
A championship course designed by the legendary Donald Ross and a majestic Clifford C Wendehack fieldstone clubhouse make for the perfect setting. Originally opened in 1913 in West Orange, N.J., and completed by A.W. Tillinghast in 1917, Mountain Ridge Country Club relocated to his current plot of land in West Caldwell, N.J. in 1929.
8. Essex County Country Club
Address: 350 Mt Pleasant Ave, West Orange, NJ 07052, USA
Type of field: Parkland
Course access: Private
Length of play: 18-hole course
Slope index: 142
Course Rating: 75
Total par (men’s tees): 71
Total yardage (men’s tees): 7,101
Scorecard: Link
Essex County Country Club is the oldest club in the state of New Jersey and the sixth oldest in the country which was founded in May 1887. A nine-hole course was completed in 1895 and extended to 18 holes in 1897, designed by Alex Findlay.
9. Hidden Creek Golf Club
Address: 75 Asbury Road, Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey (NJ) 08234, USA
Type of field: Links
Course access: Private
Length of play: 18-hole course
Slope index: 131
Course Rating: 72.2
Total par (men’s tees): 71
Total yardage (men’s tees): 7,028
Scorecard: Link
Founded in 2002, the course offers a premier experience for golf purists. Designed by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw, the course is routed across 750 acres of magnificient heathland. Ranked #87 as Best Modern Course by Golfweek.
10. Galloway National Golf Club
Address: 270 S New York Rd, Galloway, NJ 08205, USA
Type of field: Parkland
Course access: Private
Length of play: 18-hole course
Slope index: 142
Course Rating: 73.8
Total par (men’s tees): 71
Total yardage (men’s tees): 6,901
Scorecard: Link
“Galloway is one of my best ever.” Architect Tom Fazio said. World renowned architect Tom Fazio meticulously crafted Galloway National’s 7,000 yards out of a 200-acre tract of heavily wooded, gently sloping bayside property. Golf Digest featured Galloway as one of America’s Best New Courses of 1994, and for the first time in history, one golf course architect, Tom Fazio, won three “Best of Class” Awards.
