Category Archives: Northeast

Somerset Hills Country Club

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Somerset Hills represents the old and traditional with a discrete clubhouse and civilized and understated approach to everything. At Somerset Hills, they don’t have to try to impress, because they are the genuine article. The small clubhouse, pro shop and outdoor deck fit perfectly into the New Jersey small town landscape and have an aura that can’t be bought and only develops with age and a respect for the past. The course has a number of  perfectly manicured grass tennis courts, confirming its gentrified and genteel approach as a private club.  Even the halfway house is just some bottled drinks, ginger snaps, crackers with add your own cheddar cheese or peanut butter.  Pick up the yardage book-it is a collectible relic all to its own.

An appealing aspect of A.W. Tillinghast’s work is, strangely enough, the lack of identifying characteristics. The player would be hard pressed to tell that the same architect designed the courses at Winged Foot,  Baltusrol, San Francisco Golf Club, Bethpage (Black) and Somerset Hills. Think of the striking features of each: Winged Foot (West) with its length, raised, severe greens and deep bunkers; Baltusrol (Lower) with its low-profile look; San Francisco with its flashy bunkers stylishly spread at all sorts of angles in the broad fairways; Bethpage (Black) with its huge, sprawling scale and Somerset Hills with its terrific set of greens and its charming layout.  Tillinghast’s style (or lack thereof) is an indicator that, unlike many of today’s architects, Tillinghast was not hell-bent on leaving his ‘mark.’ He fit the course onto the available land without forcing his imprint onto the land.

Variety is the key to Somerset Hills- variety of terrain, variety of length of holes, variety of approach shots and variety of greens. With the fairly open front nine laid out on and around an old racetrack and the back nine through rolling wooded terrain with streams and a pond, one would think the course would have a Jekyll and Hyde character. However, the course flows well,  the par threes are perfectly balanced at 175, 220, 145 and 165 yards while the par fours have several big two-shotters (the 1st, 4th, 7th and 13th), several short ones (the 5th, 17th and 18th) and those very appealing ones in between.  Par fives may be the weakest holes but they are not without feature interest themselves.

These greens are unlike anything we see today-they are severe, almost random in their severity-full of odd humps and bumps and an occasional unplayable section.  To play well here a player must pay attention to the specifics of each green and know where to leave it and where not to leave it.  If the greens are carrying any speed the day you play them this goes double.

For the really discriminating golf mind this is a very special place to play.  It is just a delightful sequence of interesting golf challenges and it is totally playable even the first time out.  It is simple, unchanged from its original intent, just a bottled piece of the past.

Bernardsville, New Jersey

Architect: A.W. Tillinghast (1917)

Tees                Par         Yardage            Rating             Slope

Blue                 71            6659                72.2                 132

White               71            6235                70.1                 127

Red                  72            5643                73.8                 138

(Click to see complete Somerset Hills hole-by-hole descriptions)

Caves Valley Golf Club

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When this course opened in the early 90’s, close to the same time Robert Trent Jones opened in Manassas, Virginia, it kind of got the short end of the stick for new, upscale private courses in our region. But in many ways I think it better than RTJ, it has less pomp, more character-both in facility and course, and it is an afternoon to remember, right from the bag drop to the final beer after the round.

The bag drop greets you with an atmosphere of understated confidence

 (Click on any picture to get an enhanced view of the image)

This place is clearly the vision of one man, it has a quaintness to it that cannot be ignored. All the buildings are low cottages in an rural English tradition creating an understated formal atmosphere that is appropriate for a private club catering to the wealthy and famous who would prefer to enjoy an anonymous afternoon without much fanfare. The locker room is small and has that comfortable sock feeling to it-offering liquid refreshment and some fresh fruit for the road.

Lunch on the veranda-before or after a round-is the height of civility

Lunch is served buffet style on the veranda of the clubhouse-great simple food that is a perfect fuel stop for the afternoon ahead. The golf shop is also small but homey, full of Ralph Lauren looking shirts, jackets, and the like all bearing the cool CV logo. Full grass practice areas are up to the standard you would expect at a place like this. The guys who man all stations, bag drop, caddie room, golf shop, and locker room are just your frat brother types who are there to make sure you have a great day.

The Par 3 eighth is as demanding as it is beautiful

The course itself is pure Tom Fazio-exhilarating to look at and a solid tactical challenge to play. It is a hilly piece of ground that wends its way through substantial woods that will define holes and create tactical considerations on their own. The length is not overwhelming if you pick the right tees to play from and if you want to enjoy yourself err on the shorter length the first time through.

Magnificent #12…just resplendent and about three stories down

The greens are wonderful, lots of pitch and yaw and very swift downhill and with the grain.  Caddies are wonderful and will help you deal with the mysteries of putting these greens. Overall conditioning if superb-they spend their money on keeping this top shelf.

Backyard grass practice facility with a Golf Learning Center to boot

Worth noting that in 2021 they did a substantial cosmetic makeover of the course in preparation for hosting one of the PGA Tour Playoff Events.  Grassed over vast areas of unkempt native grass to make it look clean for the TV presentation.  The bunkers seemed to swell almost 50% in size which makes them much more visually intimidating.  One physical change was to replace the super stern Par 4 #11 with a much tamer and more reasonable Par 5.

I recommend hanging around after you are done for an icy cold one on the veranda overlooking the expansive grass practice facility that cascades down the hill from the club house-this is pure serenity as defined by Webster.

Owings Mills, Maryland

Architect: Tom Fazio (1991)

Tees      Par      Rating       Slope       Yardage

Blue       72        73.0          137            6908

White     72        71.0          133            6117

(Click to see complete Caves Valley hole-by-hole descriptions)

Kinloch Golf Club

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Kinloch Colors 2 There have been a number of “pure golf” club’s created in the area between Baltimore and Richmond over the last fifteen years-their common thread is creating the complete golf experience not just the course itself.  All the facilities-visitor cottages, food service, locker rooms, practice areas, and the course itself-are of high end quality and there is a real emphasis on personalized service to enhance the player’s experience.  Caves Valley Golf Club, Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, and Four Streams Members Club are all examples of this approach.  Kinloch Golf Club just outside of Richmond is the latest of these to come on line and they have certainly accomplished their mission of making a place to fit comfortably among their peers.

The country style clubhouse dignifies the 9th green with it's presence.

The country style clubhouse dignifies the 9th green with it’s presence.

 Kinloch is the brain child of C.B. Robertson who originally wanted to create an upscale daily fee facility in a market that he considered underserved with quality golf opportunities.  He approached Vinny Giles-a past U.S. Amateur winner from the Virginia area-about doing the design.  Vinny initially begged off since he had no real experience in course design, but eventually agreed to act as the primary consultant when Robertson hired Lester George who had done considerable new golf course design as well as significant renovations to established top line courses from Delaware to Virginia.  When the team got into the design and routing phase they decided that this piece of land offered a unique opportunity for something really high line and Robertson was convinced to realign his plan from a daily fee facility to an exclusive private golf club.

The first green frames the beauty of this property right out of the gate.

On an autumn day the first green introduces the grand beauty of this property.

The results of  their collaboration is a very special golf club that very few people will get to experience.  With only 300+ members-many of them from outside of the Richmond area-they are playing less than 10,000 rounds a year on this pristine layout.  The amenities throughout the facility are top of the line-elegant club house with a very cozy interior layout of the golf shop, locker room, and bar/eating facilities that make the player feel like they are in the comfortable surroundings of a friend’s country estate.

Taking in the challenge off the elevated tee on #2 will make you pause for consideration.

Taking in the challenge off the elevated tee on #2 will make you pause for consideration.

The practice facilities are as good as you will see anywhere-acres and acres of driving range, putting greens,  chipping greens, and pitching areas that are designed to replicate on-course conditions for effective practice sessions.  The target greens on the driving range are cut to course specifications so you are aiming at real targets that respond as the greens would to a well struck shot.  The arrangement of the pitching areas allow for shots up to 80 yards and from one spot a player can pitch at multiple targets of different approach configurations which makes shot simulation as real as it can get.

The practice facility replicates the short game permutations and combinations of the course.

The full feature practice facility replicates short game permutations and combinations.

The attitude of all of the staff at the club is to make the members and guests feel comfortable and the delivery on this is beyond anyone’s expectation.  You just never feel like you are imposing on anyone when you ask for something and you never feel that you are spending your money as you partake in what they have to offer.

The composition of the Par 4 6th brings out the artistry in their design.

Pure artistry on display in the composition of the Par 4 6th.

            This is a walking golf course-a wonderful stroll up and down an expansive rolling piece of woodland that tumbles out in front of you.  The absolute minimum of dirt  was moved to build this course-they picked natural tee and green settings to build holes that are very dramatic and visual but truly feel like they belong on the terrain.  The money they saved in not moving soil they spent in importing grasses from out of the region.  The entire course was sodded with bent grasses for fairways and greens and bluegrass for the rough.  This is one of the southern most courses using bent grass but the sod took heartily to the region and their maintenance budget has kept it impeccable.

The Par 3 #7 fills the canvas with the setback of the trees as well as the elevation change.

Elevation change and the setback of the trees fill the canvas on the Par 3 7th.

The trees have been cleared well off the playing area of the course-Warning: everything looks larger or farther than it really is-there is very little frame of reference for distance or size of target.  The lack of trees in the playing was compensated for by the use of natural hills and swales, existing environmental areas, and rambling streams to segment landing areas and the give the golfer a wide array of tactical choices in playing the holes.

The finishing hole finally brings the lake into play...in a big way.

The finishing hole brings the loch into play…in a big way.

They even included a playable 19th hole for settling bets.  This is a nice 160 yard carry of the lake to a green setting just under the veranda of the clubhouse.  You can be sure there will be a vocal audience arbitrating the final stage of your competition.

The 19th hole set at the foot of the clubhouse is an added bonus.

Added bonus of the 19th hole set at the foot of the clubhouse.

            At the end of a round you will feel mentally exhausted because this course forces you to play with our head as much as your hands to be successful.  The result is a very gratifying golfing experience no matter what your score.

The visual majesty of the Par 4 16th will revisit you in bed at night.

The majesty of the Par 4 16th will revisit you in bed at night (click image for the full dream).

            Do not fail to enjoy the bar/lounge next to the locker room.  A real Hamish setting for settling the bets and telling big fish stories.  I highly recommend the chocolate chip cookies on the bar.

Manakin-Sabot, Virginia

Architect: Lester George (2001)

Par         Rating        Slope        Yardage

Gold                 72            74.5            137            6810

Blue                 72            72.3            135            6405

White               72            69.9            128            5818

Red                  72            71.7            133            5222

(Click to see complete Kinloch Golf Course hole-by-hole descriptions)

(For more pictures click to see moegolf’s Escape To Kinloch)