jamesdeluxe
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2020
As the 2020-21 ski season approaches, I'm still enjoying our abnormally warm late-autumn weather. It’s safe to say that rediscovering golf has been one of the very few upsides from the pandemic following three straight years in which my clubs sat mostly unused in the garage and the only time I played was on annual visits to my father in Florida.
For my 12th round of the season since early July (five in Colorado, seven in the Poconos and NJ), I finally got to experience first-hand the biggest golf happening in New Jersey in many moons: Rock Spring in West Orange, only five minutes from my house. Long story short: Rock Spring opened in 1925 as a private club that was designed by two revered American golf-course architects/builders: Seth Raynor drew up the blueprint and his disciple Charles “Steam Shovel” Banks oversaw its construction.
Since moving to NJ in 2004, I’ve driven past and gazed longingly at the 17th and 18th holes hundreds of times; however, I never gave a thought to playing there since it was private -- similar to renowned Baltusrol a few miles away. I remember noticing during the summer of 2019 that the course seemed significantly busier than before but I didn't investigate why. Somehow, I also overlooked the "open to the public" addition to the sign:
Driving toward the course on Rock Spring Road flanked by colorful foliage, Raynor gets a callout:
As the story goes: as a result of financial difficulties exacerbated by the 2008 economic meltdown, Rock Spring merged four years ago with Montclair Golf Club; however, in 2018 members and residents living near the course were upset when they learned that Montclair was considering selling the 138-acre property so it could be turned into a housing development.
Thankfully, the town of West Orange and its mayor (a golfer himself) were aware of the course's pedigree, purchased it for $14 million, hired KemperSports to handle operations, and opened it up to the public in July 2019, making it one of only two daily-fee Raynor designs in the U.S. (an interesting article about it here). The other public Raynor layout is the old course at Thousand Island Country Club on Wellesley Island, which I played with my father 40 years ago and unfortunately have very little recollection of other than views of the St. Lawrence River and going to bars that evening in Alexandria Bay.
At first, the West Orange mayor said that Rock Spring may eventually be reduced to nine holes; however, after getting overwhelmingly positive feedback from golfers who played there and generating enough revenue last season to be profitable, they realize what a tremendous asset it is for the town and are hoping to keep all 18 holes. As I understand, the final decision on its future will come a year from now, when KemperSports' two-year contract ends.
Luckily, someone posted a hole-by-hole overview of the course so I didn't feel obligated to take dozens of photos. The pix don't really show how hilly the property is, including the many uphill/blind shots.
The old guard house from its private-club days to keep out the hoi polloi is still there. I suspect that it'll be removed at some point:
In the pro shop (late-season greens fees are only $40 to ride a cart and $25 to walk), they're out of Rock Spring ball markers; however, a few branded poker chips are still in stock if you're so inclined:
The first tee requires a 140-yard carry over water:
Hole 2 on the other side of the pond with the clubhouse in the background:
A taste of the brutal bunkering to come in front of the second green:
Me on the 3rd tee with Manhattan and beyond in the distance: a 30-mile vista. This is where they grabbed the skyline for the course's logo in the first pic:
The masterful third hole -- a 193-yard par 3 with jail straight ahead and an elevated geometrically-shaped green, one of Raynor's calling cards:
The fourth tee. We were perplexed as to why this was the number one handicap hole on the course given the comparative lack of menacing sand traps:
A delicious downhill approach to the seventh green. You can see from the rough that they'd recently performed end-of-season aeration. We were giving free lifts if the dirt clumps were excessive:
Chipping onto the ninth green. It should've been walking-only after more than three inches of rain a few days earlier drenched the course. At the least, they should have been more stringent in directing carts away from mud slicks and not allowed riding on the fairways:
To me, Hole #10 was Rock Spring's toughest with an uphill tee shot, followed by two sets of deep bunkers and a very difficult headwalled green. Here's my ball in a bad spot:
The tee shot on #13. The pic doesn't show that it's an uphill dogleg right:
Unfortunately, thanks to a slow foursome a few groups a head of us, we had to call it a day at 5 pm due to darkness and weren’t able to play the last two holes along Northfield Ave that I’d driven past so many times. Hopefully I’ll get in another round before they close the course for the season.
In summary, Rock Spring certainly needs some TLC after years of partial neglect; however, it absolutely lived up to expectations and I can't wait to go back. As one online review put it: the course's many well-placed hazards require some thought or precision shot-making to avoid; however, the course is still manageable for the average player.
For my 12th round of the season since early July (five in Colorado, seven in the Poconos and NJ), I finally got to experience first-hand the biggest golf happening in New Jersey in many moons: Rock Spring in West Orange, only five minutes from my house. Long story short: Rock Spring opened in 1925 as a private club that was designed by two revered American golf-course architects/builders: Seth Raynor drew up the blueprint and his disciple Charles “Steam Shovel” Banks oversaw its construction.
Since moving to NJ in 2004, I’ve driven past and gazed longingly at the 17th and 18th holes hundreds of times; however, I never gave a thought to playing there since it was private -- similar to renowned Baltusrol a few miles away. I remember noticing during the summer of 2019 that the course seemed significantly busier than before but I didn't investigate why. Somehow, I also overlooked the "open to the public" addition to the sign:
Driving toward the course on Rock Spring Road flanked by colorful foliage, Raynor gets a callout:
As the story goes: as a result of financial difficulties exacerbated by the 2008 economic meltdown, Rock Spring merged four years ago with Montclair Golf Club; however, in 2018 members and residents living near the course were upset when they learned that Montclair was considering selling the 138-acre property so it could be turned into a housing development.
Thankfully, the town of West Orange and its mayor (a golfer himself) were aware of the course's pedigree, purchased it for $14 million, hired KemperSports to handle operations, and opened it up to the public in July 2019, making it one of only two daily-fee Raynor designs in the U.S. (an interesting article about it here). The other public Raynor layout is the old course at Thousand Island Country Club on Wellesley Island, which I played with my father 40 years ago and unfortunately have very little recollection of other than views of the St. Lawrence River and going to bars that evening in Alexandria Bay.
At first, the West Orange mayor said that Rock Spring may eventually be reduced to nine holes; however, after getting overwhelmingly positive feedback from golfers who played there and generating enough revenue last season to be profitable, they realize what a tremendous asset it is for the town and are hoping to keep all 18 holes. As I understand, the final decision on its future will come a year from now, when KemperSports' two-year contract ends.
Luckily, someone posted a hole-by-hole overview of the course so I didn't feel obligated to take dozens of photos. The pix don't really show how hilly the property is, including the many uphill/blind shots.
The old guard house from its private-club days to keep out the hoi polloi is still there. I suspect that it'll be removed at some point:
In the pro shop (late-season greens fees are only $40 to ride a cart and $25 to walk), they're out of Rock Spring ball markers; however, a few branded poker chips are still in stock if you're so inclined:
The first tee requires a 140-yard carry over water:
Hole 2 on the other side of the pond with the clubhouse in the background:
A taste of the brutal bunkering to come in front of the second green:
Me on the 3rd tee with Manhattan and beyond in the distance: a 30-mile vista. This is where they grabbed the skyline for the course's logo in the first pic:
The masterful third hole -- a 193-yard par 3 with jail straight ahead and an elevated geometrically-shaped green, one of Raynor's calling cards:
The fourth tee. We were perplexed as to why this was the number one handicap hole on the course given the comparative lack of menacing sand traps:
A delicious downhill approach to the seventh green. You can see from the rough that they'd recently performed end-of-season aeration. We were giving free lifts if the dirt clumps were excessive:
Chipping onto the ninth green. It should've been walking-only after more than three inches of rain a few days earlier drenched the course. At the least, they should have been more stringent in directing carts away from mud slicks and not allowed riding on the fairways:
To me, Hole #10 was Rock Spring's toughest with an uphill tee shot, followed by two sets of deep bunkers and a very difficult headwalled green. Here's my ball in a bad spot:
The tee shot on #13. The pic doesn't show that it's an uphill dogleg right:
Unfortunately, thanks to a slow foursome a few groups a head of us, we had to call it a day at 5 pm due to darkness and weren’t able to play the last two holes along Northfield Ave that I’d driven past so many times. Hopefully I’ll get in another round before they close the course for the season.
In summary, Rock Spring certainly needs some TLC after years of partial neglect; however, it absolutely lived up to expectations and I can't wait to go back. As one online review put it: the course's many well-placed hazards require some thought or precision shot-making to avoid; however, the course is still manageable for the average player.
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