Historic Seaview Bay Course Hosts LPGA ShopRite Classic

The unofficial start to the summer golf season in Atlantic City takes place this week on the Stockton Seaview Hotel and Golf Club’s newly renovated Bay Course. It's the ShopRite LPGA Classic Presented by Acer.

Defending champion Karrie Webb joins fellow Hall of Famers Juli Inkster and Se Ri Pak, who are set to tee it up with future legends of the game like teen phenom Lydia Ko and major winner Lexi Thompson. Additionally, the field features fan favorites such as Michelle Wie, Paula Creamer, Morgan Pressel and Natalie Gulbis, as well past champions of this event like Stacy Lewis, Cristie Kerr and Brittany Lincicome.

The May 30 to June 1 LPGA event features the world’s Top 10 ranked players in the Rolex Rankings and reigning champions of all five LPGA majors — along with 94 out of the top 100 players on the LPGA’s money list.

The real star of the show, though, may well be the Seaview Bay Course, a 6,366-yard Donald Ross design that will test every player, pro or amateur. The track is one infuriating short hole after another, with wind, wind, wind, and more wind pushing your ball away from the tiny greens.  The course underwent a renovation earlier this year to celebrate its centennial, but it didn't lose its traditional feel despite adding new tees on four holes and refreshing some of the bunker complexes. It's still seaside golf in all its glory.

A hundred years of golf history at Seaview are reflected in the wooden bunker rakes and flag sticks, not to mention the many crowned greens with approaches that reward an effective bump-and-run ground game and a careful reading of putts.  In an earlier, gentler time, Warren G. Harding played the course and Sam Snead won the 1942 PGA Championship here. In addition to Juli Inkster, two other Hall of Famers, Annika Sorenstam and Nancy Lopez,won the LPGA ShopRite Classic on the Bay Course.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Shore Gate Rates a Trip to Jersey

Shore Gate Golf Club is one of the many under-appreciated golf opportunities on the Jersey shore.  Since it opened in 2002, it's been named to numerous "best of" lists, which is completely understandable once you play the demanding, scenic layout that winds through the pine forests of Ocean View, NJ. Daily fee (and membership) rates are reasonable, the golf is good, and there are plenty of amenities to add to your experience, including Atlantic City just 30 minutes away.

The course was designed by Ron Fream and David Dale and built on 245 acres with plenty of dramatic elevation changes and rolling terrain. The architects mixed features of both parkland and link-style golf to make things interesting.  Fairways are tight, greens are expansive, and you'll find plenty of water and sand to challenge your game. From the tips, Shore Gate stretches over 7,200 yards, but there are four other sets of tees to make par accessible for every level of golfer. Given the amount of trouble on the course, I'd recommend sticking with the 6,391-yard whites (rating/slope of 70.7/132) for anyone except the longest-hitting single handicappers.

Shore Gate #9 - 577 yard par 5

There are 88 bunkers on Shore Gate (as well as seven ponds and lakes), making even the shorter holes a test of your game. The toughest hole on the course, though, is the longest. It's the ninth, which measures 577 yards from the white tees--you don't even want to think about playing the black at 648!  the ninth hole is also a true par five, wrapping in a u-shape around a water hazard on the left side of the fairway that also squeezes in front of the green.

Among the many short-hole delights is the 371-yard seventh hole, aka "Bunker City." A dramatic sand chute runs the entire length of the right side of the fairway from tee to green, making the dog-leg a slicer's nightmare. Even straight hitters can get in trouble here, too, because they can drive through the fairway and end up with trees between them and the green.

Among the other golf pleasures of Shore Gate is the practice area with multi-tiered driving range featuring both bent grass and artificial tees, a huge putting green, and a practice bunker. Peak time green fees run $115 during peak season, but twilight rates are around $70. For the best prices--and the best weather--enjoy Shore Gate in September and October, when you can tee it up for as little as $50.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Spring Lake Starts Renovation

Golf course architecture firm Tripp Davis and Associates has started work to carry out its two-year Master Plan for renovating and restoring Spring Lake Golf Club’s historic course.  Located on New Jersey’s north shore, the club’s original 18 holes were designed by George Thomas (the genius behind Riviera Country Club) in 1911.  In 1918, A.W. Tillinghast, one of America’s greatest golf course architects, was engaged to redesign, strengthen and update the course.

Golf architect Tripp Davis, who is noted for his work with historic golf courses around the country, was asked by Spring Lake Golf Club in 2011 to create a strategic plan that would restore the character of the course first laid out by Thomas and later improved upon by Tillinghast.  “Our direction and focus in developing a Master Plan for Spring Lake was to keep Thomas’s solid routing intact, then look to what Tillinghast did so we could work to reestablish the importance of angles off the tees, restore and enhance the strategic intent of the bunkers and return them to their original style,” said Davis.  “Additionally, fairway widths that were altered over the years will be regained, the once sandy scrub areas that were a prominent feature will be reintroduced, some greens will be rebuilt, and overall there will be a more open feel to the landscape.”

With Spring Lake being so close to the Atlantic, Davis and his team will introduce Fine Fescues in various areas to promote more of a seaside feel.  While making the course more strategically interesting for modern play, the end result is to let golfers experience a step back in time.

“I am very excited to start our work at Spring Lake,” Davis commented.  “It is a special place that will have a stronger connection to its heritage when we are done.”

The Master Plan is being implemented in phases with the first phase beginning October 15th
on the back nine bunkers, sandy scrub areas, select tees, the expansion of certain greens and  fairways, planting of Fine Fescue areas, as well as some drainage improvements.  The front nine changes are scheduled for October 2014.  Tripp Davis and Associates most recently completed a renovation and restoration of the Tillinghast designed Brook Hollow Golf Club in Dallas, Texas.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Tee Shots Count at Forsgate CC's Banks Course

Forsgate Banks Course #15 "Chocolate Drop"

The Banks Course at Forsgate CC is justifiably renowned for spectacular greens and bunker complexes shaped by Charles "Steam Shovel" Banks. What's often overlooked, however, is the importance of accurate, thoughtful play from tee to green on the Monroe Township, NJ, course. Hit it wrong off the tee and par becomes much, much harder (if not impossible) on most of the holes.

The need for strategic driving is easily ignored when you see some of the seemingly generous fairways like the one on the first hole. "Preparatory," as it is named, is only 384 yards, but shots to the right half of the fairway will leave you with an approach over the first of many cavernous bunkers you'll face throughout the day.

Another short par four, the 347-yard fourth, demonstrates another Banks design principle. A well-struck tee ball will find a level landing area with a clear shot to the "Hog's Back" green. Anything else--even in the fairway--will have an uneven lie and/or an obstructed approach. You'll see the same design feature on the course's longest hole, the 603-yard eighth, and it's back-to-back par five cousin, the ninth, where two plateaus serve as landing areas. Miss either one and you'll have serious side-hill issues.

Banks also made judicious use of cross bunkers and other fairway features. The tenth hole, a 416-yard tester named "Valley" not only has a namesake ravine to navigate but a series of fescue-fringed cross bunkers to keep long hitters honest. The short (330 yards) confounding fifteenth holes features a narrow fairway that slopes right so that even straight tee shots are pushed into the rough. The answer, to hug the left side of the fairway from the tee, brings the eponymous "Chocolate Drop" bunker into play in the left rough.

None of this is to say that the Banks Course greens can be taken for granted. As I've written before, they are simply spectacular. My point is that you can't take the rest of the course for granted, either. The Banks Course deserves to be cherished as a full test of your game.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Play Morgan Pressel At Shackamaxon CC

If you've ever dreamed of playing head-to-head against a professional golfer in front of a gallery of enthusiastic fans, now is your chance. On Oct. 2, 2012, Shackamaxon Country Club will host the inaugural Garden State Tour Pro Challenge, a charitable event that will pit six lucky amateurs against LPGA star Morgan Pressel in a series of three-hole matches on the club’s Tillinghast-designed course.

Morgan Pressel
photo courtesy of Shackamaxon CC

The “Challenge” will benefit the New Jersey Golf Foundation, the official charity of the New Jersey section of the PGA. Qualifying tournaments are currently taking place at 20 private and public clubs around the state. The entry fee is $20. For more information on how to enter one of the remaining qualifiers, contact The New Jersey Golf Foundation at (732) 465-1212.

The qualifers in five categories (Ladies Net, Ladies Gross, Men’s Gross, Men’s Net and Men’s Senior Gross) will compete in a playoff round at Shackamaxon Country Club on Sept. 24. The winners in each category will advance to face Morgan Pressel on Oct. 2nd.  A sixth spot will be reserved for a qualifier from the First Tee, the internationally respected youth organization that promotes life skills and leadership through the game of golf.

Morgan Pressel is one of the LPGA’s brightest stars. In 2011, she recorded eleven top-10 finishes and has over four million in career earnings. She is undefeated in U.S. Solheim Cup competitions and was the runner-up in the 2005 U.S. Women's Open (as an amateur).

The “Challenge” will feature a full day of exciting activities at Shackamaxon.  The day begins with an 18-hole celebrity pro-am that features participants playing alongside former NFL greats, as well as New Jersey PGA professionals. Each foursome will meet and take photos with Morgan Pressel, enjoy a continental breakfast, a barbecue lunch and awards ceremony. Individual pro-am spots are $500. Visit www.shackamaxoncc.com or call (908)233-1300 ext. 230 to reserve your spot in the field.

While the action takes place on the course, The New Jersey PGA will conduct a ladies golf clinic on the putting green followed by a Ladies Benefit Luncheon/Auction featuring Morgan Pressel as the honored guest. The luncheon is open to the public. Tickets are $100 and proceeds will benefit the Ashley Lauren Foundation, a charitable organization that was created to assist families of pediatric cancer patients with emotional support and financial assistance. To register for the Ladies Clinic or Luncheon, contact Jennifer Gerhart at (908) 233-1300.

At 2 pm, the “main event” will take place as Morgan Pressel begins her head-to-head matches against the lucky New Jersey amateur qualifiers on Shackamaxon’s historic A.W. Tillinghast-designed masterpiece. Gallery Tickets to watch the action at the afternoon’s Pro Tour Challenge are only $10 and may be reserved by calling (908) 233-1300 ext. 230. Tickets will also be available on-site at the club on Oct. 2

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Paula Creamer (Beauty) vs. Gary McCord (Beast) at Forsgate

If, like me, you're old enough to remember when top female tennis player Billie Jean King defeated the motormouth chauvinist Bobby Riggs in the famous “Battle of the Sexes” in 1973, you won't want to miss  the big event coming to Forsgate Country Club in Monroe, NJ. Now, nearly 40 years later, another fun but epic battle looms between LPGA Star Paula Creamer and CBS Sports Commentator Gary McCord  on Oct. 6-7, 2012 in a match to raise money for Make-A-Wish New Jersey and other local charities supported by the Forsgate Foundation.

photo courtesy of Forsgate

As if the match itself weren't reason enough to attend, irreverent Golf Channel star David Feherty will provide live color and analysis of the head-to-head stroke play match for a purse of $10,000. Creamer and McCord will be hitting from the same tees on the renowned Banks Course at Forsgate.

“When I heard I was playing Paula, I thought of advice my dear mom gave me when I was a kid,” McCord said. "She told me to always play nice especially with girls….I never listened to mom. Beating Paula will be fun and another win in my already memorable career.” Much like the hustler Riggs, McCord is known as much for his bluster as for his play, although he boasts a long professional golf career on both the PGA and Champions Tours. But, while he may have faced the likes of “The Golden Bear” and “The Shark,” McCord has never teed off against “The Pink Panther.”

photo courtesy of Forsgate

“I’m playing against Gary McCord? You mean the CBS golf commentator? I didn’t even realize he played golf!”  Creamer said with more than a bit of sarcasm. Creamer, an 11-time professional tour winner and 2010 U.S. Women’s Open Champion, is currently ranked No. 13 in the world.

As for his opinion, Feherty, host of The Golf Channel’s highly rated show of the same name, put it bluntly: “Battle of the Sexes? It’s more like Beauty versus the Beast. My money is with Paula…there was a reason McCord was 0 for 422 in PGA Tour Tournament wins. Plus, I love pink.”

The Forsgate “Battle of the Sexes” features two days of golf and entertainment and a myriad of opportunities for involvement. The event begins on Saturday evening, Oct. 6, with a cocktail reception and live and silent auction featuring unique sports memorabilia, travel packages and “dream” days. The energy in the room will reach a fever pitch as LPGA superstar Creamer will come face-to-face for the first time with the devilishly-mustached McCord.

photo courtesy of Forsgate

On Sunday, Oct. 7, registrants will enjoy a morning 18-hole golf tournament that includes photo opportunities with the stars. Forsgate Country Club will open to the public at 2 p.m. when Feherty will host a skills demonstration with Creamer and McCord. At 3 p.m., the action moves to the first tee of the celebrated Banks Course for the opening shots of the “Battle of the Sexes.”

Golf Tournament Participant packages (both individual and foursome) are available and include admission into all of “The Battle of the Sexes” activities. Raffle Tickets for the chance to win a new 2012 Mercedes Benz C-250 are $12.50 each or 10 for $100. Individual Gallery Tickets for the skills demonstration and “The Battle” are $10 each or $25 for individual clubhouse passes. For more information on registration, to buy raffle or gallery tickets, call (732) 656-8911, visit www.forsgatecc.com or www.forsgatefoundation.org.

So…whose team are you on? Pick a side and join in the conversation on the Forsgate Foundation Facebook page and on Twitter. The question of whether #girlsgolfbetter or #boysgolfbetter will be answered on Oct. 6-7, 2012, at the #ForsgateBattleOfTheSexes.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Crystal Springs Speeds Up The Game

I confess: I am a speed demon. I abhor slow play. A four-hour round of golf is a snail's pace and four-and-a-half puts me into a serious funk. My idea of a great round is about three hours and I've done it walking--in a foursome--plenty of times.

That's why I'm pumped about the Fast Track initiative at Crystal Springs in Sussex County, NJ. The forward-thinking seven-course resort makes it happen in a player-friendly way without losing any of the pleasure of the game.  “We’ve explored a lot of different methods and programs to make golf more appealing and more fun, inclusive, and more enjoyable,” says Director of Golf Art Walton. “It excites those who really like to get around the course. That gives them time to play another round, get home, or enjoy the many other amenities at the resort.”  They started the initiative at Wild Turkey and then added it to Black Bear last year. According to Walton, it's going well.

Crystal Springs Resort - photo courtesy of the resort

Tee times from opening to 8 AM at the two courses are reserved for Fast Track players, who pledge to finish in four hours or less. To speed up play, “ready golf” is expected rather than following the strict honors order of play and hunts for lost balls are limited to one minute rather than five. The starters also encourage groups to play from the correct tees and players are asked to pick up his or her ball if seven strokes have been played on any given hole. If a group is slow, the course assistants often declare out of bounds to be played as lateral hazards to eliminate re-teeing.

Player assistance on the golf course is key to the system. The rangers police the pace of play with tracking sheets for each group. “When someone is five minutes off, they’ll communicate with them,” Walton explains. "They get a warning to keep up with the group in front of them. If they can’t, we relocate them to their appropriate position on the course. That’s the only way to do it.” He adds that playing through isn’t a time-saving option since it involves waiting six or seven minutes.

“It was not an easy initiative," Walton says. "The communications chain that has to be executed has many steps along the way. Our central reservations department needs to know what the program is and be able to describe it to those booked into that time zone. They must be able to finish in four hours or less. That has to be fortified along the way. When the player checks into the pro shop, the person greeting them has to re-iterate that and make sure they understand. The same with the starter. What you don’t want is a group that says ‘I wasn’t told.’ The burden also extends to the golfer booking the reservation, who has to make sure everyone in their group understands the expectations.”

I applaud Crystal Springs for making a concerted effort to move the game along. Slow play equals bad golf. But the opposite is also true: fast play equals good golf, just like you'll find at Crystal Springs.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Ballyowen Lends A Celtic Flair To New Jersey

photo courtesy of the course

Ballyowen is the crown jewel of the Crystal Springs Resort collection of seven golf courses in the New Jersey highlands. The links-style design by Roger Rulewich has won accolades from Golfweek and many other publications, all well-deserved. You may argue whether it's like playing a links course (it's not), but you can't disagree with the simple fact that Ballyowen is an excellent test of your golf game.

The course sprawls over 250 acres atop a plateau surrounded by rolling farmland and craggy knolls giving it a wide-open, wind-swept feel. It is virtually treeless and fairways are defined by yellow fescue and other native grasses that literally eat errant shots, further giving the course a Celtic feel. Both greens and fairways are generally wide and welcoming, however, so well-played shots are rewarded. Just don't expect much links-like roll from the lush fairways.

Ballyowen measures 6,508 from the gold tees, which is as far back as all but the pros should play. With a 71.5 rating and 130 slope, the gold tees provide plenty of challenge. There are five sets of tees in total, ranging from 7,094 to 4,903 yards.

Birdie opportunities abound for the player who can keep their ball out of the gnarly rough and put it in the right place on the sprawling greens. Only two of the par fours are over 400 yards, two of the par fives are under 500 yards, and the longest par three is 180. It's the accuracy of your approach shots that will make the difference on even the two short par fours (#2 at 312 yards and #12 at 328) since neither one is drive-able.

The longest par five, the third hole clocking in at 546 yards, is a fascinating three-shot test, playing uphill on the approach and generally into the wind. The fairway is serpentine with bunkers guarding every turn and impossible rough lurking not far off the line. Aim right off the tee to bring the landing area for your second shot into view. A massive bunker--nearly fifty yards long--splits the fairway directly in front of the green, so make the right strategic choice on your second shot to set up your third.

The sixth hole, a 174-yard par three, is a card-wrecker that comes early in the round. The tee shot is all carry over water, which also wraps around the right side of the monstrous green. There's not really any bail-out area, either: the left side of the green is home to a huge bunker. Even if you avoid all the trouble, just landing your ball on the wide but shallow green doesn't guarantee a par since you could easily have a first putt of well over 100 feet.

Speaking of demanding putts, watch out for the the eleventh hole, a seemingly benign 161-yard one-shotter. You absolutely must put your tee shot on the same level as the cup on one of the three severe tiers to avoid a near-certain three jack--or worse.

The Back Nine At Ballyowen. Photo courtesy of the course.

Ballyowen's sixteenth hole brings together all the challenges you've faced so far. At 420 yards, it requires an accurate drive with a forced carry over the fescue to a fairway pinched by two gleaming bunkers on the right. Your second shot will be uphill to a long, narrow green guarded by a false front and yet more bunkers on both sides. The green itself is a roller-coaster ride where double-breakers are normal.

Ballyowen may not play like a links course, but it feels like one. Fairways are surrounded by mounds and hillocks and the big, big greens invite long running chips and pitches. The wide-open layout and views of the golf course around you reminded me of Kingsbarns Golf Links southeast of St. Andrews, where every time you look up after your own shot you can see other golfers in the distance. It's a course well worth the day trip from New York or Westchester or even a golf weekend where you can sample some of the other attractions--including the six other courses--within the Crystal Springs community.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

User-Friendly Wild Turkey At Crystal Springs

If you're a fan of spacious fairways, expansive greens, and eye-pleasing vistas, you'll like Wild Turkey, the Roger Rulewich design that opened in 2001 at Crystal Springs in Hamburg, NJ. It's an excellent resort course with just enough bite to give the serious golfer his or her money's worth.

Wild Turkey is routed over two distinct terrains, a ridge that gives you multiple elevation changes and a treeless basin that lends a hint of links to the round. Throughout the course, Rulewich provides plenty of fairway to work with but demands that your tee shot be in the right place for a precise approach to deceptively difficult greens. Many of the par fours have limited aprons to punish a miss as well as multiple pin positions on seemingly acres of putting surface to command pinpoint accuracy on your approach. The course measures 7,202 yards from the tips, but is a good round from the blue tees at 6,555 with a 71.4 rating/131 slope. Four sets of tees are available in total.

Wild Turkey Hole #7. Photo courtesy of the course.

Still, aside from a few exceptions, most of the holes are fairly forgiving as long as you observe and play to some of their design features. The 450-yard par four fifth hole, for example, has a green that runs away from a straight-on approach. The seventh, a 181-yard one-shotter, plays over a quarry lake. There's a minimal bail-out area left and out-of-bounds right, so the hole deserves your full attention.

As you make the turn, stop on the tenth tee to enjoy the view of three states, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York, on the horizon at Port Jervis. You'll get another view worth pausing for at the fourteenth tee, where you overlook the entire basin from the twelfth to the seventeenth hole.

Wild Turkey shows its teeth on the finishing holes, beginning with the 392-yard fifteenth where you face a long forced carry over water, a menacing bunker complex on the right side of the fairway, and a difficult elevated green where the surface is hidden from view on your approach. You'll also have to contend with water on the sixteenth hole, a 170-yard par three, as well as on the tee shot for the seventeenth, a seriously-long 577-yard par five that looks like a Cape hole, but isn't unless you can safely carry the ball 270 yards. The better play from the tee is to aim at the right-side fairway bunkers, which are barely reachable by the average player but will put you in a position to avoid the cross bunkers on your second shot.

Wild Turkey is a user-friendly golf course, but certainly not one on which you'd be ashamed of posting par or a little over. Like all the courses at Crystal Springs, the amenities are excellent, the conditions good, and the staff welcoming and helpful. Greens fees are reasonable, too, so consider squeezing in a second round during the day.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

A Ten Minute Lesson From David Leadbetter

David Leadbetter delivered some solid advice during a recent session at his academy at Crystal Springs in Franklin, NJ. The well-known guru has coached dozens of tour stars around the world who have amassed over a dozen Major Championship titles and over 100 individual worldwide tournament victories. He basically invented the business of golf instruction and today operates 28 golf academies around the globe. His insights into the state of the average player's game are not to be ignored.

"Ninety percent of all golfers have a lousy grip," he said as he started the session. "A lot of swing problems can be traced directly to that." According to Leadbetter, most players hold the club too much in the palms of their hands which restricts hinging of the wrists, adds to tension in the arms and shoulders, and virtually eliminates any chance of a smooth, powerful movement. "The grip should be in the fingers and light enough to take tension out of the swing." Leadbetter laughingly pointed out that he and his staff got so tired of drawing lines on players' gloves to show them where to hold the club that he created the Correct Grip Golf Glove with markings already on it.

The next part of Leadbetter's lesson focused on stance. "Stand like you're ready to move," he said. Weight evenly distributed and knees slightly flexed, arms hanging loose, you'll be ready to make a relaxed but powerful swing.

"Try not to have more than one swing thought," Leadbetter adds. "And none is even better." Over-thinking is the enemy of good golf, according to him. He adds, "You don't have to be dumb to play this game, but it helps."

Finally, complete your back swing with your weight on your right heel, then swing all the way to a finish and hold the pose. "If you can do that, you've accomplished a lot of good things in your swing," he says.

The master teacher's observations on technology were interesting, too. "The biggest difference in teaching now and thirty years ago," he says, "is that now we have the cameras, launch monitors, brain scans, you name it, to prove the average player's swing sucks."  From the positive side of technology, he points out that "The largest change in the game is our ability to improve results by club fitting."

Leadbetter opened his academy at Crystal Springs last year. Golfers in the Northeastern US can now take advantage of a variety of mini schools, players’ schools, retreats, private sessions and improved performance programs.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf

Par Three Jewels At Forsgate

One of my pet theories about golf course design is that a variety of par threes distinguish the best courses from the rest. Each hole should require the player to hit his or her one shot from the tee with a different club to handle distance, prevailing winds, and shot shape. If they are pleasing to the eye, so much the better. The Banks Course at Forsgate Country Club in central NJ meets all these criteria and then some.

Charles Henry Banks, aka "Steam Shovel" Banks, created four of the finest par three holes in the game for this course, which opened in 1931. All are guarded by his trademark deep, deep bunkers and have heavily-sculptured contours on the putting surface, but each one presents a different challenge.

The #3 hole, Eden, is named after the 11th hole at St. Andrews, and may be the most difficult of the four. It's 182 yards of full carry over a ravine from the blue tees to a steeply elevated green. Depending on pin position and wind, it can play much, much longer. The massive bunker guarding the right side must be nearly 20 feet below the putting surface. The green itself has a ridge that runs from front to back, effectively cutting the target area in half.

Hole #7 is named after the original Redan, the 15th at North Berwick in Scotland. The green is huge and breaks not only strongly left to right but slopes away from the tee so that club selection and shot placement are crucial.

photo courtesy of Forsgate CC

At 140 yards playing slightly downhill, the #12 hole would seem to be a pushover--but it's not. The hole earned it's name, Horseshoe, from a circular ridge that creates some near-impossible breaking putts for anyone who doesn't hit a precise shot from the tee. The green is also completely surrounded by bunkers. They're not quite as deep as others on the course, but getting up and down is complicated by that infernal circular ridge.

The final par 3 is #17, Biarritz, a 201-yard monster patterned after the original with that name in France. The long, narrow green can have pin positions ranging from about 160 to as much as 240 yards from the tee and the need for distance control is magnified by a Grand Canyon-esque swale that divides the green into three parts.

The Banks Course at Forsgate was the last design on American soil for Banks, who died at the age of 48. The one-shotters on the course combine to form a perfect tribute to the talented earth mover.

In addition to writing about golf, Dave Donelson distills the experiences of hundreds of entrepreneurs into practical advice for small business owners and managers in the Dynamic Manager's Guides, a series of how-to books about marketing and advertising, sales techniques, hiring, firing, and motivating personnel, financial management, and business strategy.

Eye-Popping Greens At Forsgate

Scottish immigrant John Forster made many great decisions in his life. He founded Crum & Forster Insurance Company and made a boatload of money. He used some of it to buy 50 bucolic acres of farmland in central New Jersey and developed a dairy farm where he and his family and friends could escape the daily grind of Manhattan. The smartest thing he ever did, though, was buy some additional land and turn that farm into a challenging golf course designed by golf architect Charles Banks. Today, the Banks course is the gem of Forsgate Country Club, a private, non-equity club in Monroe Township, N.J.

The architect, known as "Steam Shovel" Banks due to his fondness for that particular piece of earth-moving equipment, created some of the most dramatic green complexes in the game for Forster's course. Sam Snead said in Golf Magazine that the Banks Course had "the most eye-popping greens" he had ever seen. The course has been upgraded many times since it opened in 1931, but the greens and their protective bunkers, swales, moguls, and fescue rough remain true to Banks' imaginative vision.

The course isn't long, 6,844 yards from the tips with a par of 71, but each hole is unique, making for a fascinating round of golf. Banks drew on his and Forster's favorite holes from other courses they had played around the world. Banks was also an associate of C.B. Macdonald and Seth Raynor, so many of their trademarks can be found on the course as well. The second hole, for example, is a 420-yard par 4 modeled after the 15th hole at Macdonald's National Golf Links while the fifth hole, "Punchbowl," a 417-yard par four, is a copy of the ninth hole at Hoylake, a fixture on many Banks, Raynor, and Macdonald courses.

The greens on Forsgate's Banks course are what you'll revisit in your dreams, though. I don't believe I have ever seen so many different ways to use tiers, terraces, ridges, humps, hog backs, false fronts, and other severe contours. While many courses have difficult putting surfaces, few of them have greens large enough to enable multiple--and fair--pin positions.

The par threes are truly unforgettable. The 216-yard third hole has a healthy ridge that effectively cuts the target area in half and forces you to challenge the deep bunkers on either side of the green to get close to the pin off the tee. Hole #7 is a true Redan and a real challenge at 216 yards.

Number 12 is a manageable 163 yards to a green completely surrounded by bunkers. It's called "Horseshoe" because the green incorporates a horseshoe-shaped ridge that circles the putting surface. The 17th hole is patterned after Willie Dunn's famous par three at Biarritz, France. This one features a long, narrow green divided in two parts by a chest-deep swale. It also plays 239 yards, so par is truly an accomplishment.

Forsgate is an RDC Golf Group property. The club also has a traditional course, the 6,625-yard Palmer Course, as well as family-friendly amenities like a fitness facility, aquatic center, tennis, and excellent dining options.

The practice facility and putting green are first-rate and you won't find a friendlier, more knowledgeable staff of golf professionals. They are led by Director of Golf Carolyn McKenzie Andrews. Also on staff are head pro Scott Barnaby and former PGA Tour and Nationwide player Bobby Gage.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.