Harbor Pines

I started playing golf about five years ago after attending a Greater Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce golf outing. It was held at Harbor Pines Golf Club in Somers Point, NJ. I remember that it was a cold and windy November day when I played that first round of golf, but it obviously had quite an impression on me from that point forward.

Over the years I have longed to break open the piggy bank and give Harbor Pines another go (especially since the first time I played, I hadn't a clue what I was doing). So, this past memorial day I finally gave in an played the course I remember so little about.

After first trying "the dump" McCullough's Emerald Links, which wanted $80 for the round and Twisted Dune wanted over $100, I finally settled on Harbor Pines for $90. My major disappointment with most of the higher end golf courses in the area is their total aversion to walkers on the course. While in many cases, it is a good choice to restrict walkers, not all of them are created equally. So, the only course in southern New Jersey that really doesn't mind (at the higher end of course) is Blue Heron.

None the less, I forked over the money to play the round, and it was indeed a beautiful course. Not terribly difficult, though the group I was with were playing from the White tees, making it a more reasonable length, it was however immaculately kept and groomed. Very little was out of place and it offered a majestic view on every hole.

There were a few par-4 holes that bundled with the wind, were virtually impossible to reach in two. A solid drive and a well struck 3-wood left me 15 yards short of two greens.

With the conditions of the greens, I would have assumed they would have been a bit faster than they were playing (maybe an 11 on the stimp meter, but no more).

All around it was a nice course that I will go into more detail in a later post. It is time for some practice.

Membership

Having started playing golf in 1999, I would have to still call myself "new to the game". In addition, I am still young and wasn't born into great wealth, so a membership at a prestegious golf club would have been out of reach even only a year ago. But it is with great pride and thanks that I am this year a member at Blue Heron Pine Golf Glub in Cologne, NJ (only about 20 mintues from the heart of Atlantic City.

The most appealing part of joining Blue Heron is also its most dissapointing aspect as well. Blue Heron Pines consists of two world class golf course (the West Course and the East Course).

The West Course is the original course which opened with a great deal of fanfare that brought celebrities from throughout the Northeast. I know this, because I had the pleasure of working as a valet when the course first opened ( I think it was around 1992 while I was attending college). It is a traditional course that is both challenging, but also forgiving.

A few years ago, the opened the East Course which is more a links style with distance and trouble around nearly every turn. Frankly, it is truly a work of art in my book, and will forever rank as one of my favorite courses to play. It was the East Course that had the honor of hosting a US Amatuer Public Links Tournament a few years ago and gave the course great notoriety.

So why you ask is it dissappointing? Why, I cannot say, but they will be closing the East Course on October 31, 2005 to build what South New Jersey clearly needs more of: housing developments. This travesty is why I have joined the course this year, and if it does close the course, it also why I will never again join Blue Heron.

The course was recently sold to a golf course management company. The orginal owners, the Hanson family, are well estabilished an known in the area going back to the grandfather (Ole Hanson and Sons Construction company), but most notably they own the Margate Bridge as well as a few other Golf Courses and to some degree Lake Lenape Park.

So, why close the course? Is it because of too few rounds? I really don't know, but my thought is that it is more about money than anything else (which clearly the Hanson's need more of). That really isn't fair, and you shouldn't ciritcise those who make money and employ large numbers of individuals. But, during the regular golf season, April through November, it is often difficult to get on the course.

So, here we are, with a new golf course membership to my two favorite courses in southern Jersey, what is a person to do . . .

Play more golf.