Bowling Green - Oak Ridge, NJ?

[Bonneville85308]

I'm curious if anyone has played this public course recently and could offer some thoughts/comments on the layout and conditions. I've never played it, and a buddy who has never played it either but lives nearby is trying to get me to make a drive out his way to give it a try. Looking at Google Earth, it appears extremely tight due to trees, is it ridiculously so? GolfAdvisor reviews are pretty positive, and the course website talks a good game about pace of play enforcement, etc. Rates are high for what I am used to here on the PA side of the border but I'd be willing to fork over the $75 on a weekday if it's a halfway decent course. Thanks.

[benzenbe]

I played here back in May. I thought it was really nice, would definitely consider playing it again. A few of the holes are narrow and will require well played shots (looking at my Arccos, 7 and 10 stick out) because of the tree lines, here are a few photos.

 

However, there are a few other courses that I'd argue are nicer in that area: Berkshire Valley, Ballyowen, Wild Turkey, or Crystal Springs GC.

[Bonneville85308]

^ Thank you! We were leaning towards playing here because it seemed like a better course for walking than others in the area.

[benzenbe]

This would definitely be more friendly to walk then Ballyowen and Wild Turkey. Don't remember Bowling Green really being hilly anywhere, but a few holes with low-degree incline/decline

[mkunes01]

If you're going to make the trip out and pay almost 80 i would almost 100000% say that your money would be better spent at ballyowen/wild turkey/berkshire valley. Bowling Green is fine though i guess. IMO opinion there is just no reason to pay that much when there are a million times better courses for the nearly same/same/cheaper price

[benzenbe]

Except that Walking Ballyowen when it's 85*+ out is probably a miserable experience (super hilly). BUT, there's no question that it's the best course in that area

[aabcuue]

fyi, this weeks email from the Crystal spring resort had several deals inc.

 

As Wild Turkey is aerating this week. Prices are cheap @ $49 as they ever are except if you have already bought the card w/ free rounds.

 

Even Crystal Springs is cheap @ $39 if you can handle the intentional lumpy fairways and fescue rough hillocks/mounds.

 

[Bonneville85308]

I ended up playing this past Monday. It was fairly busy, I got paired with 3 guys and we finished in 4:15. It was an easy walk. The holes were not as tight as I had imagined based on the aerials. Everything was in pretty good condition. I shot one of my better rounds of the year, would have been better but I way underestimated the giant size of the 15th and 17th greens which led to underclubbing my approach shots considerably. Coming from PA, $74 is expensive for public golf on a Monday, but I enjoyed the course and would play it again, preferably on some kind of deal.

[benzenbe]

Coming from PA, $74 is expensive for public golf on a Monday, but I enjoyed the course and would play it again, preferably on some kind of deal.

Like I mentioned, since you're already making the trip, go another ~20 minutes and play at Ballyowen, Wild Turkey, or Crystal Springs. All 3 of those golf courses are MUCH nicer, less crowded, and usually offer some nice promotional deals.

 

Here's the approach on #18 on Wild Turkey from back in April and Ballyowen from last March

[ani5009]

My dad lives about 10 minutes from Bowling Green so I've played that track many, many times. That area has a ton of great options for pretty high-quality golf, and while a lot of people tend to prefer the Crystal Springs Resort Courses I think Bowling Green is great in its own right. It is an entirely different kind of course than any of the Crystal courses (Wild Turkey, Ballyowen, Black Bear, etc.) in that its a much narrower course that is usually in great shape and has great greens. I don't think it gets anywhere near as much play as the others, so that could be a good reason why. I've always said that I thought it was over-priced for what they are asking, but if you're going to play a public course up in that part of NJ, they're all going to be relatively close in price. Plus, if you get lucky there can be some good deals found on GolfNow.

[papichulosteve]

Wife's grandmother lives in the development around the course, and used to be a member there. pretty much what everyone said is true. really tight, kinda overpriced (but most courses up in that area are). But compared to the other's mentioned, it is pretty walkable if that's your thing.

 

The staff isn't really the friendliest, and they're not joking about that pace of play. Played a round with the wife once and the course was empty, had our cart break down on hole 3, so we had to get a guy to pick me up, and get a new cart at the clubhouse. once we got to hole 4 we had a ranger pace shaming us saying we were out of position. wife had some choice words telling him that the course was empty and that we had a cart break down