Harbor Pines GC
Egg Harbor Township, NJ (just outside Ocean City, NJ)
33 miles, 40 mins from Sea Isle
Directions:
--AC Expwy to Exit 7 SOUTH
--Garden State Parkway to Exit 30
--LEFT @ first major intersection onto RT. 9 NORTH
--1.4 mi. to 5th light, LEFT onto OCEAN HEIGHTS AVE.
--1.6 mi. to course on left
Black 6827, 72.3, 129, 72
Blue 6503, 70.7, 125, 72
White 6142, 69.1,122, 72
Fees: $92 Wkdy., $118 Wknd. (June 23-Sept.10)
NO TWILIGHT
Tee times 7 days in advance
Per Joe K., "A regular golfer's Blue Heron Pines, good rangers, nice pace of play."
Per Sullivan, somewhat similar to Sand Barrens but more forgiving for a high handicapper.
Golfcourse.com Review: This course has undulating greens that average 6,500 feet, which offer many opportunities for varied pin placements. 17 acres of water, including 12 shimmering ponds, are strategically located on about 1/2 of the holes, and sand bunkers on about 3/4 of the holes. Walking is permitted in the winter only.
Since Harbor Pines is the closest course to Jersey-Shore-anchor Ocean City NJ, here's an OCNJ weekend itinerary from Spark Weekly (http://www.sparkweekly.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080715/SPARK0101/807150372/1129/SPARK)
One Tank Trips: O.C., N.J.
KELLY HOUSEN | spark
Sometimes the day-to-day grind just gets to you, and you have to get away. It doesn't matter where away is, just as long as you can be somewhere else. With everything getting more expensive, and the fact that we have not yet adopted the European custom of having six weeks of vacation a year, sometimes a day trip is all you can swing.
OCEAN CITY, NJ
Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes from Wilmington DE
Miles: 80 miles from Wilmington DE, each way
But with my favorite daytrip spot, Ocean City, N.J., the journey is almost as fun as the destination.
THE JOURNEY
COWTOWN: Once you cross the twin spans of the Delaware Memorial Bridge, you're less than 15 minutes away from Cowtown (www.cowtownrodeo.com). You'll know you're there when you see the giant cowboy, and his equally large red cow right alongside the road. (The giant cowboy was always one of my favorite landmarks when my family was driving to the shore when I was little.)
On Tuesdays and Saturdays, the grounds of Cowtown are covered with flea market stands, selling everything from sparkly skull belt-buckles, to bins full of deodorant, jewelry, food and local produce. If you're willing to put in the time to look and bargain, you'll come away with deals. It's also designer knock-off heaven, so if that genuine large, flower-print Dolce & Gabbana bag is out of your league, know you can get it at Cowtown for a cool $28.
(TIP: Flea-market folks get there early, so go in the morning for the best selection. They open at 8 a.m. and are all closed up by 4 p.m.)
If you're passing by on a Saturday night, stop in and see their rodeo. The rodeo starts at 7:30 p.m., when cowboys show their prowess in calf and steer-roping, ride bucking broncos bareback, wrestle steer and ride bulls. Tickets to the rodeo are $15 for adults, and it runs every Saturday night until the end of September.
CHEAP GAS: After Cowtown, the cheap Jersey gas begins. There really is nothing quite as good as pulling up to a gas station and having someone pump your gas for you. Especially when it's significantly cheaper than it is here in Delaware. On a day last week when gas in the First State was going for $4.05, I paid $3.88 at the Wawa just past Cowtown.
JERSEY FRESH: Your trip will take you past many diners, a staple of New Jersey cuisine, along with plenty of ice cream shops. I usually skip the food en route, saving my appetite for the boardwalk eats that I know await me. But I always scout out the various produce stands along the way, picking where I'll stop on my way home. There are plenty to choose from, as we passed at least five major stands, plus various small produce sellers that consisted of little more than a card table with corn on top of it.
I stopped at the produce stand that is the first one you pass going to the shore, just before Cowtown, making it the last fruit stand on the trip home. The local peaches I got were juicy and sweet -- with my first bite, I had peach juice running down my arm. I also picked up ears of sweet corn, tomatoes and cantaloupe.
(TIP: You might be tempted to stop on the way down, but contain your excitement. If you grab produce on the way home, you won't have to lug it around all day or have it sit in your hot car.)
THE DESTINATION
THE BEACH: Once you cross the bridge into Ocean City, N.J. and park your car in one of the many municipal lots, you have a decision to make. What road you land on when you get into Ocean City depends on what route you took to get there. I like to park around 9th street, where there are two lots that are each about $10 a day.
BEACH OR BOARDWALK; If you're planning on getting some sand time in, grab your spot on the beach first. The beaches in New Jersey are wide and long, so there's plenty of room for you to spread out, away from your neighbors on the sand. Beach tags are mandatory, and they're $5 for the day, $10 for the week or $20 for the season. There are people checking beach tags at each stairway leading down to the beach, along with others walking on the sand and checking tags, so sneaking isn't really an option.
Still, being able to sit on the beach without having your neighbor's blanket touching yours is worth the price.
As nice as the beaches are, though, the real draw of Ocean City is the boardwalk. And the boardwalk food.
PIZZA: For pizza, the only place to go is Mack & Manco (www.mackandmancos.com), which has three locations along the boardwalk. Walk up to the window and eat your pizza at a bench on the boardwalk, or go inside and grab a seat at a table or the counter where you can watch the staff make the pies. [Fat Guy Note: Mack & Manco are the parents of the world class pizza at Mack's in Wildwood NJ, so you know it's legit.]
The sauce isn't overly sweet, but has a rich tomato flavor accented with the spice of oregano and other Italian seasonings. The cheese is gooey and stringy, and the crust is cracker-thin and crisp, but just soft enough to bend without cracking. A slice of cheese will set you back $2.25.
SWEETS: For your first dessert (that's right, there will be more than one dessert on your agenda), walk over to Shrivers (www.shrivers.com), a boardwalk institution that has been making salt water taffy in Ocean City since 1898.
Walk past the fudge to the back of the store, where you can watch them making the taffy. Then grab a bag and mix-and-match flavors like strawberry, orange and grape -- my favorite.
Make sure to save room for the tastiest caramel corn you'll ever have -- Johnson's (www.johnsonspopcorn.com).
(TIP: Get one of their signature tubs full of the original caramel corn, but order it with the lid off. That gives you the perfect excuse to eat enough caramel corn to get the lid on.)
There's also the requisite Kohr Bros. custard, and if you're a fan of macaroons, make sure to stop by George's, at 7th street on the boardwalk.
BOARDWALK ACTIVITIES: While the boardwalk food is a major draw, and worth the drive in itself, there is more to do on the boardwalk than eat.
Gillian's Island water park (www.gillians.com ) is right on the boardwalk, and is open from 9:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. every day. Admission is $20 for two hours, $22 for three hours and $24 for the entire day.
There's also Wonderland, a landmark on the boardwalk with its red, castle-like turrets, which has enough rides to keep adults and little kids entertained. You use tickets to get on the rides, which take between one and five tickets. However, if you go on Tuesdays during the day, all the rides are just two tickets. Thirty tickets are $20, 75 tickets are $50, 160 tickets are $100 and a single ticket is $1. The tickets are good all season, so if you have extras, you'll just have to come back.
Finish your day in Ocean City with a ride on the 140-foot tall ferris wheel. From the top, you can see all the way down the beach, to the far side of the island, while you let your boardwalk snacks digest and get ready for your short ride home.
See also: Fat Guy's Atlantic City NJ Golf Weekend