Pine Barrens GC
Jackson, NJ (an hour north of A.C., or 90 minutes south of NYC, off the Garden State Parkway)
1999, Eric Bergstol
Middle Tees: 6781, 72.6, 129
'01 Fees:
Wknd 18 Wknd Twil Wknd 9
March
Twilight 1:00 $75.00 $55.00 $35.00
April 1-12
Twilight 2:00 $85.00 $65.00 $35.00
April 13 - August 31 $112.00 (Open till 2:00 p.m.)
$95.00 (2:00 p.m. till 4:00 p.m.)
$70.00 (4:00 p.m. till Close)
Recommended by the pro at Shackamaxon, "some elements of Pine Valley."
#91 Top 100 You Can Play, Golf Digest, 2000
Golf Digest Review, Ron Whitten, Senior Architecture Editor, 1999: "A Dead Ringer For Number One."
"Anyone seeking to own a sure-fire moneymaking public course could do worse than emulate the look and feel of perennially top-ranked but extremely private Pine Valley Golf Club. But such flattery only works on sites with similar vegetation and sand.
Enter Eric Bergstol, 42, who found such a site an hour north of Atlantic City, part of the vast stretch of New Jersey "pine barrens" that also contains Pine Valley. Bergstol, a real-estate developer and scratch golfer, designed brand-new Pine Barrens Golf Club himself. He has played Pine Valley only twice, and downplays comparisons. But we think he's created a terrific substitute for those who can't get an invitation to the real thing. The expanses of sand, native vegetation and dense pines are all the same, and from the back tees, so are the bite-what-you-can-chew strategies. There are other public Pine Valleys: the Mike Hurdzan/Dana Fry-designed Sand Barrens Golf Club, closer to Atlantic City, and the Tom Fazio-designed Pine Barrens Course at World Woods Golf Club in west-central Florida."
Where To Booze & Grub: See Fat Guy's Atlantic City NJ Golf Weekend