Hot and Muggy Day @ Pine Hill Golf Club

Pine Hill Golf Club
500 West Branch Avenue, Pine Hill, New Jersey 08021
Yards: 6,248, Par 70 (White Tees)
Course Architect: Tom Fazio
Built/Open: 2000
Website: http://www.golfpinehill.com/
Course Ranking: 18th in New Jersey (Golf Digest State Rankings 2009-2010)
Score: 109 (52 out – 57 in)
Date: July 26, 2009

I journeyed out to play Pine Hill Golf Club, wondering if I would finish a complete round of golf (see golfnerdness below). Do to my recent relocation, I have not touched my clubs in about two months. I shot an 18 hole score of 109 on a hot, muggy, sunny day in the high 90’s with 2 pars, hitting 6 fairways, 2 greens in regulation and lost 3 balls. My driving was real good on the front nine, then I reached the 11th tee and the wheels fell off until my drive on 18. I hit 6 fairways out of 13, only one tee shot was unplayable. My mid and short iron game was average, my distances are still off due to lack of practice. My chipping was average, the few I miss hit didn’t hurt me. My putting was bad, eight - 3 putts, the dry / fast greens keep the ball rolling to the hole and past, not short as usual. All in all, it was a nice day out on the golf course.

FROM THE WEB SITE: Set atop southern NJ's highest point, Pine Hill Golf Club will astound. World renowned golf course architect, Tom Fazio, designed a property that is both beautiful and challenging. With 18-holes boasting distinctly different characteristics, PHGC has received numerous national accolades and has rightfully taken its place among America's greatest courses. Built upon the site of a former ski resort, the 43,000 square foot clubhouse provides panoramic views of the surrounding landscape and Philadelphia city skyline.

COURSE CONDITION: The course is playing in championship caliber condition as usual. The teeing areas were lush green, the fairways were cut short and the ball was running on the fairways. The rough on the other hand was either 4 to 5 inches high or tall fescue which was impossible to hit the ball out of. The greens looked undulated but the ball was not moving much even though they were dry and fast.

FACILITIES: Top notch practice facilities (driving range, putting and chipping greens), dinning, pro shop and staff. Great practice area, I hit a few balls prior to the round.

SHOT (HOLE) OF THE DAY: Hole 18, Par 4, 371 Yards. Smoked my drive right down the middle of the fairway leaving about 100 yards in. A nice way to end a long, hot and tiring day.

SUGGESTIONS AND COMMENTS: This course is tight and is surrounded by junk if you’re not in the fairway or first cut. The ball nestles down deep in the dense rough and if you don’t watch where it goes, you will never find it. The tall thin strip of fescue which surrounds a lot of the traps and waste areas actually comes into play more then I had expected. Check out the facilities and if you have time, have lunch or dinner on the outdoor patio looking over the course and the Philadelphia skyline.

GOLFNERDNESS: I have played this course about 8 to 10 times, only finishing a complete round 3 or 4 times due to illness, family illness or weather related issues. If you have a junior playing from 150 yards in, give the parent a break, $120 is steep for a junior to play.

GOLF COURSE MANAGEMENT: Keep the ball out of the rough and fescue and you will be able to score low. For the high handicapped, this will be a very difficult course, take your lumps and play it!

For all your local golf information, check out http://www.twooverpar.com./

For personal golf course reviews and comments, check out http://twooverpar.blogspot.com/!

Follow us on Facebook, search “wheresthegolf.com”. Post your course experiences, shot of the day, course reviews, etc… you get the point.

Follow us on http://www.twitter.com/, search “twooverpar”.

World’s longest golf course to open in Australia

By Agence France - Presse July 14, 2009

MELBOURNE (AFP) – The world’s longest golf course, stretching along 1,365 kilometers (848 miles) of desert highway with holes at 18 towns and service stations, is to open in Australia this year, organizers said Tuesday.

The Nullarbor Links, which will span two time zones and measure more than the entire length of Britain, is expected to be completed next month and will host its inaugural tournament on October 22.

“We’re very excited about it. It’s been a long time coming and a lot of effort,” project chairman Don Harrington told AFP.

“This is the longest golf course in the world. It’s unique terrain, there’s something for everybody.”

The course, conceived five years ago “over a couple of beers,” is meant to attract tourists to the Eyre Highway which traverses the desolate Nullarbor Plain and hugs part of Australia’s southern coastline.

Golfers will stop at one roadhouse, play a hole, then drive on to the next tee—100 kilometers down the road in some cases. The par-71 course will take three or four days to complete with each player awarded a certificate.

Each hole will showcase a local attraction, from whale-watching to ancient fossil beds and a working sheep station, and include sights such as the Big Kangaroo statue at Border Village straddling South and Western Australia.

“There’s a lot of history and you can see all of that on a golf course,” Harrington said.

“Both Australian tourists and golfing enthusiasts around the world have shown support for what we’re doing.”

The course was the brainchild of Bob Bongiorno, who was managing a roadhouse at remote Balladonia when he came up with the idea.

Bongiorno, now living in Kalgoorlie at the course’s western end, said he tried hitting a few balls when he first moved into the Outback but got sick of encountering spiders when trying to retrieve them.

There should be no such hazards on the synthetic greens of the Nullarbor Links, although golfers who hit a stray shot into the desert will face a monster sand trap.