Best golf courses near Princeton, NJ

Northeast of Princeton is The Ridge at Back Brook, another of those great pieces of property Tom Fazio is given on which to build a course. With 150 feet of natural elevation change, Fazio had little need to reshape the landscape, although he still had crews re-carve fairways for visibility and flow. With patches of mature forest of hardwoods and cedars, Fazio had little need to import trees, although a few were transplanted to emphasize seclusion on particular holes. The front nine sits in a valley formed by meandering Back Brook, while much of the back nine is on a plateau high above the front nine. Rock outcroppings are a prominent feature, including a massive one that poses a cross-hazard on the par-5 seventh, veins of rock behind the ninth and 18th greens and the namesake vertical cliff that provides a stunning backdrop to the par-3 eighth.

Any fan of the Mac/Raynor/Banks style of architecture must go see Forsgate Country Club’s Banks course, which features an outstanding quartet of par 3s, including the bold and dramatic Biarritz 17th. Though Forsgate often struggles in our conditioning category, its landforms and deep bunkering are worth studying and experiencing—and make it deserving of its place among New Jersey’s best courses.

The three championship nines at Neshanic Valley opened in the mid-2000s and cover 350 acres. The course has an open feel with generous fairways that are framed nicely by tall fescue. Neshanic Valley—located less than 20 miles from the USGA’s headquarters in Liberty Corner—hosted the 2012 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links. In addition to the three championship nines, the facility has a par-32 Academy Course for beginners.