Old Bridge Golf Club: The Rose

It’s rare that new courses are built in upstate New Jersey, even rarer when they’re public. Old Bridge, in Matawan, six miles south of Staten Island, is surprising in many ways. Designed by veteran New Jersey-based architect Stephen Kay, the course is fitted onto a tight property with wetland and environmental restrictions that limited the length (it plays just 6,500 yards) and the orientation of the holes that run mostly back and forth. But within this envelope—and within this densely populated region—there’s a sense of nature and relaxation, especially once the holes move into the woods in the back section of the property where the feeling of isolation is complete. Tall hardwoods, evergreens and the use of long fescue grasses along with the gentle rise and fall of the land give the impression you are out in the country on an older historic course, and a strong set of greens cut with distinct tiers and ridges bring the short game to life. Old Bridge is a welcome and needed addition to New Jersey public golf, and players are lucky to have a course of this caliber that can be walked for just $65 weekdays ($85 weekends).