USGA/Fred Vuich
Plainfield Country Club
Plainfield Country Club
1591 Woodland Ave
Edison, NJ 08820-1074
United States
Overview
In the late 1990s, Gil Hanse and his team gradually began restoring all of Plainfield’s Donald Ross features, including many that had become covered by trees or lost over the years. During the early 2000s, every green, fairway, teeing ground, chipping area and bunker was restored. Meanwhile, excessive trees were removed. The result is an exceptional restoration/renovation of one of Donald Ross’ very best designs, and it could not be more fun to play every day. The tree removal also opened up strategic playing angles, optionality and stunning views across the property. The course remains a great venue for competitions as well, with USGA and PGA Tour events producing an impressive list of champions, including John Cook, Laura Davies, Dustin Johnson and Jason Day. Plainfield has committed to three future USGA Championships, including the 2025 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball, 2031 U.S. Senior Women’s Open and the 2037 U.S. Senior Open.
About
Awards
Ranking history:
100 Greatest: Ranked since 1967.
Highest ranking: 34th, 1985-1986.
Previous ranking: 82nd.
2025-'26 ranking: 90th.
Best in State: Ranked in Top 5 in New Jersey since 1977.
2025-'26 ranking: 5th since 2017.
Panelists
Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists
100 GREATEST/BEST IN STATE SCORES
Shot Options
Character
Challenge
Layout Variety
Fun
Aesthetics
Conditioning
Reviews
Review
“Plainfield Country Club Plainfield sits on a 21,000-year-old glacial moraine, Donald Ross made full use of the ridges and hollows it left behind when he laid out the current course, 1921 and Gil Hanse's long-running restoration began in the late 1990s and carried out in stages over roughly fifteen years, stripped out well over a thousand trees and gave the property back its Character and Aesthetics in the process. What struck me most is how the routing uses the same handful of ridgelines repeatedly - the 1st, 6th, 7th, and 9th all play across or along the same rise - without ever feeling repetitive. It's a genuinely fun, tightly wound piece of property, and that compactness is a real part of its charm: there are plenty of more famous names in the New York/New Jersey corridor, but few that pack this much movement into a walk this manageable. The Shot Options and Challenge are sharpest in the middle of the front nine and at the turn. The 7th is the hole most reviewers single out, a long two-shotter into a green that falls away on the far side, punishing anything hit even a touch too firm. The short 11th is the other anchor - a sub-150-yard par 3 with a green that slopes hard from front to back and a false front severe enough that several architecture writers call it Ross's best hole of its length anywhere. Both greens ask real questions of the approach and the putter, and both reward local knowledge over raw firepower, which is the mark of a good Ross short game test. The 12th is the hole most often pointed to as Plainfield's signature, a three-shotter split by a creek that was restored from what had become a pond - the kind of do-or-die risk-reward decision, particularly on the second shot, that this evaluation criteria rewards heavily under Shot Options. It's a worthy centerpiece for a course that otherwise leans on subtlety rather than obvious drama. Where the course loses some of its Layout Variety and Character is the 13th through 15th. That stretch exists because the club gave up its original 17th and 18th decades ago to make room for a driving range, and Ross reshuffled the back nine around the loss, with newly acquired land later reshaped again by Geoffrey Cornish in the 1960s. Built on the flattest ground on the property and without Ross's direct hand, the three holes read as a noticeably lower-energy interruption sandwiched between stretches that otherwise never stop moving - a fair criticism, and one that shows up consistently across the reviews I looked at rather than being an isolated gripe. Conditioning is excellent - firm, true surfaces and restored bunkering throughout, consistent with a club that has hosted The Barclays twice and has additional USGA championships lined up in the years ahead. The one real knock on Challenge at the championship level is length: even with several tees lengthened in the Hanse restoration, the overall yardage does not fully test the longest modern game without further extension, though that has little bearing on how the course plays for the membership day to day. Taken as a whole, Plainfield is a sporty, tightly-packed piece of ground with rolling terrain and genuinely interesting greens that let it hit well above its weight relative to some of its more decorated neighbors in the region."
Read More2026
Review
“This course played beautifully, firm and fast greens. The fairways were a little softer but still had roll. It is a traditional walking course with elevation changes and a variety of looks from the tee, with shot options."
Read More2026
Review
“This course played beautifully, firm and fast greens. The fairways were a little softer but still had roll. It is a traditional walking course with elevation changes and a variety of looks from the tee, with shot options."
Read More2026
Review
“The use of the land, the ridges, ups and downs is a really masterful layout class by Donald Ross. Green surfaces were very fair, more extreme on the shorter holes. Lot of uphill approaches make holes play longer."
Read More2025
Review
“A golf course I could play every day. Very fun and fair, while still challenging. A few crazy green complexes, and an interesting final two holes for a championship golf course, but overall a great place to play. Highly recommend getting out there if you can!"
Read More2025
Review
“One of my favorites. Glad I got to play it again after so many years. A course I could play every day - challenging, fair, fun, with the exception of a few greens/pin positions that seemed a bit "tricked out." Slightly weak final 2 holes would be my only real complaint for a championship golf course!"
Read More2025
Review
“We played Plainfield on a sunny summer afternoon. The course was quiet and we breezed through in 3.5 hours. I can see why PGA Tour events have been played there. The course is big and requires precision and length off the tee. If just a bit off, a few approach shots become untenable. The front is quite a bit easier than the back and fairly straightforward. The highlight being hole #3, a fantastic mid iron length par 3, that requires precision, as there is little room to bail out. We loved it. #1 is also a beautiful hole. One of the better opening holes I have played. The back 9 has more character, specifically holes #11 and #17. Both fantastic. Holes 13, 14, and 15 and extremely challenging. A lengthy par 5, followed by a monster of a par 4, then a 200+ yard par 3 that covers a large water hazard. The greens at Plainfield are quite large and the general rule of thumb is to keep the ball short of the hole."
Read More2025
Review
“Plainfield has some of the most visually interesting green complexes you will find in New Jersey. Upon first play it has the tendency to deceive your eye into believing that it is impossible to place an approach onto the proper section of the green, but with experience comes the realization that the slopes and undulations are playable and indeed rather interesting. The course tests all facets of your game and, based on the conditioning, can play as a brute if the rough length is high. The finishing stretch of 17-18 is out of character with the rest of the golf course (as are certain elements of 13-14-15) and is the only area of the course that does not put a smile on one's face for the entirety of the round. A great round if able to go and play."
Read More2025
Review
“The greens and fairways are truly unique, challenging and make the course a true test. Shot making is challenged by the green complexes."
Read More2025
Review
“Reminds me a lot of Old Town Club. Not a large area to work with. Expertly weaved through the property. conditioning was great. Tough to select the correct lines off of the tee. A course you can play over and over again without getting tired of it."
Read More2025
