Courtesy of Evan Schiller
Courtesy of Evan Schiller
Courtesy of Evan Schiller
Courtesy of Evan Schiller
Courtesy of Evan Schiller
Overview
Like No. 177 Bayonne Golf Club to the south, Liberty National Golf Club was a reclamation project, a super-expensive Superfund clean-up of New York harbor, replacing a putrid assortment of oil refineries and storage tanks with an intriguing combination of green grass and golden rough. By spreading 2 million cubic yards of fresh soil over the capped toxic wastes, architect Bob Cupp and pro-consultant Tom Kite started building something meant to be a major tournament venue. It has narrow bent-grass fairways, just 25 to 27 yards wide, and tiny, flawless bent-grass greens, averaging just 3,400 square feet. With several hundred mature hardwoods transplanted along the fairways, a couple of rock-lined streams edging greens and winding cart paths fashioned from brick, Liberty National looks like what Central Park might be if it were a golf course Liberty National sits just three miles southwest of the tip of Manhattan, so the views of the NYC skyline, and the Statue of Liberty, are tremendous.
About
Awards
Ranking history:
Second 100 Greatest: Ranked since 2019.
2023-'24 Ranking: 194th.
Previous Ranking: 197th.
Highest Ranking: 192nd, 2019-2020.
Best in State: Ranked in Top 10 in New Jersey from 2011-2018; Top 15 from 2009 & since 2019. Current Ranking: 12th.
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
“A stunning course with amazing views of New York harbor, the Statue of Liberty, the New York City skyline and Jersey City. You can spend all day staring at the views, just amazing. Built on former superfund site the course will visually amaze you at times. Other than some of the best courses in Ireland, the Monterey Peninsula or Scotland, it would be tough to find a more scenic course."
Read More2021
Review
“Very unique green design features with run-off collection areas and elevation around them. A lot of creativity is required and felt like the course was a second shot course needing to hit the right portion of the greens to have success. Course almost has a Shadow Creek vibe to it. You are amazed that a golf course with that type of vegetation sits on that property overlooking the Manhattan skyline."
Read More2021
Review
“Perhaps the best conditioned greens you will play—firm and fast on an everyday basis, and the condition of fairways rivals the greens. Green complexes require accuracy on approaches and every short game shot in your bag."
Read More2020
Review
“Liberty National's conditioning score is high because it has firm, fast & rolling fairways and receptive greens (even with a few recently redone greens!) and true rolling putts."
Read More2019
Review
“The course can get brutal in some places which strains the fun factor a little bit. But the views of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty are hypnotic. Very memorable. And one of the best self-service comfort stations which is encounterd twice during the round. A huge highlight of the round. And, great hard-working caddies who are enthusiastic help add to the good mood of the place."
Read More2018
Readers
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