The Charlie Banks 9 at Montclair CC (NJ)

[NAF]

I got to play the Charlie Banks 9 at Montclair Country Club yesterday which was built in 1930..This is the last addition to the original 27 done by Donald Ross in 1919.  I assume all of the holes have been refurbished at somepoint by another architect (I think Rees Jones is a member there) but the only history I got on the club was with the member I played with.  I did play 6 holes of the first 9 done by Ross but 4 of them were played in dark/twilight conditions so I can't comment on them..All 4 nines are relatively short, I believe the course once hosted the US Amateur and the 2nd and 4th (Banks) nines were used..

In any event I have only played one Banks course before, Hackensack and let me begin by saying I thought the greens at Montclair were superior and more fun to play..Montclair has a reputation for roller-coaster greens that play very fast..and this adage held true..

On the Banks 9, what I liked:

1st hole 536yd Par 5 dogleg right, downhill..An eagle hole for those who can draw the corner..The green is the best part of the hole..Set in ampitheather setting with mounds surrounding the sunken green lies a severe two tier green divided by a spine in the middle..putting from the left side of the hole to the right is an adventure..3 putt is a likely outcome..

2nd Hole 454 yd downhill par 4...A stream 300yds down the chute looks reachable but it is a long long way away...After a good tee shot, you are left with 160-180yds to a doglegging left green where a shot that goes over the green leaves a near impossible recovery with the green sloping away..

3rd Hole..Hmmn, I stood on the tee and saw a Redan hole..I asked the member whether there was a back bunker..he said yes..I saw Redan but one thing was missing, the green tilt looked off..the length of the hole is perfect 217 tips, 195 mid tees and the angle right, but the green does not play nor look like a Redan hole..

7th Hole. A good *Short* hole..Looks like a mini version of the 5th at yale..167 tips/131 mid tees..Green has several subtle undulations and a 2 putt was a challenge.

9th hole..Good finishing hole 440yds..Tee shot over left edge of 220yd bunker..Green again is full of contour and you have to control speed and be firm here.

[Matt_Ward]

NAF: Good post on Montclair. Only one correction -- the 1st is a dogleg left down the hill.

The only other aspect I've always had with Montclair is the speed of the greens -- sometimes they are akin to the miniature greens you see down at the Shore. The Banks nine doesn't have that problem ... usually it's on the third nine.

[NAF]

You are right Matt!! sometimes I don't know my right from left from my right from wrong..

I should add Montclair is built into the first mountain (if you can call it that on the east coast) west of New York City and there are some pretty good views..The site reminded me of Plainfield..

[Patrick Mucci]

NAF,

How could you leave off the 4th hole, a great dogleg left, uphill to a great double tiered green.  Then the 5th dogleg right down hill to a neat green,  The 6th, uphill, short, nice green.  # 7 used to have a pronounced horseshoe ridge in the middle.

It's a terrific 9 holes of golf and none of the holes or greens have been modified in the last 45 years or more.  

My Dad used to caddy there as a boy, and so was I.  It's a tough walk.  Before carts, there were no out of shape members, and even when carts were first introduced, you had to have a doctors note to get one.

The new tennis courts ruined 4 holes on the
# 1 nine, 1,2,8, and 9.

[Matt_Ward]

The ultimate problem with Montclair (minus the Banks nine) is the savage nature of the greens. In the 1985 US Amateur I can remember players time and time again having balls roll backwards (i.e. like the 18th hole fiasco at The Olympic Club / re: 1998 US Open) on such holes as the 4th on the 2nd Nine and the 6th on the third nine.

Not too many years ago the USGA used to have sectional qualifying for the Open at Montclair and I can remember the likes of Bob Murphy, Mark O'Meara and a host of other top tour pros who played there. I can remember there comments were not that endearing.

Montclair has many fine holes (the Banks Course possesses the greatest array of them) but too much of the course is about tricky greens that really have no sense of proportion.

Just a humble opinion.

P.S. Agree with Pat. Walk Montclair and you have definitely earned it. The course features 300 feet of elevation change from the clubhouse all the way down to Pleasant Valley Way.

[NAF]

Pat,

You are spot on re: you comments..But I must admit I played #4-6 in a thunderstorm that initially made it seem like 9pm it was so dark and then the rains came and due to time considerations we had to rush thru those holes so I didnt get the best of looks at them unfortunately..The sun came out on the "Short" 7th.. In any event, I liked a great deal what I saw on this 9..Too bad Charlie didnt get to do 18 there...

[George_Bahto]

Whee Banks was hired they had just purchased the land he built his nine on. It was awful - as documented in their club history and in writing of his I found at Golf house. Rock - drainage - you name it and he had it and .... it rained most of the time during construction.

Overall, it is certainly their best nine. In the overall spectre of Banks is works I would call it sort of in the middle but remember he had to fit his none, somehow, into the the 3 Ross nines.

As Matt and others have suggested, the last three holes on the Ross nines are near ridiculous.

Banks' second hole is the best hole in the entire Montclair layout - it is one of his "moderate" versions of a road hole.

All that said, Montclair is a great golf course with a great history - the property is the problem there. They've done the best with what they had.

Beware of their treacherous greens.

[Matt_Ward]

George:

Excellent analysis.

Montclair offers a lot of fine things, but sad to say with the exception of the first three holes on #2 Nine the rest of the Ross holes are really a disappointment.

I give Rees Jones credit in trying to straighten out the mess on the #1 Nine. Although the new holes are merely mundane.

The Banks Nine (#4) has the best combination of holes. Each of them offers plenty of substance and character. Too bad "steam shovel" could not have had more land for his own complete 18.

Clearly, when you have property that is too hilly you have the very real possibility that shot values will be distorted. Or, in the case of Montclair, you have greens that only need wind mills, the clown's mouth and the loop to loop to be truly consistent.

The opinions of top pros who played Montclair several years ago during Open sectional qualifying could never be printed. They actually despised the course because they thought with few exceptions the bulk of the course was more gimmick than substance.

[George_Bahto]

Matt:   You know, the hilly thing really doesn't fly.  Banks did a great job at Essex County CC West course and did an even better job at Whipporwill - both really hilly sites.

If I can get at it, Matt, I'll E Mail you the quotes Banks wrote in American Golfer in 1930 - he wrote about 6 of the courses - relating to topography. Off the top of my head he spoke about Montclair, The Knoll, Whoppoorwill, the Oneck course at Westhampton CC (NLE).

send me your E Mail address (and bear with me for time) - the articles he wrote were great - lots of architectural stuff in about 7 articles - not bad for a guy who only worked with Raynor for about year

too bad Raynor didn't write anything down

GGB313@aol.com

About the pros talking about the Montclair greens:

My business was in Upper Montclair at the time and a lot of my customers were members at Montclair GC. I remember Snead being the most vocal (negatively) about the Montclair Greens.

The general consensus was that those greens were the most unfair they played.

Rees did a really good job getting the worse ones more playable - there were a couple that were impossible if you were above the hole - worse than Riv and worse than Crystal Downs!!

[Patrick_Mucci]

Matt,

Before the tennis courts and revisions, there were a lot of good Ross holes at Montclair.

# 3,4,6,7,8,9 on the first Nine,

# 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,9 on the second nine.

# 3,4,5,6,9 on the third nine.

Doug Tewell shot the low round in sectional qualifying for the USOPEN a few years ago.
As he stepped off the 36th green he said to me, "You USGA guys really had lousy pin positions on this course today, who set them ?"  I said, " Doug you must not be familiar with the traditions at Montclair.
The oldest member gets to set the pins for all important events, and today his seeing eye dog was sick and he had to do it by cane."

Doug said, "very funny"  I said, " Doug, you shot the medal, sign your scorecard and be on your way."  He laughed, briefly.

[Matt_Ward]

George: Thanks for the reply and I'm eager to see the stuff you mentioned. E-mail me at mattwardgolf@hotmail.com

Regarding the hills at Montclair versus that of the other sites you mentioned. I believe Ross used the hills in a fairly abrasive manner (primarily straight up or straight down) at Montclair.

Add severe undulations when cut to firm and fast speeds and you have "gotcha golf" not real golf. When balls roll back to your feet after going past the hole you have another game ... just don't call it golf (i.e. witness the speeds at #4 on #2 Nine and #6 on #3 Nine, for starters during the US Amateur and Open sectional qualifying.

Let's be honest it's been known for quite some time that the club was able to land the 1985 US Amateur because of connections to key people within the USGA. The course has few holes except #1,#2, and #3 on #2 Nine, in addition to the Banks Nine.

The former Essex County West had many superior holes (i.e. the old 7th before the hole was cut short, the demanding 12th and glorious 15th), to name just a few on today's Francis Bryne. These holes were weaved through an elevation change that flavored side-hill movement and depended upon the skill of the golfer to determine his actual playing line. When you pl;ay holes that are just straight uphill or downhill the role of shotmaking in my mind is diminished. Banks understood the existing Essex County / Francis Bryne / Montclair terrain was tough already without adding severe undulations as Ross did at many of Montclair's holes.

Ask most people who are really knowledgeable about Jersey golf and Montclair will not appear in their top 25 listing because you have greens on a number of holes that overstate their role in the totality of the design. I could play the Banks Nine at Montclair time after time -- I can't say the same with the other 27 holes.

Just a humble opinion ...

[George_Bahto]

Matt and others about Montclair GC:

After Ross took you down into the low lands on each of his 3 nines, he laid out the middle holes of each nine in the flatter areas. He then finished each nine by taking you back up the steep slopes of the hillside with 3 tough par 4s - I say tough because the approaches are blind from the fairway. I caddied there as a kid (man, that was long ago) - those holes are brutal just to walk never mind carrying a double.

Banks, on the other hand, dropped you down 200-feet lower than the tee on his nine with a par-5 (punchbowl) and continued with his version of a Road hole (a long par-4). To me, here is the beauty of what he did from there: He laid out his remaining holes, tacking you back up the hill gradually til you got to #9 which plays flat along the adjoining property line. You didn't have that haul up the hillside.

For anyone who has played the present Francis Byrne course and doesn't know, it was originally part of the a 36-hole layout of the Essex County CC (a private club, not a county course). The 15th hole on the Wesy course is a version of Raynor's Prize Dog-leg -  a very long par-4 - uphill tee shot - dog leg left to the green. Most good golfers need a long iron to a green that is "fish-hooked" even more to the left (sort of a Redan without a shoulder). This is (and was) easily the best hole on both courses.  Bobby Jones is reputed to have gotten a 14 on that hole in a great exhibition match in the 20s.  Someplace he listed what he considered the best 18 he ever played and he listed that as #15.

Any Ross fans out there that have heard of this list, please contact me. (GGB313@aol.com) - been looking for the article or list for years.

I played that course for 17-years as my home course.

For those who know that 15th hole: Banks (he designed the West course - they did ECCC East together) ..... Banks wanted to put diagonal bunkering in the tee-ball landing area - right at the crest of the hill where the fairway turns. He also wanted another set of 3 diagonal bunkers about 50 yards short of the green. Two diagonal carries - the essence pf the genre`.  I'm still trying to figure out if they ever were put in - the club had gotten very frugal by the time he was working on the second course.  Even without the two sets of diagonals in the fairway it was and is, again to me, one of the better par-4s in NJ.

[Matt_Ward]

George:

Great post and insightful comments. The genuis of Banks is clear to see at Montclair and the inability of Ross to deal with holes that went straight downhill and uphill is also clear. I agree George the uphill holes at Montclair's #2 & #3 nines are diffcult but more so for the high handicap player who have few options.

It is so sad what has happened to the old Essex County West / now Francis Bryne course.

A couple of key holes (7th and 8th) were completely changed because of the desire of the private club to take part of that land for its own purposes. The 12th has remained relatively the same, but the 15th only contains bare recognition to its former self. I only wish I had the opportunity to play the old West Course when it was in its glory. I do remember the demands of the long par-3 2nd (comparable to the 17th at Forsgate / Banks, 13th at Knoll, 3rd at Hackensack) and the short but delightful par-4 4th hole!!!

Essex County government's take over of the site has made some improvements (drainage near the 16th) but the eviseration of bunkers, yardage and playing conditions are truly a case in point of neglect and all golfers are the losers. Banks must be crying in his grave.

[Patrick_Mucci]

George and Matt,

I played my first 18 hole round of golf at Essex County West in 1955-6.  Shot 124 with the three Cestone brothers, members of the Knoll.

Matt,

You and I have different opinions on the holes at Montclair.  Third nine, #'s 3,4,5,6, and 9 are good holes.  The first nine was ruined by the tennis courts but holes # 2,3,4 (the hardest hole of all 36),
5,6,7,8, and 9 were good holes.  On the second nine, holes # 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,, and 9 were good holes.

Bear in mind that todays green speeds have dramatically altered greens that were fair and fun to play.

Montclair was our home course in high school.
You saw every stance and lie possible, and if you weren't in good shape, the finishing holes wiped you out.

The course played long, in fact I think Bobby Jones called it the longest short course in America.  At par 70 it's a challenge.

George Bahto,

There was another course on the mountain between Montclair and Essex County, where the Essex Green shopping center now sits.
Who designed that course, and how good was it ?  How about Ferncliff and Teteboro ?

[Matt_Ward]

Pat:

Appeciate your comments as always, but from the time you played the ocurse as a young lad is not the same one today.

Montclair's greens have become "tricky." They are cut so close as to distort the proper role of putting. When putts roll back to your feet after reaching the hole you do not have real golf ... you have miniature golf / putt putt! There are too many greens where the word "fair" cannot be uttered reasonably.

I believe the routing that Banks took with the Fourth Nine is a great exmaple in how to deal with hilly terrain. I just don't see that quality with the Ross holes -- minus the exception I gave with the first three holes on #2 Nine.

We will likely debate this until the cows come home but Montclair, in my opinion, features a good number of Ross holes that make for difficulty for the high handicap player because of the sheer abruptness of the terrain. The course is able to punish the better player because of green speeds that defy gravity.

I can play the Banks Nine time after time. The Ross holes, with a few exceptions, just doesn't cut the mustard in my mind. Again, just a humble opinion.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Matt,

Those greens were never intended to putt at the current speeds, you can't blame
Ross for that.

The  conturing in the 9th green third nine and others is spectacular and shouldn't be diminished in value or unappreciated due to the club maintaining them at hyper-speed.

My brother is a member there, so I'm familiar with their pace.

With four nines, starting and finishing at the clubhouse, I don't think Ross did a bad job, especially if you understand that six-eight holes must pretty much parallel each other, the first and ninth holes of each nine.

how would you rout the first three nines?

[Matt_Ward]

Pat:

The straightforward answer is to look at how Banks handled the same type of terrain versus that of Ross.

Ross could have decided to work the holes in a sidehill like fashion to minimize the abruptness of the terrain -- both uphill and downhill. Ross did provide some elements of what I just mentioned with the 2nd hole on #3 Nine. The hole bends neatly to the right and you have to decide on the tee shot how much you wish to dare to cut.

As far as the putting greens are concerned I cannot fathom why they are kept at such improbable speeds. I saw the '85 Amateur firsthand and saw a good many player, including champion Sam Randolph and runner-up Peter Persons have balls roll back to their feet after just missing the hole. This wasn't just a one hole type thing -- it happened way too much! Such sillyness takes away from any serious discussion in my minds about the merits of the course. Given the realities of gravity why they are cut so low is beyond me.

When I see certain sections of greens set up as little tiers (a good example being the 9th hole on #3) I wonder what's the deal. Since the hole is identified as "Ross" it often is believed to be OK. If another modern designer did the same thing (i.e. like Dye did orinally at TPC in Florida) the sound of dissent would go through the roof.

Greens can be challenging, but in mind do not need to be abrasive or unfair. Couple that with Montclair's elevation changes and you have a course that is demanding for the high handicap player who has great difficulty in getting the ball airborne to the elevated targets and for the better player the speed of the greens is more of a "gotcha" type course.

If there was ever a course that could use a major modernization effort (minus any significant changes to the Banks Nine) it's Montclair.

It just proves that even though there are several fine Ross holes when you have the course layed out in such a fashion and when you have a few holes with greens that are nearly unputtable my overall reaction is at best ambivalence ... love the Banks Nine (recommend any serious architect study it to see how superior holes can be crafted on hilly terrain) and can barely stomach most of the Ross holes.

Just a humble opinion.

[Patrick_Mucci]

Matt,

I guess I didn't explain myself well enough.

When you have four (4) nines on a piece of property on one side of a hill, with the clubhouse at the top of the hill, and you want each nine to start and end at the clubhouse, you have a problem with the geometry of the holes.

The land isn't there to zig-zag four sets of nines, descending and ascending across the hill.  

Even your beloved Banks nine goes pretty straight down the hill from the high point to the low point in just two holes.
The first Nine took two to three holes, the second nine three holes and the third nine four holes.

The ascent took 3 holes on the first nine, three holes on the second nine and four holes on the third nine.

An important distinction is that the land is different on the first and fourth nine compared to the land on the second and third nine.

Should I closely examine Bank's first nine at Essex County East ?  Would Ross have done a better job in routing and hole design ?

Would you say that Ross's use of the stream at Montclair was poor, adequate or good ?

Remember, when Montclair was built, fairway irrigation systems didn't exist.

I'm a big Banks fan, but I think Montclair is better than you describe.  Placing the ball in the proper location off the tee and below the pin are paramount, and I think the bunkering is good.

I do think green speeds need to be dialed back to challenging but reasonable.

But, that's just my opinion.

[Matt_Ward]

Pat:

The #4 Nine at Montclair does indeed feature holes that go downhill (i.e. 2nd) and even has one that goes uphill directly (i.e. 7th).
But check out how Banks works his way down and up the slopes (1st, 4th, 5th, etc.). I also believe the par-3 3rd on #4 is a true classic often overlooked.

Let us say we will agree to disagree. I am at a loss to explain the disparity in the nines at Essex County. Banks did provide for a number of good holes (#7 thru #9) but the opening start is weak. Hey, who knows, maybe Ross would have done better at ECCC. But I also think you should consider that Banks might have done better than Ross with the rest of Montclair if he had the opportunity!

Pat, I like the stream placement, but Montclair is often extremely wet at the bottom of the hill. I can remember playing in previous springs and the ball was plugging after every tee shot. It's also amazing that a club that features high green speeds will go out of its way to often overwater fairways and tees. Interesting paradox.

But I will say this again, when you have holes that go directly uphill you will have problems for the high handicap player because of elevated approaches. Montclair grabs the better player with green speeds that border the absurd. Just ask the players Pat at the '85 Amateur and the Open sectionals.

When I play a course as straightforward and challenging as Garden City I look at Montclair and say "what happened here." I'd like to know how high you value Montclair in comparison to other Jersey courses. Is it top ten material??? Second ten material???

To me the affliction of Montclair is akin to what one sees at Alpine. Again, green speeds are at the root of the issue. Also, Alpine has the 10th hole which is beyond mere words.

Let the players succeed / fail because of the merits or lack thereof of their overall ability. Not through gravity mind games on the greens. I like a number of holes that Ross did at Montclair, but the greens need to be kept at a pace that rewards sound play. Many times it's nothing more than pot luck.

The bunkers are also good, but like many old courses it's time to reassess their placement to deal with modern technology. I credit Montclair in getting member Rees Jones to redesign a few of the holes on #1 Nine. I believe a number of fairway bunkers at Montclair are really cosmetic and not positioned to deal with today's game. That situation is not unique with just Montclair -- it's apparent at a number of other Jersey courses.

Just a humble opinion ...

[George_Bahto]

Matt & Patrick:

The first 6 greens at Essex County East are Ross greens that Banks (and Raynor) HAD to use - this dictated by the club. Thats why they look so weird compared to the greens on the rest of the two courses. Once the old Ross greens are identified, you can readily see where one guy's work ends and the other begins.

Banks greens beginning on the par-5 along the road (#7), the 8th and the entire back nine are excellent but lack any strong undulations - I think the club removed them.

Green on #9 is also a Ross green. Unfortunately the bunkering fronting the 9th hole was softened during a "modernization" - We won't delve into who did it. The original bunker was a killer.

There were also about 3 greens on the West course that Banks had to use in his work. The most noteable is that stupid green on hole #4 on the West course.  I think it wzs originall approached from a different angle that it is play now.

We had a complete bunker restoration project for the East go to committee where it is still tangled up.

[Matt_Ward]

George:

Did I read you correctly in saying that the greens Banks did at Essex County from #7, #8 and the rest of the back nine lack any real undulation.

Have you seen the 16th?

What about the 15th?

George, in "Golf Clubs of the MGA," Dr. Bill Quirin states that Tillinghast, Raynor and Banks were involved as course architects of Essex County CC. I never knew Ross was involved with the course.

Also, you mention the 9th at Essex County is a Ross green. Quirin states the 9th is a Tillie design that was kept within the design when Raynor was called upon by the club to design the course. After he passed away suddenly from pneumonia Charles Banks was called upon to complete the work.

I did check with "The Architects of Golf" (Whitten / Cornish) and they do state that Ross was involved with the East Course but they do not mention the role of Raynor and Banks.

What gives???

[Patrick_Mucci]

George Bahto,

Any info on the club (NLE) between Montclair and Essex County, in West Orange, where the Essex Green shoping center and houses now exist.

Also, what do I have to do to visit Stonebridge tomorrow morning, and can  you give me directions.

Thanks.

[George_Bahto]

PaTRICK:

You "axed":  Any info on the club (NLE) between Montclair and Essex County, in West Orange, where the Essex Green shoping center and houses now exist.

That was what we called "Goat Hill" - believe it or not (and you had better believe it    :-)  ....) that course was the origin of Mountain Ridge CC - I have an old aerial that shows ECCC, Rock Spring, that course and I think Montclair is also on it.  I'll look at it again tonite sometime.

Stonebridge is easy.  Take LIE (for those of you not from the NY, NJ, CT metro area - that's Long Island Expressway .... why do they call it an expressway!!!???)  ... anyhow, take LIE to exit 57, the Vets Highway - Rt 454) - instead of heading south like you would go the NGLA, go North for about a mile. The course is at the juction of rts 454 & 347 (very dangerous intersection). It is on your right just after the intersection.

See Kevin Beatty, the pro.

[George_Bahto]

Matt: sorry - substitute everywhere I said Ross with Tilly.

About the double plateau green at ECCC: The green itself is split into three levels, so yes the green is undulating in that respect. Unfortunatly I sort of regard each of the plateaux as separate and what I really meant to say is that each of them have little undulation.

The 15th at Essex County is a slightly angled version of a Biarritz - a really unique one, for it is the only one like it I have ever seen (and I thinkl I've only missed about 6). The hole was/is 220-yards from the back and the green is turned like a right to left Redan (no right shoulder). There are just remnants of the original bunkering along the left approach.  There were four "stepped bunkers" that had to be crossed (diagonally) by everyone enroute to the green. I want to put them all put back in as original - we'll see!

As Biarritz' go, Essex County's to me, is relatively moderate.

I spent a lot of time at the ECCC course while measuring for the bunker renovation and such and at the end of the day I usually went looking for some interesting greens to putt on (while still there). Ended up most of the time going back to the Knoll, putting on #2, #4, #5, #12, #13 or #18- green, my usual late evening hangouts.

Matt: Essex County East is an enigma to me in some respects. See if you agree. To me there is not much of a bunkering challenge off the tee these days. The fairways are about 29-yards wide in most places and there is ample room off fairway in the rough on almost every applicable hole. The greenside bunkering is excellent but moast of the greens are very large and a good player would hiot a lot of the greens. Next: Again, to me, the greens are very "readable". I love the course with a passion!!!!!!!!!  They held the NJ Am there this year and considering what I have said above, the darn course still resisted low scoring!  Amazing.

That Biarritz at ECCC and Westhampton's are great examples of what Raynor, Banks and of course CB, would come up with that would be different than the norm, relative to the local topo.

[Matt_Ward]

George:

Thanks for the correction. We featured in The Jersey Golfer a pictorial and analysis on the 9th at Essex County and I checked the info with Dr. Quirin regarding Tillie's efforts. Thanks for your correction! If you would like a copy sent to you just e-mail Lowell Schmidt / Publisher at jerseygolfer@aol.com and tell him I asked him to send you a copy.

I also really like Essex County. Played the course on an invitation from key club members a little more than a month ago. Dr. Quirin, Dave Anderson of the NY Times and a few other members of the press were in attendance.

Essex leadership is quite proud they landed the US Women's Mid-Amateur in 05 (same year when Plainfield will host the Senior Open) and wanted to show off the course since they will be staging their first national championship.

I agree with you regarding bunkering at Essex County. Fairway bunkers really have no standing at the club today for good players. Always wondered why the club has not really done a major restoration -- particulary for the front nine.

To me the first two holes on Essex County are a major league let down for what is to come. The combination of holes from #3 thru #6 is OK, but the blood is never stirred. Until you arrive at the 7th do things begin to change. I agree with you about the greens but in some of beginning holes there is just enough subtle breaks to keep you from getting too frisky / aggressive.

I'd like to see the club make major changes on the front side. The only hole I would say not to touch is the 9th -- a delightful short par-3 that often gets second billing behind the 11th.

Essex County is just out of my personal top ten in the Garden State. Much of that has to do with the front nine which is woefully flat when compared to the stellar back. You mention about the recent NJ Amateur -- keep in mind the play from Jersey amateurs is not on par with that of national caliber players who frequent the USA amateur circuit. The course though still is vastly underrated by many people who are quick to give headlines to such overrated courses in my mind as Mountain Ridge and Canoe Brook / North.

The work by Banks is something many people fail to appreciate -- and I'm talking about people knowledgeable about golf in the Garden State. I wish the Knoll could be in better shape because it is a classic course. Still love the opening three holes -- what a start. And, I can't forget the superb closer!

I know many people laugh at me when I say the best nine holes in NJ may indeed be at Essex County -- and that includes PV!!!

I only wish the course would really once and for all do something about a number of holes ont he front side. It's a first rate course ... I'd give it a 6.5 on the Doak scale now and with meaningful correction to the front it could rise to an 8. I guess I'm dreaming that such a thing will ever come to pass.

One last thing George -- I was wondering how you would react to a GCA get together at Forsgate. Many people are also not familiar with the Banks Course and it might be a good opportunity for people to see what good things have been happening there. Incidentally, Jersey Golfer rated the Banks Course at Forsgate as #9 in NJ.

Any thoughts are always appreciated and most welcomed.

mw

Essex also needs to turn the water off in turns of achieving ideal firm and fast conditions. Friends of mine who played the course in the last 2-3 weeks mentioned they were takling veal cutlet sized divots even though there had been no rain for over a week! A sad situation indeed but one mirrored at too many Jersey clubs.

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