Ridgewood has been in the shadow of Baltusrol, Winged Foot and Bethpage Black for many years since those courses have hosted televised tournaments for some time.
Ridgewood is a terrific golf course, an underrated golf course.
Unfortunately the photos don't catch the elevation changes the contour and slope of the greens.
I think Ridgewood has the best set of par 5's found almost anywhere.
3 E, 2C, 4C, 4 W and 8W are fabulous par 5's with 4C probably being the weakest of a very, very strong group.
There's plenty of variety at Ridgewood with dogleg lefts, dogleg rights, straight, uphill, downhill, and the putting surfaces and surrounds are terrific.
Years ago, it was strictly a spring and fall course due to the dense surrounding canopy and the difficulties they had in maintaining the course in the summer. But, that's all changed now.
When most people play Ridgewood, they never see the real back tees like on 4W, 7W and 1E.
It's unfortunate that 2C can't be lengthened more.
It's a great par 5 for amateurs, but a new forward tee has been created to make it a par 4.
That's a hard green to hit with a wedge let alone a mid to long iron.
For years you could call Ridgewood a hidden gem, but, TV is going to change all of that.
For all the negatives associated with a course becoming a PGA Tour venue, the TV exposure and publicity sure help the membership waiting list.