Suneagles Golf Club (Eatontown, NJ; Tilly/1926): a photo tour (all holes up)

[Joe Bausch]

Recently Doug Braunsdorf arranged for a round at Suneagles Golf Club in Fort Monmouth, NJ.  Another GCA'er is the pro there, Chris Wegner.  Thanks to Chris for arranging our day, which was wonderful.

This article from last fall summarizes some of the recent history at SGC:

http://longbranch.patch.com/articles/suneagles-golf-course-could-reopen-next-week

Here is a thread from 2011 on SGC:

http://www.golfclubatlas.com/forum/index.php/topic,49678.0.html

Suneagles is semi-private now and it currently has a rather eclectic mix of golfers.  Doug and I were joined by a 30 year member of the club, while many others were your public golfers, many newbies, that have found a new home.  Walking is allowed any time and it was encouraging to see so many people lugging their bag or pulling a trolley.

I'll let Chris weign in on many of the details of changes to the course over the recent years.  I believe many of front nine greens have been redone recently, and I think a couple on the back.

The bones here are pretty good, even if I find the site to be fairly flat.  I'm really hopeful some of the bunkering will be brought back, as many neat ones are obscured or buried within trees.

Here is the current routing at SGC:



#1.  Par 4.  Fairly simple opener.



Tee view:



Approach shot view:



From the back of the green:



#2.  Par 3.



Tee view:



The middle bunker is short of the green:



From just over the green:



#3.  Par 4.



Tee view, where you can get a glimpse of a bunker right, outside of the tree line:



Here is a closer view of that bunker:



2nd shot view:



From short of the greenside bunker:



From just over the green:



More later.

[Peter Pallotta]

Thank you, Joe, I look forward to more; my type of course.

And btw, that's really an excellent/ideal way to lay out a photo tour, i.e. some general background/description, an aerial routing map, the holes as pictured on the scorecard, and then the actual photos.  Really, really well done - thanks Mr. Bausch!!

Peter

[Joe Bausch]

Thanks Peter.

Here is the original plans of Suneagles, courtesy of Phil Young:

[Joe Bausch]

#4.  Par 4

The hole diagram does not show the no longer maintained group of bunkers to the right.



Tee view:



A now grass bunker within the trees:



Approach shot view:



From just over the green:



#5.  Par 4.



Tee view (more maintained as grass bunkers right on this hole):



Approach shot view:



From the back of the left greenside bunker:



From the back of the green:



#6.  Par 4.  This hole heads back to the clubhouse.



Tee view:



Approach shot view:



You really need a sharp long bunker game at Suneagles.



From the back of the green.



More tomorrow morning.

[Doug Braunsdorf]

The one thing that can be noted, and may be evident from some of the photos, is the shape and size of the bunkering; many are longer, thinner, and more boomerang-shaped than other Tillinghast architecture (ex. WF). 

My information on the Master Plan is that it was created, but not executed, for lack of money. 

My understanding is the current operator is on a one-year lease, so there is no real incentive to make improvements to the course. 

There is a lot of closed-up Army housing on the second nine, adjacent to many holes.  We'll see shortly how some of the holes were changed to accommodate this.  Not sure, and I don't think anybody knows, what will become of the housing.

The clubhouse is a wonderful old Tudor style building, which was the original house on the property. 

I am not sure where the club would fit in with the rest of the county or golf market in the county, public and private courses considered.  Still, it's fun to play and would be better given some TLC.  However, it's not my place to be on a soapbox and point the finger at others.  We appreciated spending time with the member we played with, and appreciated the hospitality of Chris & Co. 

[Craig Disher]

With the exception of 8 and 13 the course routing looks unchanged from 1940. But oh those trees. Google maps shows so many of the original bunkers filled in and hidden behind tree walls.

[Joe Bausch]

Thanks for that 1940 aerial Craig.  It looks like by that year some tree planting was well underway.

The member we played with was quite knowledgeable and passionate about his course.  He has played there for 30 years.  It seemed to me by some of the distance greenside bunkers were from greens that some space could be recaptured.  He was confident no green space had been lost.  And maybe that is true in his time there. But compare some of the greens in the 1940 aerial above and this 2010 Google aerial and I'm fairly confident in my assertion.

[Craig Disher]

Joe - The 1940-era trees didn't seem to interfere with the bunkers - for example between 4 and 5. The trees on the right of the 4th fairway (in the photo) look to be about 20-30 years old. Such a simple restoration - take out all the trees there and re-fill the bunkers.

[Doug Braunsdorf]

Craig,

  My information was that when the Army bought the course in the 40s, they simply put some dirt in the bunkers.  Today, the playing surface in them is a mix of grass and dirt, the odd rock, depending on conditions.  You're absolutely right-just re-fill them. 

The road to the immediate west (Hope Rd, left side of the aerials) and the north (County Rt. 537, top of aerial) are reasonably busy roads, so it may make sense to have the trees there for safety, on the perimeters, similar to, say, Seaview Bay. 

The area between 4 and 5 has a lot of potential, I imagined if it was all maintained as a wide fairway.  I recall seeing the Master Plan shifted the #4 fairway a bit to the right, towards the bunkers.

There is some really good movement in the greens, but yes, they can be brought out to the sprinkler heads. 

11 is interesting, sort of a mirror image but same strategy as 2 Merion, play close to out of bounds for the best angle into the green. 

I'm still intrigued by the shape and scale of the architectural features here vs. other Tillinghast courses. 

[Joe Bausch]

#7.  Short, slightly downhill par 3.



Tee view:



From just right of the two-tiered green:



From just over the green:



#8.  Par 4.  This hole used to be much longer and the tee shot from a slightly different angle (see Craig's 1940 aerial).



Tee view, where most will lay up short of the angled creek:



Approach shot view:



From just over the green:



#9.  Par 4, slightly uphill and dogleg right.  I believe this green was located to the left maybe 30 yards not long ago.



Tee view, where most will lay up to a comfortable full short iron approach:



Approach view:



From just over the green:

[BVince]

Joe,

I played there frequently from 2000-01.  It really is a fun layout on landlocked property.  From looking at the pictures, the most significant modification to the course is renumbering the holes in which the routing appears to flow a little better.  When I played there, holes 5,6,7,8&9 are now 8,9,7,5&6 respectively.  From the aerials, it appears that this is a much better solution.

Also, course conditioning seems to have slipped especially in regards to the bunkering.  They appear to be softened and the facings are of less quality.  The bunker on the old number 9 (now hole 6) was extremely penal and deep.  That bunker appears that it was enlarged. 

BV

[Joe Bausch]

#10.  Par 4

I think with the addition of the housing, the 10th tee is in a different location now.



Some players will not hit driver here with the pond reachable.

Tee view:



Approach view:



From long and left of the green:



#11.  Par 5.



Tee view:



2nd shot view:



From short of the green:



From just over the green:



#12.  Par 4



Tee view:



Approach view:



From left of the green:



From just over the green:



More later.

[Chris Wegner]

First and foremost I want to thank Joe & Doug for coming out and visiting Suneagles.  The time and effort Joe puts into these course tours is phenomenal and one of the main reasons I am a member of GCA.

Suneagles has a neat history and some very interesting architecture.  I will try to answer some of the questions so far.

Doug is correct that a master plan for restoration was created in 2004 (Fine Golf Design of Allentown, PA) This is noted in a magazine article and on the Tillinghast Society website.

Magazine article:  http://www.finegolfdesign.com/suneagles.pdf
Link to Tillinghast Society article:  http://www.tillinghast.net/suneaglesrest.shtml

The announcing of the base closing in 2005 put an end to any hopes of the restoration plan occurring.

I am trying to compile a list of the changes since the course was purchased by the army in 1942.

Two significant modifications occurred in Suneagles history.
First was the building of Officer housing back in the late1940’s when the army first took over the property. The Officer housing in the center of the golf course forced the routing change of two holes.  The 13th hole changed significantly and the 10th tee was moved although the length of the hole remained relatively unchanged.

Additional barracks were also built on the land that once was the 8th tee and fairway.  These 15 additional buildings forced the rerouting of the 8th hole.

The golf course was also modified back in the 1990’s.  I am currently trying to determine the extent of the renovations and changes.  Memories of members differ slightly but the significant changes were as follows:
~6 Greens were rebuilt.
~Pond was installed on #10 meant to help resolve some drainage issues.
~Hole #8 saw extensive changes as the irrigation pond and parking lot were expanded forcing the moving of the tee. (the third time and this tee has been moved once more since then)

www.Historicaerials.com and the above routings show those changes very accurately.  

Information has been difficult to come by as when the facility was closed the buildings were emptied.  All old files, pictures pretty much nothing had been left.  When I first visited the property the Golf shop and offices consisted of furniture and walls.

Bryon is correct in mentioning the course has been rerouted (twice before, but we currently use the original routing).  

As a company we would love to undertake a complete bunker renovation process that would include fixing the now grass bunkers on holes #4, #5 and #6.  The sand is good but the bunker faces need to be fixed.  The length of our lease which ends in October makes undergoing major capital improvement projects difficult to justify.

Over the years many trees have been added to the property, some are very poorly placed and a tree removal program is sorely needed here to help recapture some of the width that Tillinghast originally intended.

We are currently focused on fixing drainage issues and keeping the course playable to allow golfers to enjoy this Tillinghast masterpiece.

I will continue to chime in as time allows.  Please feel free to ask any questions as I will try to find answers or even better yet come out and play.

We are currently designing a website www.suneaglesgc.com but in the short term you can find information at www.atlanticgolfmanagement.com

Thanks

[Joe Bausch]

Chris, thanks for the informative post.  I look forward to more from you later.  I'll be adding three more holes here soon.

[Joe Bausch]

#13.  Par 4.



I think this pretty good hole was better before the housing went in.

Tee view:



Approach view where a large bunker short is difficult to detect:



From just over the green:



#14.  Par 3.



Tee view:



From over the green:



#15.  Par 5.




Tee view:



2nd shot view:



Approach shot view:



From just over the green:

[Joe Bausch]

Let's finish up Suneagles today with three pretty good holes, IMO.

#16.  Par 4



Nice little uphill par 4 here.



From the left rough:



From just short of the green:



From the back of the green:



#17.  Par 3.



Tee view:



From the back of the green:



#18.  Par 5.



Tee view:



...would love to see these trees along the hazard fall down...



Some neat bunkering in need of some tlc here:



3rd shot view:



From just over the green:



I hope you enjoyed the tour.  Get out there and play Suneagles if you can, as Chris will treat you well!  Of course my wish is that a full restoration of the course might occur, but I'd settle for the place finding a new owner and little tweaks here and there.