Morris County Golf Club

[Frank Pasquale]

Has anyone played this NJ course?  Any thoughts on the course, advice, type of player it favors?  It will be hosting a US Mid-Am qualifier in a couple of weeks.

Thanks!

[Dean Paolucci]

Frank - I have played it a number of times.  It is a very fair test.  6250 from the Mens back tees.  Larger than average greens and very nice bunkering.  I suspect there will be nothing goofy in the set up.  A local club caddy will be your greatest asset.

http://www.morriscgc.com/

[Mike Sweeney]

It is very much the under the radar of Raynor courses. It has some great opening holes and some flatter sections on the back. If I remember, some great greens as you would expect. Very much a family club first with a very good golf course. On the Raynor trail, it may not be the first pick, but I would be shocked if a Raynor fan does not walk away with a very fun day.

My guess is the qualifiers will be good around and on the greens.

[Matt_Ward]

Frank:

A tale of three different courses -- the first six are rather short and fairly interesting holes. That's where you need to score.

The next six are first rate holes -- with the par-4 7th -- nicknamed "Big Ben" among the best par-4's in all of NJ IMHO.

The final six are somewhere between the likes of the first six and second six.

All in all, Morris County flies a good bit below the radar screen but any Raynor fan should by all means keep it on their "must" play list.

[mark chalfant]

Frank
if possible squeeze in a practice round. On many of the par fours, both short and long, if your drive is not placed just right, you can have some tough hanging lies to sloping or terraced greens.  In some cases tee shots that come to rest on the wrong quadrant of  the fairway leave  the golfer with a semi blind approach. Watch out on 1 and 11, as the greens slope from front to back.Lots of nuance here that  can make  a first round problematic.lots of character on this realtive short course. the green s are fun to  play but  no picnic

 good luck

[Patrick_Mucci]

Frank,

Mark gave you good advice, play a practice round.
If you don't, you'll regret it.

Good luck

[ed_getka]

I had the opportunity to walk part of this course a few winters ago and it has some really interesting holes with many of the usual Raynor holes fit into some land with nice movement to it. It would certainly take a couple of rounds to start to sort out the quirkier holes. A must play if the chance presents itself. More North Berwick than Shinnecock.

[Frank Pasquale]

Thanks for all the good advice.  Since I am not a bomber, and I liked other Raynor courses I have played, I am really looking forward to it.

I scheduled a practice round, and a caddie, so I have no excuses!

[ed_getka]

Frank,
   Please report on the course and let us know what you thought of it. Have fun.

[Frank Pasquale]

I played my round today, and was completely overmatched around the greens.  Some of it was a couple of hole locations, but most of it was between my ears.  Overall, a quirky but fun course.  Some of the fairways were like rollercoasters.

Some holes to note:
#1 Short opener, 345 with a blind approach to an angled green that slopes right to left and away from you, a front-left greenside bunker, and a left hole location today.

#4 394... even with a wedge in my hand, I could not get the ball onto that front right tabletop portion of the green where the hole was located.  It's very small!  I wonder how many players in the field were able to get it close on this hole.

#6 330... Another very precise approach required with a short club.  Cannot go long, as I can attest to, and also have to be careful about spinning the approach right off the front of the green.  

#13 197 (Redan) I can recall playing Redan holes at Shinnecock, Yale and Westhampton, but i have never seen one that slopes left to right, with bunkers right, like this one.  My partner and I walked away with a couple of routine two-putt pars, and our club caddies were trying to explain to us how rare that is for that hole.  A very severly sloping green.

#17 186 (Eden) Was the toughest green on the course for me during my practice round, and today.  So important to put the ball in the correct spot on the green.

#18 412... Strange angle off the tee, makes you think you are aiming into the right trees, only to find your ball in the middle of the fairway.  then a semi-blind, uphill approach, with a run up option, plus sideboards, makes the approach a fun shot.

I got beat up pretty badly around the greens today, but still enjoyed playing, so I guess that says something for this course.

[Matt_Ward]

Frank:

Be curious to your opinions on the "Big Ben" 7th hole and the dog-leg left 8th.

Thanks ...

[Frank Pasquale]

Matt,
It's very funny because in my practice round, I made an absolute mess of the 7th hole.  I was so frustrated, that in my notes for that hole, I simply put "easy birdie hole."  I figured that would loosen me up on the 7th tee in the qualifier.

In the qualifier, my drive got caught up in the right rough, so I had about 180 off a severe downslope.  A good drive down the middle really hits the slope that would be perfect for sleigh riding, and probably gets you another 50 or so yards.  I did like the approach though, as it allows you to run the ball up the left side of the green.  All in all, a wild hole, but not one of my favorites.

The drive on the 8th hole is awesome.  You have to trust that you have more room on the left than meets the eye.  I hit, for me, a perfect drive which left me about 150 from the center of the fairway.  What made the approach so much fun is that when you take your stance, you cannot see the flag... but, while standing over the ball, I stood up a bit and was able to see the top of the flag... it was very subtle, and pretty cool how the approach kinda plays with your pysche.

[Matt_Ward]

Frank:

The 7th at Morris County is one of the more entertaining and at times quirky / unpredictable holes you can play in all of Jersey from my years in the state.

The hole will not surrender easily and you need to get a bit of luck -- nothing wrong with that -- in playing it.

When the pin is cut tight to the front edge the hole becomes really demanding and you truly need to hit your approach shot more towards the back and putt back up the slope to the hole.

When you come off the first six holes -- most good players should be either even or under-par at that point. Step on the 7th tee and I have seen some w-i-l-d numbers posted on that unconventional but totally enchanting hole.

I share you thoughts on the 8th.

[Frank Pasquale]

Matt, OT, but I am curious to know what you think of Rockleigh Golf Course.  The BC Amateur will be there this Sunday.  Not exactly a major event, but a pretty strong field, with probably 10-15 guys who can win it.

[Matt_Ward]

Frank:

The Red & White nines at Rockleigh have improved somewhat over the years but it still gets hordes of play and as a result the turf can be a bit strained with all the foot traffic.

Rockleigh is likely the best of the Bergen County layout but that's frankly not saying much.

In all of New Jersey public golf -- the facilities in Bergen County would be hard pressed to make the top 50 courses in the Garden State IMHO.

P.S. What was the cut-off at Morris County and how many spots were available for the Mid-Am ?

[Frank Pasquale]

The field was supposed to be 125, but lots of no-shows - I am surprised considering it was for Bandon Dunes.  The tourney director said it happens every year for the Mid-am Qualifier, just the time of year.  7 spots were up for grabs.

Name
 Hometown
 Score
 
Jay Blumenfeld
 Parsippany, N.J.
 33-34 = 67
 
Peter Israel
 Venice, Calif.
 35-33 = 68
 
Allan Small
 Florham Park, N.J.
 35-34 = 69
 
Drew Panebianco
 Dresher, Pa.
 35-35 = 70
 
Brian Komline
 Morris Plains, N.J.
 34-36 = 70
 
Roger Hoit
 Summit, N.J.
 36-35 = 71
 
Albert Oh
 New York, N.Y.
 35-37 = 72*
 
~Alternates~
Name
 Hometown
 Score
 
(1) Brian Kramer
 Far Hills, N.J.
 37-35 = 72*
 
(2) Gregg Angelillo
 Hoboken, N.J.
 39-33 = 72*
 

[Doug Braunsdorf]

Frank:

Be curious to your opinions on the "Big Ben" 7th hole and the dog-leg left 8th.

Thanks ...

Matt-

  Whenever MCGC is mentioned, you always lean on the 7th hole.  There are 17 other holes to talk about.  We can hear about the 7th hole from any pedestrian magazine that says "Big Ben, blah, blah, blah"  You're local, and I feel you can provide more insight than this.

[Matt_Ward]

Doug:

Thanks but I have mentioned the rest of the holes a number of times when the course is spoken about. I really like the 7th hole there and rarely does anyone say anything about the course outside the immediate NYC metro area.

The 7th is located on terrain that likely would never be created for such a hole today. It would likely be deemed politically incorrect.

I do like the redan-like par-3 13th and the finishing stretch of holes is quite good.

Morris County lacks overall length because it has not been modernized / updated as so many other courses have.

For those looking to have fun and play with certain types of shot you don't hit too often -- Morris County is indeed entertaining.

Hope this helps ...