The Union League of Philadelphia was looking for a home at the shore and had an agreement to purchase Wildwood CC a few years ago. When they saw the issues relating to the property given it's elevation and acreage they instead bought Sand Barrens , a twenty seven hole facility about 5 miles up the Garden State Parkway in Swainton, NJ.
It might be one of those times it worked out great for both sides. The Union League is doing a bang up job (Dana Fry) in transforming Sand Barrens into a special golf course and the Shore Club is figuring out how to make a fun, quirky golf course better. Let's stay on the Shore Club.
Tyler Rae , a young architect who apprenticed under Ron Pritchard has been helping the Shore Club with short and long term planning and it's going well. The property isn't real big and has some wetlands so what they are accomplishing is quite good. He came up with an innovative solution to enhance the 7th hole by moving the green fifty yards left and I really liked it. My playing partners didn't like it as much as me but perhaps it's because it's no longer a birdie hole
They are talking about changing the 11th and 12th also, which sounded very interesting. These holes have long been a thorn in the side for the course in that they don't fit the original design very well. The 12th particularly needs an overhaul as it's a short par five that too easy for the really good player and tough for the less talented. Moreover it's devoid of the charm of many of the other holes.
It's not the grand scale rebuild down the street at Union League but it's good. I'm frankly amazed at the commitment to golf happening in our little corner of the world down here. It seems all the top courses are upgrading, some extensively. Enjoying watching the progress and kudos to all the movers and shakers
p.s. forgot the unsung hero here, superintendent Doug Larsen is top notch and surely helps the process