fowlhunter

A well below average, unpopular golf club in northern NJ, and not inexpensive. The course: 11 of 18 holes have a lot of elevation change, and several holes are fairly good, most notably 5, 10, and 12. Silly severe greens, which generally roll pretty good, are generally the course's main defense. This club is most well known for the very high-quality food, not the golf course.

Had heard good things about this place for years, and finally had the chance to play. WOW, was really impressed. Layout superb, as were conditions. Many very fine holes, with good balance of difficulty and fun. Only one semi-silly hole, a very short par 3 with a very severe green. Clubhouse somewhat understated, but very nice. Head Pro, Brad Nelson, couldn't have been more pleasant and helpful...a top notch country club pro. All in all, highly recommend; one of the very best I've played in the Phila metro area.

Plain, narrow, uninteresting front 9...about as bad as I've seen. Back 9 considerably better. Conditions were decent considering time of year. Lack of excellence left and right. As country clubs go in the area, this place is below par (!) , although for the money - "value" - it's OK.

By no means a "championship" layout, it is nevertheless a very decent golf course. At 6111 yards from the tips, this par 70 course (68.6, 130) is still moderately challenging given that water is in play on 13 holes. Minimal elevation change throughout the course. Greens were smooth and 10.5-ish in late Oct 2017. Single digit handicappers may find it too easy...all others will enjoy it.

The Forest course is one of three 18's at FE CC - other two are Meadow and River - and this one is clearly the most interesting. Generally a fairly open course off the tee, with greens that are moderately undulating and nothing too severe. Fairly heavy bunkering on fairways and greens. Moderate elevation changes, with pretty nice views - no houses anywhere to be seen. Only 3-4 OK holes, with the rest being superb, including the entire back nine. Three closing holes are really good. Have seen the greens average-above average most of the time...rarely are they great. NOTE: the Meadow and River are both pretty good also; back nine of Meadow (except 18) as good as Forest.

Really nice - really really nice - golf course. This is one of the very best in the country...its high ranking by the magazines is warranted. Greens may have been the best I've seen, both in terms of condition and design. Excellent balance of holes, with some nice elevation change.

A really solid golf course on an excellent piece of land...a great balance of challenge and fun. Highly recommend if you can get out for a round.

A lot of really nice looking holes, but boy is this a tight, compact course. Most reminds me of Merion in that it's not very meaty (Bethpage Black) and that there's trouble everywhere, including on and around the greens. I'd call it a little bit "tricky" (a little bit). But no doubt there are many very interesting holes, and the overall conditions are excellent. If you have good control of your golf ball off the tee and can hit it 225+, you'll enjoy a day at Mid Pines. Nice staff.

The really good: 1) the greens, 2) the layout, 3) the value (Aug 2016 - $29 including lunch and cart!) The not very good: 1) tees and fairways in below avg condition, 2) pace of play OK at best, 3) no beverage (I'm not a beer drinker) cart in summer! The pluses outweigh the negatives, so I definitely recommend.

Reasonably challenging, very enjoyable course. Staff pleasant and helpful.

Want to start by saying that I am hereby reviewing the golf course...not the total golf experience, which would include the clubhouse, the history (Ross, US Opens), the pro shop, the practice facilities, etc. So here we go: tee to green, quite good, esp. after the work done in '12 or '13...fair and playable. However, the greens are silly severe, primarily because they shave the slopes to encourage the ball to ran down, off, and away a significant distance. A great many players just cannot handle the contours...met a scratch golfer who, counting them all, shot 85. (I have a running bet with any of my friends who play it: I'll bet you can't get to within 10 shots of your handicap counting them all...no picking up and taking a double after you've just putted the ball off the green). Worth a play once for bucket list purposes, but just not worth the $ to me. Go play 7, 8, or 9(!), or Dormie or Mid South if the greens are rolling nice, at a fraction of the price of 2.

Real simple: excellent course, with great variety and roll of the land. Only minor complaint: when we played (in heat of July), greens were a bit slow (9-ish?), but rolled fine...conditions of fairways and tee boxes were excellent. Challenging but not unfair or killer tough. People very pleasant and helpful. Not a complaint at all because it's not important to me, but just an observation: no great clubhouse, locker room, or pro shop. Fair and reasonable price of <$100...very well worth it. Highly recommend for a 4 hour vacation if in the area.

Extraordinary Fazio layout over a gorgeous 200+ acres of rolling, moderately hilly land. Variety of holes, playability, scenic views, and overall aesthetics are superb. Augusta in mid April is not in any better shape...the greenskeeper team has clearly done an excellent job. I've had the good fortune to play many in the top 50 in the US, and this course is right there with the very best. The staff: couldn't have been more gracious, hospitable and welcoming; Theron and Chris ("Tank"!) are exceptional golf club professionals. I know I'm using a lot of superlatives here, but it really doesn't get any better than HN. Yesterday was one on the top 3 golfing experiences of my life. Highly, highly recommend.

Reviewed this course a year ago. Undoubtedly a very fine layout, as I said last year (nothing changed in that regard!). But the greens are clearly below average: slow and in very poor condition. Rumors in the area suggest that the place is having serious financial challenges and can't invest $ to get the greens improved. But what annoyed me most about this last outing was that the people in the pro shop said with a straight face that the place was in excellent shape, greens included. I deliberately asked about this the day before we played knowing of our issue last year. And then after the round, this was discussed with them, and the fancy footwork was nauseating...these people simply have no credibility. I would recommend only if they were offering a money back guarantee.

I've played them all in the Pinehurst area, and this is the king. Layout superb with excellent variety and roll of the land. Not killer tough but certainly has plenty of challenge...just enough for a fun round. Greens may be the best in the area, and that's saying a lot. Very pleasant staff, food way above average. Can't say enough about the course...I rate it ahead of Pebble, Shinnecock, and many others of that level of fame.

Love this place (with one exception...keep reading!). Extremely interesting layout, great variety and roll of the land. Very fair; good shots are rewarded. Entire back 9, with exception of #10, really great. Only one complaint: in heat (June-Sept) greens are very slow, perhaps 7 or 8. No good...they've been talking about re-surfacing them for 3+ years but apparently don't have the budget to make this badly needed improvement. Highly recommend, but only if the greens are rolling at least at a 9-10.

Now "Pinehurst #9", National Golf Club is simply superb. Only "complaint" for some might be that it's very difficult (e.g. holes #1 and 4)... a typical pre-1990 Nicklaus killer. But very much worth a play if in the area. Suggestion: skip #2 with its silly greens and play #9 at less than half the price.