NJWoodworker

Neshanic Valley is always fun to play. The course is generally in great shape except that some of the sand traps are a little lacking in sand. Otherwise, the greens, fairways, and tee boxes are all in excellent shape.

The course is pretty difficult - it plays long for the average golfer (10 - 20 handicap). Despite the length, I always enjoy playing the course.

Heron Glen is a beautiful golf course and is always in excellent condition. The layout is challenging but not to the point where it is frustrating for most players. There are a few holes that are really difficult, but if you are a high handicap player, you just need to play smart on those holes and eliminate pretty much any chance for a par on those holes.

My only complaint is that the starters at Heron Glen are not very friendly. For this time playing, I was a single paired with another single. Although we did not know each other, the started told us to share a cart and gave us no explanation for having to do so. We then noticed that a lot of players in groups behind us had singles in multiple carts. Very frustrating!!

Neshanic Valley is always a joy to play because of the layout and the conditions. It is pricey if you do not have a county card or do not get a "Hot Deal". However, it is worth occasionally paying the higher price.

I have played Fox Hollow several times and always find the conditions to be very good. The layout is very challenging; I have a handicap of 10 and always shoot in the mid to upper 80's at Fox Hollow. My one ongoing complaint about Fox Hollow is that several of the greens are unfair. All of the greens are fast and most slope quite a bit. I am used to fast greens and a lot of break, but these greens are different. I have often had really short putts - 1 to 3 feet - that miss and go 10 to 20 feet past the hole. It isn't just me - even members and others who play Fox Hollow all the time have this problem. In fact, there have been several times where someone just touches the ball and it rolls down the green and off the edge. So, when I play Fox Hollow, I just accept that I will have a lot of putts. The course is really hilly so you can get a lot of uphill, downhill, and sideways lies. Knowing the course really helps because there are a few holes where you can hit into the middle of the fairway and the ball rolls off the side. But, unlike the greens, the sloped fairways are not unfair - you just have to know where to hit your drive. Overall, Fox Hollow is worth playing, especially if you can get one of their lower priced tee times.

I have played Fox Hollow several times and always find the conditions to be very good. The layout is very challenging; I have a handicap of 10 and always shoot in the mid to upper 80's at Fox Hollow.

My one ongoing complaint about Fox Hollow is that several of the greens are unfair. All of the greens are fast and most slope quite a bit. I am used to fast greens and a lot of break, but these greens are different. I have often had really short putts - 1 to 3 feet - that miss and go 10 to 20 feet past the hole. It isn't just me - even members and others who play Fox Hollow all the time have this problem. In fact, there have been several times where someone just touches the ball and it rolls down the green and off the edge. So, when I play Fox Hollow, I just accept that I will have a lot of putts.

The course is really hilly so you can get a lot of uphill, downhill, and sideways lies. Knowing the course really helps because there are a few holes where you can hit into the middle of the fairway and the ball rolls off the side. But, unlike the greens, the sloped fairways can are not unfair - you just have to know where to hit your drive.

Overall, Fox Hollow is worth playing, especially if you can get one of their lower priced tee times.

Mattawang is a nice course, but not spectacular. The course is pretty challenging because it is long and many holes are tight because of trees and/or high grass in the rough.

The greens are really nice - soft for holding good chip shots and medium speed for putting. The fairways are good, softer than most municipal courses but not as soft as country club conditions. The rough is a problem - very patchy grass, not consistent.

Overall, a good course if you get a Hot Deal price through GolfNow.

Blue Mash has a challenging layout, especially on the back 9. The front 9 is fairly wide open with bunkers, mounds, and elevation changes creating the primary challenge. However, most holes on the back 9 are relatively tight because of water along the fairways or trees on both sides of the fairways.

The course has an excellent mix of short and long holes. The short holes are not easy - well placed sand traps and slight (or severe) doglegs. The long holes are challenging because of numerous hazards (water, sand traps, trees, etc.) as well as the length.

The course is a good challenge for players of all abilities

The River Marsh Golf Club is a fantastic course. The golf course is in great condition except that some of the tee boxes need to recover from too many divots.

The layout is challenging because there is water lining the side of many holes and marsh land strategically placed across many fairways. However, the fairways are fairly wide so only strong slices of hooks will generally find major trouble.

The course is women friendly because the you never have to carry across marsh land off the red (carry across marsh land is still required in many fairways).

We will definitely play River Marsh again!!!

The South/West course at Compass Pointe is a nice layout. The front 9 (South) is much easier than the back 9 (West). On the front, the primary challenge is that most fairways have trees on both sides. However, the fairways are wide so the trees are not a real problem. The back 9 has tighter fairways and some holes with water in play.

The course conditions are pretty good, but the greens are really inconsistent - some major patches of bare ground and many bumpy greens.

We will play this course again - especially if the greens are improved.

Fox Hollow is a pretty challenging course. The hills and slopes can really have an effect on your round. Also, several of the greens are severely sloped so, if the grass is cut really short, putted balls easily roll of the green..

The course is always in great condition, except I do have minor complaints about the tee boxes and bunkers and a major complaint about the pace of play.

It is difficult to find a level location on some tee boxes. However, the condition of the tee boxes (that is, the grass) is excellent. They just need to regrade some of the tees.

The sand in the bunkers is a little rough - not dirt, but certainly not fine grain sand. It is more like really small pebbles and I get concerned that my clubs could be ruined hitting from the bunkers.

The pace of play can be horrible. When I last played, there were several 4-somes of older men in front of me (I am in my 60's so this is not a complaint of someone really young). I was a single, but they would not let me play through. I skipped a few holes to get in front of them and then played the skipped holes after finishing my round. I have encountered this before - and at least during the week, there is no ranger to make sure people observe good golf etiquette.

Hopewell Valley is in great shape and when I played it, it was nearly empty. It is not a difficult course - many of the holes are straight and there only a few holes with woods along the edge. But, the rolling nature of the land as well as the strategic placement of trees and bunkers forces you to hit pretty straight.

Hopewell Valley is an old-style country club with a golf course, tennis courts, swimming pool, and clubhouse. They must be struggling financially because they are offering good prices for the general public to play a country club quality course.

I have wanted to play Neshanic Valley since it opened, but always balked at the price. However, I was able to get a $28 GolfNow Hot Deal so jumped on it. I am glad I did because the course is in excellent shape and well worth playing.

The fairways, greens, tee boxes, and grass in the rough are all equal to country club conditions. My only (minor) complaint about the condition of the course is that the bunkers are not on par with everything else. It had rained the day before and many bunkers were muddy. Furthermore, even dry spots in some bunkers were more dirt than sand. However, several bunkers were really nice. Overall, the bunkers have an inconsistent quality.

The course is a nice challenging layout, but not extremely difficult. Many of the fairways are pretty wide, but primarily on the longer holes. Fairway and greenside bunkers are strategically located to make it important to have an accurate tee shot (and 2nd shot on par 5's). The rough is very playable, but many holes have high fescue grass not far off the fairway - if you hit it in the fescue, you have a lost ball.

Now that I have played once, I will definitely play Neshanic Valley again.

Mattawang is a challenging, well maintained public course.

The course is very long, especially for women, and some holes on the back nine are tight. Only 1 hole has a water hazard, but there are sand traps at every green and a lot of deep rough requiring accurate tee shots and approach shots.

The greens are very soft so hold very well, but are also fast. The tees are pretty good - always grass, but sometimes a little sparse. The fairways are in good condition, not country club soft, but easy to hit the ground and take a divot (unlike many public courses that are too hard for divots).

Overall, a very good value when the price is below the stated price and a good value at stated greens fees and cart fees.

First the good. Apple Mountain is a nice layout - moderately challenging - in a beautiful setting.

The bad. The greens are inconsistent quality - some in very good shape but many that have major dead spots. The fairways are pretty poor - my lawn is better (and we do not water or treat our lawn). The tee boxes are atrocious - most have no grass and some have very little green (not even crab grass or weeds).

If you get the special GolfNow pricing at less than $20 including cart, it is worth playing. However, it is not worth paying full price.