PINE VALLEY GOLF CLUB

Course Architect(s): George Arthur Crump & Harry S. Colt, Hugh Wilson, William Flynn, Perry Maxwell, Tom Fazio (1989-present).
Year Opened: 1918
Location: Pine Valley, New Jersey
Slope: 155. Rating: 76.6
Par: 70
Yardage: 7,181
Hole-by-Hole: 1 - Par 4 421 Yds    10 - Par 3 161 Yds
                      2 - Par 4 368 Yds    11 - Par 4 397 Yds
                      3 - Par 3 198 Yds    12 - Par 4 358 Yds
                      4 - Par 4 499 Yds    13 - Par 4 486 Yds
                      5 - Par 3 238 Yds    14 - Par 3 210 Yds
                      6 - Par 4 438 Yds    15 - Par 5 615 Yds
                      7 - Par 5 636 Yds    16 - Par 4 475 Yds
                      8 - Par 4 326 Yds    17 - Par 4 414 Yds
                      9 - Par 4 458 Yds    18 - Par 4 483 Yds
                      Par 35  3,582 Yds      Par 35  3,599 Yds

Awards Won: Ranked 1st Golf Magazine's Top-100 Courses in the World (2005-25),
            Ranked 1st Golf Digest's America's 100 Greatest Courses (1985-2000, 2017-2025),
            Ranked 1st Golf Connoisseur's 100 Most Prestigious Private Clubs in America (2006).

Key Events Held: Crump Cup (1922-present),
                 Walker Cup (1936, 1985),
                 Philadelphia Open (1923, 1941, 2002), Curtis Cup (2034), Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf (Gene Littler vs. Byron Nelson, 1962).

HISTORY: In 1913, 184 acres of the scruffy pinelands were purchased to build a golf  course (over  the years Pine Valley  would spread to 623 acres, of which 416 remain virgin woodland). George Crump was appointed chairman of the Greens Committee  and  it would be  his responsibility to  build the Pine Valley golf course. 

Crump  had never  designed a golf  course before but  he knew what he wanted  his golf  course to look like. He  didn't want any hole to be laid out parallel  to the next.  While playing one hole he didn't want to see any other hole.  Crump did  not want more than  two successive holes to play in the same direction, and he felt that a round of golf on his course should require every club  in the bag to complete.

Despite his strong opinions, Crump solicited the opinions  of many  noted golfers and architects for Pine Valley. H.S. Colt, an English  designer of  renown,  was  retained to  review  the  plans and  offer suggestions.  Some  of the  reviewers were  not so  encouraging. At first many called  Pine  Valley, destined  to be  regarded as the  greatest course in the United States, as "Crump's Folly."

The  expanse of sandy scrub pines was so unappealing that skeptics wondered if Crump  could even grow grass on it. To create Pine Valley, Crump had to direct the  removal  of over  22,000 stumps  that had  to be  pulled out with special steam-winches  and  horse-drawn cables because  dynamite only blew up the sand around  the stump.  Marshlands were drained, dams built and underbrush cleared away.  Crump built a bungalow along the 5th hole and oversaw construction.

The first  grass  seed went into the  ground in the fall  of 1913 and the first 11 holes  unofficially opened  for play  in February  1914. Crump  did more  than oversee  the  construction of Pine Valley,  he sacrificed much of his personal fortune  to its  creation. He sold his luxury hotel in Philadelphia and plowed as much as $275,000 of his money into Pine Valley.

Crump died in 1918 and only 14 of  the holes at Pine Valley were ready at the time and the final four holes - #12,  #13, #14, #15  - would be completed by other designers although his mark
remained  on  the final touches. Crump  never saw the completed masterpiece he created that is the best golf course in the history of America. The course was completed in 1922.

Since 1989, Pine Valley Golf Club member, none-other than Tom Fazio has been consulting architects at the course. Most of the work has been to make improvements to the course, such as tree removal, lengthening some of the holes and adding more sand, if that was possible.

Besides hosting the Crump Cup annually since 1922, Pine Valley has hosted a few main events, such as the 1936 and 1986 Walker Cups, which pits amateurs from the United States against Great Britian and Ireland.

The United States blanked GB&I, 9-0 in 1936, and 13-11 in 1985. Francis Quimet was the captain of the 1936 squad, while the late Jay Sigel captained the 85’ squad, which featured Davis Love III, Scott Verplank and Duffy Waldorf. The GB&I squad was led by Colin Montgomerie.

When Shell’s Wonderful World of Golf made its only visit to Pine Valley, Gene Littler and Byron Nelson squared off. Nelson carded a four-over 74 to defeat Littler by two shots. Littler made only two birdies all round, both on the last two holes.

COURSE REVIEW:  Some people debate  over which golf course is the finest in the land. It's  not  open to discussion -  Pine Valley Golf  Club is hands down the best course  in the United  States. When Crump designed the course, not only did he not  want to  see any other hole while  playing on any given hole, but he also designed a course with 18 different and distinct holes.

The  first  hole is  a dogleg right  par-4 which features  a 8,300 square foot green  that starts as an extension of the fairway and ends as a peninsula with sharp  fall offs on  all three sides. Most courses start you off with a simple hole,  not Pine Valley.  The first is rated as the third most difficult on the
course. 

The  next hole  is just  368 yards, but  it’s straight uphill to an unbelievably undulating green, making two-putting a miracle. Just a three-wood off  the tee is needed, but accuracy is key, due to the myriad of bunkers left and  right  of the fairway. A  short iron awaits,  but don't be fooled, as the
putting  surface is 38  yards deep and menacing. If possible, stay below the hole.

The third is a downhill par-3 with a green that features many challenging pin positions. The putting surface is  35-yards  long, but  is very  narrow with a  huge hogback, meandering from front  to back.  As is the case  on the par three's, sand surrounds the entire green. 

The par-four  fourth features the largest green on the course at 9,700 square  feet. The green itself follows the general slope of the land, which is from  front  to back. But,  getting to  the green is  not to be overlooked. An uphill,  tee shot  on this, the longest  par-four of the course is needed to a
two-tiered  landing  area. From there,  the approach  shot is downhill to this fairly square green.

The fifth hole tee box sits adjacent to the clubhouse and is  probably  one of the best  one shotters in  the world at 238 yards uphill. Even  the best players will need to use a fairway metal, but don't miss right, or you'll have no shot at par, let alone bogey. No bargain missing left either!

The sixth produces some interesting strategy. Depending upon how much you want to  cut  off the  dogleg right, a  player can be  left with  200 yards in or a simple  wedge.  But miss the fairly wide fairway  and a double-bogey, or worse, is likely. This  hole  is probably  the first  real chance  at birdie  on the course.

The flattest piece of land encompasses the seventh hole -- or what has been called Hell's Half Acre, which bisects the fairway from the 285 to the 380 yard mark. Another 58 yards have been added to this hole, which now reaches 636 yards from the back tees, making it longest  hole on  the course  and requires  both accuracy  and length. Two solid shots will leave a simple sand-wedge  to  somewhat tiny green,  making birdie  a real possibility.

The eighth hole  at 326 yards  is the  shortest par-four  on the  course, but features a sloping fairway to a choice of two greens, one of which is a mere 2,900 square feet.  A  fairway metal will  set up another wedge  to either green, but don't miss  the  putting surface,  as sand  will destroy you. 

Many believe that the ninth  is the best  par-four on the course. The hole also features two greens,
producing  different angles of play, with the most difficult and testing being the  left  surface. Your  tee shot must  be placed right  center to attack the green, but make sure to add another club, as your second will be uphill.

The  back nine starts with what someone might think is as a somewhat easy par-three at just 161 yards. Wrong, again. This is target golf at its best, as the green  is  surrounded by  sand and  more sand,  not to  mention the pot bunker fronting the surface called so appropriately, "Devil's A__ (rearend)." Just 29 yards in depth, the green, two-tiered, slopes severely from front to back with
many  subtle breaks,  making this hole anything but easy.

The 11th twists from left  to right on  this par-four, with the approach shot up a little valley to an  elevated  green.  Take advantage of the generous landing area off the tee, as a medium to short iron will remain. The  putting  surface  is  well  guarded,  so  don't  be disappointed  if you  miss the green. An up-and-down is possible, just as long as  you  don't miss the  green long.

The  12th hole is  a severe dogleg to the left,  featuring  the scrub brush  and sand all  along the left side and dense woods on the right. Although short,  feel free to use driver or three-metal to give yourself the best angle to the green. The putting surface is very narrow, but long, running from front to  back, dropping two-and-a-half  feet. If Pine Valley has such a thing as an easy  hole,  this is it.

In  contrast, one of  the most difficult holes on the inward  nine is the 13th, which has been stretched to 486 yards. The drive on this dogleg left is uphill to  a plateau with  a second shot to a large green guarded on the left side by Pine  Valley scrub. The putting surface is huge at 44 yards, so play right and move on. There is no shame in making bogey here.

Probably the easiest green on the course is at the par-three 14th, but hitting it is another story. This downhill hole features a pond in front with a beach-like  bunker surrounding the front and right of the green and a moat-like trap on  the left. Another  picturesque hole, the 14th tee box is 47-feet above the green  and usually  plays  into the  wind,  making club  selection  a key.  As mentioned  before, par is OK.

A classic three-shotter, the 15th is the second-longest hole  on  the course  at 616 yards.  Hugh Wilson, who  also finished the 13th, completed  this  hole to Crump's  specifications. Each shot gets progressively harder  and more exacting with the fairway starting off over 60 yards wide but narrowing  to less than 20 paces by the time one eventually reaches the green. The  putting  surface is elevated  with three  crowned areas around the edges, however  when the pin is in the middle, birdies can be made.

The 16th features a  lake  on the right side, leading  up to a 11,400 square foot green  with  severe undulations. A  drive of 200 yards  is needed to carry the sand abyss just to reach the fairway. After a successful tee ball, a medium to short iron is needed to hit the circular green, that slopes from back to front. One word of caution, do not miss right, as the water is only a few steps from the green.

What was once 338 yards from the back markers, is now 414 yards after a new tee box was added to increase the difficulty down the stretch. The 17th boasts a wide fairway that bends  to  the right, leading  up to an uphill and very small green surrounded  by a moat of a sabd.  The putting  surface is just 25-yards in depth, sloping severely from back  to  front.

The 18th  was a  perfect finishing hole  at 434 yards from the tips.  It has been lengthened to 483 yards. Your downhill  tee shot must carry well over 200 yards to the fairway which will then  leave  a mid-  to long-iron  to an uphill  11,000 square-foot green that slopes  from left to right. Missing the fairway will force the player to layup about 100 yards out, as rough, sand and water protect par.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Some  might  think that with  generous fairways Pine  Valley should be an easy mark.  However,  this course  features some  of the  most difficult greens and missing  a fairway will likely result in a bogey, if your lucky. This course is unique,  difficult, exciting  and exacting and will make you use every club in your  bag  and wishing you  had a few  extra. Every hole  and every green is a different  experience. 

There are  no two holes  alike and that  is one of the reasons  that makes  Pine  Valley so  special. Not  to  mention the  beautiful surroundings, set among the acres of pine forests, sand hills and wetlands. If there  is such  a thing as a final  destiny for golf, Pine Valley is it, hands down.

This is a round of golf, where you will remember each and every shot and a place where you can't wait to get back to. No matter what it takes or costs, you must play Pine Valley.