Golfadelphia

6,549 yards, 137 slope from the Blues

The Oranges in New Jersey. They were named for William III of Orange, Stadtholder, of the Dutch Republic, who was king of England, Scotland and Ireland in late 1600’s. East of New York City and Newark, there is a lively public golf scene that should be regarded as one of the more substantial in the country. The hilly terrain provides dramatic ambience, which I’m sure attracted founding memberships and architects to plant their flags with the confidence great golf could be had upon it. This includes Mt. Pleasant, which is one of the larger hills in the Oranges. Essex County Country Club built 36 holes on the hill in the 1920’s, which were designed by Seth Raynor then constructed by Charles Banks. The eighteen holes that took up the lower portion of Mt. Pleasant was known as the West course. In the 1980’s, Essex County Country Club sold its West course to the township and retained the East course for itself. This was a boon to public golf, as now anyone was able to experience a Raynor/Banks design on some of the hilliest terrain they worked on. As is wont to happen, however, the course was in need of logistical upgrades and restorative work over the ensuing decades. Stephen Kay was retained and led such work, which was completed in 2023. Once again, the public golf scene flourished.

The course valiantly takes on the hills and there’s a nice mixture of template and original holes. The bunkering is done well and in the ideal strategic fashion Raynor and Banks learned from Macdonald. It’s every inch as good as some private Banks designed courses I have played and will only get better as the course continues to grow and settle in from the renovation. This includes the greens, which move tremendously and will only get better in time as they mature. A finer difference between private and public golf rests with green speed. In general, public golf tends to have slower green speeds to handle the higher traffic while private courses have faster greens for a variety of reasons. While higher green speeds run the risk of rendering the beautiful complexity of contours and slopes irrelevant, greens that are too slow take out all of the careful navigation of the topography so that putting becomes more a game of Croquet. I always view it as each set of greens out there has an ideal speed based on prevailing conditions that will make putting a game of skill and nerves while each undulation has strategic merit for every shot. The greens here would not need to be terrifyingly quick. In fact, I’m not sure they need a whole lot of speed. For that reason, I believe there’s a better chance of the green speeds becoming ideal here as a public course.

I arrived at Byrne last year very much in the weather we’re seeing as I write this now. The mornings are still winter, quickly becoming summer by mid-day, then plummet back to the winter once the sun begins to dip, so that we’re all moving around in various layers and coats continuously trying to situate. It’s moody weather but it always has promise for what’s to come soon ahead. I enjoy it. It lacks the hints of desolation that are baked into the late fall and that surge of warmth that hits in the early afternoon comes with simple appreciation for the here and now. I set forth to the hills of the Oranges.

The First is a 395 yard par 4 (from the Blues). “Road.” The round starts at the base of Mt. Pleasant and the tree configuration does its best to replicate the tee shot conundrum of the Road Hole at St. Andrews. Staying to the right brings the best approach angles in while those hedging to the left have limited space to do so. The green is much larger than the original though yet the movement still gives it that sense and precariousness while the greenside bunker is still no where anyone wants to be. It’s a nice opener that gets the golfer sharp early.

The Second is a 216 yard par 3. “Biarritz.” I can’t think of an earlier Biarritz appearance than here but things continue starting with a bang. A longer par 3 but the green is enormous and the swale is substantial. The green tilts to the right into the hillside, which may seem counterintuitive at first but is important to account for while putting.

The Third is a 405 yard par 4. “Punchbowl.” We start to head to the hills. The tee shot needs to carry Rahway River and avoid the bunker on the right. The approach is moderately uphill and visuals are a bit obscured with the contours. Just know of the left greenside bunker. It’s not much a punchbowl green as far as that goes but moves a lot more than it looks.

The Fourth is a 341 yard par 4. “Plateau.” The climb intensifies as the fairway dog legs to the left and heads further uphill. The tee shot becomes blind at the ridge but the right to left movement is powerful. The tree line in the distance should also be accounted for, as it will come into play if the tee shot is overdone. On the other side of those trees is Essex County Country Club, the courses bordering here and the Eighth. The right to left movement continues through the green, forcing approaches to favor the high right side and cover the front bunkers.

The Fifth is a 171 yard par 3. “Short.” Among the longer Short holes I’ve come across, the uphill adding to it. Bunkers are scattered at the front of the green, mostly on the left. It’s enough to compel an aerial shot into the green, which tilts from the rear left to the front right. Stay below the hole on the tee shot to best handle the strength of the hillside.

The Sixth is a 424 yard par 4. “Banks.” Hitting the other side of the ridge, the tee shot is downhill with a right to left cant. A sole fairway bunker on the right needs to be avoided. The tee shot will inevitably move left once it lands, leaving most shots off to the left of the green. The green is actually tilted left to right so while the approach will likely be from the left, the right side takes the most advantage of the green movement. The left greenside bunker is well below the green and a tough recovery back on, so one should do whatever possible to stay on the level of the green, even if it means ending up short.

The Seventh is a 347 yard par 4. “Regret.” Switching back up the hill, the cant is now a very strong left to right. Just like the hole prior, there is a single fairway bunker to contend with, this one is also on the high side yet left. The tee shot should account for the left to right movement and the bunker turns into a nice target. The green sits perpendicular to the fairway, with the lower right side fronted with a large bunker. The left rear is the only flat spot and just like the fairway, there will be inevitable roll to the right upon landing. I suppose the hole is full of regret, most of it has to be with golfers failing to aim far enough left.

The Eighth is a 387 yard par 4. “Eagle Rock.” The center bunker is the conundrum off the tee as the golfer needs to figure out how it shall play about it. It can be carried by the longer hitters, whom are rewarded with a boisterous roll out for a shorter approach in. There is room off to the left to play with, which opens up the green a bit more. In fact, any right-sided approach is unfavorable based on the right to left green movement. The green is the highlight here, which is multi-tiered, the front right side is high which sloughs into the lower left, which enjoys a bit more room. It’s one of the unique challenges of the course putting from one end to another.

The Ninth is a 440 yard par 4. “Westbound.” We now cascade all the way back down the hill the clubhouse. The fairway separates where at the left fairway bunker, a little bit of rough there and terracing to the lower portion. The golfer is inspired to launch away and get his ball as far down the fairway as possible. The green is a gargantuan rectangle moving back to front and a bit to the right. There’s plenty of room to miss, just not to the right. Take advantage of all the luxurious space to end the nine on all the right notes.

The front nine moves about the terrain well and includes a good deal of excitement where one needs to get in tune with the land very early on. I would rank them 9, 8, 1, 2, 4, 7, 5, 6, 3.

The back nine starts with the 392 yard par 4 Tenth. “Bottle.” Starting in the same direction as the First but higher up the hill, a large center bunker splits the fairway in two; the higher left and lower right. The golfer must decide upon which fairway to use at the tee. That decision all depends on preference. The right side enjoys a better angle into the green but the approach is mostly blind and coming up short means an edgy recovery from a put bunker on the very low side of the green. The left approach is more level but must much more delicately deal with left to right speed of the green. The spoiler alert is it’s a tough approach no matter what side you’re on. The green sits on its perch and defies the golfer to do his best.

The Eleventh is a 403 yard par 4. “Straights.” Switching back, the fairway moves slightly downhill to the green. The green tilts in the opposite direction than the fairway and rolls out a bit more since it’s below the fairway.

The Twelfth is a 437 yard par 4. “Long Climb.” We’re making our way back up the hill slowly but surely. As the hole name signifies, the climb here becomes more substantial. As a result, the hole plays much longer and the golfer uses every inch of its width. Anything beyond the fairway is likely dead. The right side drops off severely into the woods while the left side is just dense woods. At least this hole has the civility not to impose us with bunkers. The green is also of sufficient size to accommodate those approaches.

The Thirteenth is a 392 yard par 4. “Principal’s Nose.” Cresting the ridge, the tee shot is downhill and the longer hitters need to account for the principals nose bunker in the fairway. Mind the left to right cant as well off the tee. Pulling off the tee shot is paramount, as the approach should favor the higher left side while avoiding the front right bunker.

The Fourteenth is a 163 yard par 3. “Eden.” Heading downhill, the rear is still no good and the bunkering is done well enough. The green is wide yet not all that deep; the golfer must carry the bunkers about the front yet ensure his ball doesn’t have enough luster to move off the rear. Deftness of distance control is the bell call.

The Fifteenth is a 470 yard par 5. “Raynor’s Prize Dogleg.” The first par 5 of the round comes late but just as well. It’s on the shorter side as far as par 5’s go, moving across the hillside which gives it an overall right to left movement. It’s a dog leg left from the tee and getting to the high outside point of the turn ensures a clear approach in. As we have learned, the hillside imparts the strategic angle situation of needing to strive for the high side. This means the opposite lower side for the shot is preferable, which typically is guarded in some fashion. Here, there’s nothing on the left side once the initial bunker is cleared and coming in from the left enables the golfer to take advantage of the green movement and temper the speed of the roll.

The Sixteenth is a 425 yard par 4. “Rahway River View.” Just as we slowly climbed up the hill, we’re now making our way down in the same fashion. The tee shot is downhill and the longer among us should heed the river at the end of the fairway. The tee shot needs to clear the trees for the approach, which indeed carries Rahway River to the elevated tree on the other side. The green is large and just don’t miss to the left.

The Seventeenth is a 203 yard par 3. “Reverse Redan.” We start to head back home, with the starting holes off to our left. The green is set on a hill with the left to right movement towards the bunker on the lower right. To some extent, the defensive strategic fortification typical of the Redan is built into much of the course; go for the high point to account for the movement of the terrain once the ball lands. Here, it is the high left side that is ideal while shots more towards the rear will miss the bunker and fall down the hillside. I wouldn’t think of missing left.

The Eighteenth is a 539 yard par 5. “Executive Decision.” Rahway River runs with us on the left and we must move relatively straight down on the longest, and perhaps flattest, holes on the course. The bunkers near the green defend the longer hitters thinking of going for the green in two. Those that can clear the bunkers and get some where near the green on that second shot will be rewarded while those who end up in one of the bunkers will be suddenly scrambling. The green complex is welcoming and on the larger side, a fitting arena to close things out.

The back nine uses the hillside more horizontally than the front and has a couple par 5’s. There’s a smaller scale here, where finesse and accuracy are more pivotal and one of the best holes on the course is at the start. I would rank them 10, 17, 13, 18, 14, 16, 11, 12, 15.

Generally, the recent project at Byrne has enhanced the course and above all else, takes advantage of the hilly terrain early and often. There are some solid template holes, including the Biarritz, Bottle and Reverse Redan. The Short is likewise interesting and a great example of taking a bit of liberty to use the terrain movement and tee angles to impact some distinction to it. The greens are relatively straightforward in their tilting and movement without a lot of wild contouring or undulations deepening the challenge but this focuses on the terrain roll more than anything else. In the context of a public course, Byrne is a terrific balance. The golfer gets to play a well designed and historically significant course that doesn’t get bogged down in too much quirk or severity. The bunkering is well placed and efficient yet adds to the visuals nicely. In all, it’s a strong public course in the area and its model is one many others should look to.

Pro Shop/Clubhouse: A nice structure at the bottom of the hill with enough places to hang out before and after the round.

Practice area: There is no driving range but hitting bays, short game area and putting green.