Travel File : Atlantic City

Golf Digest, May, 2001 by Matthew Rudy

Atlantic City and Las Vegas are the most recognized spots in America where you can legally place a bet, but nobody would ever confuse the two.

The down-at-the-heels Atlantic City Boardwalk and its 1970s-era casinos can't match the glitz of the Vegas Strip. Celebrity chefs like Emeril Lagasse and Wolfgang Puck have opened signature restaurants in Las Vegas, while Atlantic City is known more for places like the White House Sub Shop, a legendarily gritty sandwich joint. And getting there? You can catch a flight to Las Vegas from just about any major airport. Atlantic City is more easily reached by bus, car or train.

Nevertheless, when it comes to golf, Atlantic City offers things Vegas can't--namely, a sense of history, great topography and proximity to the ocean.

The Pine Barrens region of New Jersey was a year-round vacation destination long before Las Vegas was a figment of Bugsy Siegel's imagination. Golfers have been making trips here since 1914, when the Donald Ross-designed Seaview Country Club opened just up the coast from the famous Boardwalk. Sam Snead won the 1942 PGA Championship at Seaview, and the resort expanded to 36 holes in 1957. Ross' Bay Course (which has commanding views of Atlantic City and the ocean) and the Pines Course across the street have never been in better shape.

The landscape and climate between Atlantic City and Philadelphia (a 50-mile jaunt down the White Horse Pike, Black Horse Pike or Atlantic City Expressway) is perfect for golf--a combination of pine trees, sandy soil, mild temperatures and sea breezes. World-renowned Pine Valley is the template for a handful of new upscale daily-fee courses an hour's drive from A.C. Even though many of them seem to have been named by the same marketing committee--Pine Barrens, Sand Barrens, Blue Heron Pines, Harbor Pines--each offers a unique experience. And the green fees are reasonable. Other than peak seasons and times, you will rarely pay more than $100 for a round at even the highest-end places. Try spending less than a C-note to tee it up in Vegas.

Straight flush

Seaview Marriott Resort
Absecon.
.... Bay Course
.... Pines Course
$49-$139 (609-748-7680).

The Bay Course, site of the ShopRite LPGA Classic, plays like the Donald Ross charmer it is--an open layout with not much trouble off the tee but wicked, sloping greens that punish if you come in on the wrong side. The Pines is immaculately groomed and tightly lined with beautiful old-growth trees.

Sand Barrens Golf Club
Swainton.
.... North/West
.... South/North
.... South/West
$42-$110 (609-465-3555).

GOLF DIGEST has called Sand Barrens "a poor man's Pine Valley." This 27-hole collection (complete with 18,000-square-foot clubhouse) doesn't shrink from the comparison.

The coolest hole might be No. 9 North, a 183-yard par 3. From an elevated tee, you play over a water-filled chasm to a green guarded by more water. It's worth a click from the disposable camera. The fourth hole on the South nine actually has two greens--one that makes it play as a straightaway par 4, and another that turns it into a dogleg right. Regrettably, the superintendent, not you, picks the green.

Full house

Blue Heron Pines Golf Club
Galloway Township.
.... West Course,
East Course (new in May 2000)
$51-$130 (609-965-4653).

The West, designed by Stephen Kay and opened in 1993, is a festival of sand. The 14th hole, a 498-yard par 5, has a 90-yard-long waste area between landing areas that looks like the famous Hell's Half Acre at Pine Valley. Survive until 17 and you get to face 438 yards, uphill, to a green guarded by deep bunkers left and behind.

The East, designed by Steve Smyers, is more open and linksy, with rolling fairways and weird lies. Feeling frisky? This one plays 7,221 yards from the tips.

...11/42 Cape May National
$35-$85 (609-884-1563).

Off the beaten path on the southern tip of Jersey, this course winds through an arboretum and 50-acre bird sanctuary. Unlike most new upscale courses, there are no houses around to clutter the landscape. And the best comes last: On the picturesque, challenging 18th, water guards the entire left side of the hole and three sides of the green.

.... Harbor Pines Golf Club, Egg Harbor Township.
$55-$120 (609-927-0006).

You're more likely to see an alien landing in the parking lot than encounter a bad lie or spike mark on the greens at this eminently walkable course. As at Blue Heron, Stephen Kay uses sand generously, but with unobstructed views on every hole, you know what you're getting into. The 435-yard ninth is a challenge, with water left, woods right and deep bunkers guarding the green.

Pine Barrens Golf Club (unrated), Jackson.
$65-$112 (877-746-3227).

It's a bit of a hike to get here from Atlantic City (50 miles), but worth the drive. Developer-turned-architect Eric Bergstol built Pine Barrens as another unabashed Pine Valley tribute course, which isn't a bad thing when you consider that Pine Valley has been a perennial favorite in Golf Digest's list of America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses. Now in its second full season, Bergstol's course looks remarkably mature.