Review: Old Bridge Golf Club (Part 1)

There were two golf courses I really wanted to see on my recent Garden State sojourn. I've already explained why Francis Byrne fell through, which made the round at Old Bridge Golf Club, located directly south of NYC across Raritan Bay, all the more urgent. I wasn't about to miss out on both golf courses I'd come for.

It's been 15 years since golf courses were being built at any reasonable rate in the United States, but the new developments have not been geographically well dispersed. Some states have seen lots of love, while others have seen very little. And unfortunately, the Northeast has, as a whole, been left behind. Plenty of restorations and renovations, to be sure, but very few genuinely new golf courses. Even Inness was previously a golf course, though it bears little, if any, resemblance to what came before.

Old Bridge is an exception. There was no golf course here before, it's brand new in every sense of the word, having opened in April 2024 to ... well, not much fanfare at all. It's not a golf course to capture attention; it's of modest length (just 6,500 yards) and was designed by a relative no-name. Stephen Kay is not exactly a household name in the golf course design business, though he is quite prolific in New Jersey. As a matter of fact, of the four New Jersey golf courses I've reviewed in the past few months, he had a hand in three of them (he designed Old Bridge and Architects, and oversaw the renovation of Hendricks Field). He also did McCullough's, which I reviewed way back in 2017. This is the first course of his where he was allowed a free hand, so let's find out how good Mr. Kay is when he's behind the wheel.

The first hole, a 360-yard par 4, is a distinctly mild and generous start to the round, at least on the tee shot. The fairway is wide, with two small bunkers left to threaten longer hitters. There's also a pond for the longest golfers, but that won't trouble most. A solid drive will leave a wedge second, and this is where things get a little trickier. While the green is large and guarded by just one small bunker, it is very undulating and separated into distinct sections. Find the wrong section of green and three putting becomes a very distinct possibility. 

The first hole.

Approaching the first green.

The first green.

The second hole is a short, if not quite drivable par 4 at 325 yards, but in sharp contrast to the previous hole, this fairway is narrow and staunchly defended by water, tall grass, and bunkers left along with more sand and forest right. Use driver and you have very little margin for error. Of course, laying up doesn't buy you more space, so I can't say driver is exactly the wrong play here, just unnecessary considering the hole's diminutive length. The green is medium sized and features far fewer rolls and section than the first, so if you do find the fairway with the tee shot, birdie is definitely achievable.

The second hole.

The second green.

The third hole is a short 150-yard par 3 playing to a large, undulating green separated into three distinct sections. Each one of those sections is protected by at least one of the three bunkers dotted around the green. Of course, you could play for the center of the green, but if you end up on the wrong section, two putting will be a tough task, just like on the first hole. Obviously, this is a pretty easy hole either way, but it's not a complete pushover and I will never complain about seeing short par 3s.

The third hole.

The third green.

The fourth hole marks the start of a six-hole stretch that weaves in and out of dense, freshly cut forest. This hole, a short 500-yard par 5 bends gently to the right between the tree lines and two fairway bunkers, one right to catch weak slices and one left to catch hooks. The fairway is pretty wide, which is nice because you do need to hit a solid driver in order to bring the green into view on the second shot. The next shot is gently downhill, with the green tucked into a little hollow about 30 yards behind a bunker. A long iron or fairway wood that just carries that third bunker will bound down nicely onto the green, which is again quite undulating.

The fourth hole.

Approaching the fourth green.

The fourth green.

The fifth hole is a mid-length par 4 that plays uphill to a fairway that's mostly blind, hidden away at the top of the hill out on the open section of the golf course. The hole is bunkerless, but with trees lurking close in driver may not be the automatic choice, though even a mediocre driver will reach the top of the hill, bringing the green into view on the second shot. The green itself is quite large, though there is a pond right to give some danger to the approach. Still, this is not a particularly complex hole.

The fifth hole.

Approaching the fifth green.

The fifth green.

The sixth hole, on the surface, is quite similar to the fourth: Both are par 5s of roughly similar length (this one is 520 yards), both are bounded by trees, and both play gently downhill as they curve off to the right. However, the tee shot here is much trickier, thanks to the narrower gap between the trees and the right-to-left tilt of the fairway. Basically, if you want to hit driver here and bring the green into reach with your second shot, you have to either clip the right trees or hit a fade to hold the fairway.

For those few who can pull that off, the green is medium sized and tucked behind a pair of small bunkers as it projects out into the forest. The rest of us will have to be content with a lay-up that flirts with some mounding about 75 yards short; from there you'll have the best angle to approach the flag. A pitch shot from the right side of the fairway will have to go directly over the bunkers, and that's a tough shot to pull off, especially with unplayable dense forest lurking so close behind.

The sixth hole.

Approaching the sixth green.

The sixth green.

The seventh hole is Old Bridge's first par 3, coming in at 195 yards. The website claims it's a reverse Redan, which I suppose I can vaguely see after the fact, particularly with the mounding left to kick balls in toward the green, but that wasn't the impression I got while playing the hole. While the green does have a front-left to back-right slope to it, it's also got some impressive internal undulations, including but not limited to a trough running through the middle. This is a very tough green to putt. It's a solid par 3, just not a Redan.

The seventh hole.

The seventh green.

The eighth hole is a fairly long par 4 at 425 yards that plays to a wide fairway carved through the forest. There are two bunkers left and the fairway itself is tilted quite sharply from right to left, with the right side particularly canted. To avoid a steeply hanging lie on the second shot, you do need to skirt the two bunkers. A solid drive will leave a short iron into the green, which is large, undulating, and set within a series of mounds, forming a punchbowl of sorts. Slight misses will bounce in toward the green, while bigger misses will be repelled, bounding away into trouble.

The eighth hole.

Approaching the eighth green.

The eighth green.

The ninth hole is 170 yards and is one of those "hit the green or else" sort of holes. The green is generous and not hugely complicated, but with water in front, sand left, and dense woods long, there's no room to miss on this par 3. Since the other par 3s are generally pretty kind and easy to play, I don't mind this one being tough.

The ninth hole.

The ninth green.

That's it for this week, next week we'll take a look at the back nine.