Pine Valley Golf Club
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It has been suggested that Crump Cup be merged into this article or section. (Discuss) |
| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Pine Valley, New Jersey |
| Established | 1913 |
| Type | Private |
| Total holes | 18 |
| Designed by | George Arthur Crump |
| Par | 70 |
| Length | 6999 (championship tees) |
| Course rating | 75.2 |
Pine Valley Golf Club is a golf course in Pine Valley, New Jersey, Camden County, in southern New Jersey. It is currently ranked the number two course in Golf Digest's list of America's 100 greatest courses.[1]
Contents |
[edit] History
Pine Valley was founded in 1913 by a group of amateur golfers from Philadelphia. They purchased 184 acres (0.7 km²) of rolling, sandy ground deep in the pinelands of southern New Jersey, and gave George Arthur Crump, who knew the area from hunting expeditions, the opportunity to design the course. This was Crump's first and only golf course design, and he set himself some idiosyncratic principles: no hole should be laid out parallel to the next; no more than two consecutive holes should play in the same direction; and players shouldn't be able to see any hole other than the one they were playing. He also felt that a round of golf on his course should require a player to use every club in the bag.
The site was challenging and the project became something of an obsession for Crump, who sold his hotel in Philadelphia and ploughed his money into the course. Marshlands had to be drained and 22,000 tree stumps had to be pulled out with special steam-winches and horse-drawn cables. This was all done at a time when many golf courses were still built with minimal earth moving, and the course was called "Crump's Folly" by some. The first eleven holes opened unofficially in 1914, but when Crump died in 1918 four holes - #12, #13, #14, #15 - were incomplete.
Pine Valley later spread to 623 acres (2.5 km²), of which 416 acres (1.7 km²) remain virgin woodland. Since Crump's death, alterations have been made by several other leading golf course designers. The club also has a ten hole short course designed by Tom Fazio and Ernest Ransome III. It is a private club, and non-members can only play if invited and accompanied by a member. Two members were once suspended for charging guests $10,000 a round.
[edit] The Clubhouse
Although it is rich in golf tradition, the clubhouse is old, plain, and simple. The clubhouse consists of a small restaurant and bar with wooden ceilings and old leather chairs. There are pictures of Crump all over the clubhouse, as well as much history and antique golf memorabilia. Upstairs one finds the member's lockers and a small lounge.
[edit] The Course
Pine Valley Slope, Rating, and Yardage
| Tee | Slope | Rating | Yardage | Par |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | 155 | 75.2 | 6999 | 70 |
| Regular | 153 | 72.7 | 6532 | 70 |
Pine Valley Golf Club is praised for the consistent level of challenge and conditioning on each hole, requiring thoughtful placement of the ball from tee to green, and more specifically correct placement on approach shots to the green due to significant swales and undulations. Among its many accolades, Pine Valley has arguably the best collection of par fives and par threes in the world. The course prides itself in being one of the toughest challenges in all of golf, with a slope of 155 from the championship tees. Pine Valley's trademarks are the par three 5th hole, which requires a well-placed 220 yard slightly uphill drive over a lake into a small and sloped green, "Hell's half acre" (a barren wasteland on the par five 7th hole which is probably the largest non sea-side bunker in the world), "The devil's asshole" (an extremely deep bunker on the par three 10th hole), and the famous par four 18th, which incorporates many different elements of the golf course into a spectacular finishing hole.
- Yardage, slope and rating are accurate as of 8/2/07
[edit] Entrance
There are 2 entrances into pine valley. The most famous one is hidden on East Atlantic Ave behind the Clementon Lake Park. After passing the waterpark there is a road about 50 ft from the waterpark sign. Then, after making a left on that road (which is E Atlantic Ave) and following the road all the way to the dead end, there is a dirt parking lot and a rail road crossing on the right with the gate entrance. The other gate is mostly for people employed by the golf course hidden on East 3rd Avenue in Pine Hill.
[edit] Membership
Pine Valley Golf Club is a highly exclusive club. Membership is by invitation from the board of directors only. The only way a guest is allowed into the club is if they are invited by a member and accompanied by one. As of June 2009, Tiger Woods hadn't played there yet, although he has been invited.[citations needed]
[edit] Tournaments at Pine Valley
Although it is regarded as one of the greatest courses in the world, Pine Valley has not played host to any major professional golf tournaments, mostly because there is not enough room on the course to accommodate tens of thousands of spectators. The only time Pine Valley ever had mainstream exposure was a 1962 Shell's Wonderful World of Golf match between Gene Littler and Byron Nelson. The club does allow the public in for one day in late September every year to watch the Crump Cup, a nationally recognized tournament featuring elite Mid-Amateur players.[1]
Pine Valley also played host to the Walker Cup, an amateur competition between teams from the United States and Great Britain & Ireland, in 1936 and 1985.
[edit] Awards and Rankings
Pine Valley Awards and Rankings
| Year | Source | Award |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Golf Magazine | Best Golf Course in the United States |
| 2005 | Golf Week Magazine | Best (pre-1960) Golf Course in the United States |
| 2005 | Golf Magazine | Best Golf Course in the United States |
| 2006 | Golf Digest Magazine | Best Golf Course in New Jersey |
| 2006 | Golf Digest Magazine | Best Public and Private Golf Course in the United States |
| 2006 | Golf Digest Magazine | Second Best (pre-1960) Golf Course in the United States |
| 2007 | Golf Digest Magazine | Best Golf Course in the United States |
| 2007 | Golf Magazine | Best Golf Course in the World |
[edit] References
- ^ America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses/2008-09: America's 100 Greatest: golfdigest.com
- ^ Pine Valley Golf Club | Pine Valley Golf Course
[edit] External links
- Golf Club Atlas - a well illustrated course guide
- Aerial photos
