When I looked in my achieves recently, I was surprised to find I had never actually written much about my experience of playing Pine Valley Golf Club in New Jersey — generally regarded as the best golf course in the world. Well, that’s been rectified, as the FP Weekend has a large feature — complete with a photo — of my tour around Pine Valley.
Here’s a sample:
Rarely has something so world-renowned been hidden in such mundane surroundings. I’m driving down a narrow road in Clementon, New Jersey, in an SUV with two companions in the early morning light. To the left is a rundown amusement park, then some equally decrepit houses. There’s nothing to suggest a beautiful gem is nearby. A few kilometres further, amid a swarm of pine trees, we pull into a small laneway.
A security guard greets us, checks for our names and invites us in. We’ve just entered the grounds of Pine Valley Golf Club, widely considered the best golf course in the world.
That said, most people, even fervent golf fans, may not immediately recognize the name of the course. That’s not surprising. Pine Valley has never hosted aU.S. Open or a PGA Championship tournament. Sure, the best golfers in the world — Jack Nicklaus played it on his honeymoon while his new bride, Barbara, watched from the car — have tested the course, but quietly, on their own. Pine Valley, after all, is a private, mens-only club that doesn’t seek publicity. Greatness, it seems, doesn’t need a publicist.
The full story is here.





A bestselling author and award-winning columnist, Robert Thompson has been writing about business and sports, and particularly golf, for almost two decades. His reporting and commentary on golf has appeared in

In 1962 Gene Littler vs Byron Nelson in Shells Wonderful World of Golf match, I do believe they had to start over because the course was beating them to a pulp!!!
They were both so far over par they got a re-do……
http://www.stevewozeniak.com
Great story. I’m quite envious!
Food for thought.