eagle oaks Golf & Country Club
By Chris Mavros, www.Golfadelphia.com
6,589 yards, 130 slope from the Gray Tees
Eagle Oaks is in Farmingdale, New Jersey, which is the golf rich area of Central Jersey near the coast. Formerly known as Shore Oaks Golf Club, the course was designed by Johnny Miller and Jack Nicklaus, opening in 1989. I mention this area because Eagle Oaks is yet another course around here I had never heard of before last season yet came away impressed after playing it. The club enjoys a bit of anonymity and with a membership that includes professional athletes, celebrities and politicians, they are probably ok with it. As you pass through the gates, the grandiose Colonial style clubhouse comes into view, along with the immaculate landscaping and facilities that comprise the club. It doesn’t take long to appreciate the sensory overload of first rate amenities and I wouldn’t be surprised if a member decides to forgo a round every now and then to simply enjoy the setting. The well groomed driving range awaited and as we hit the perfect condition golf balls to the perfect condition range fairway, that sense of bliss came flooding in.
I call it the pre-round build up. It’s certainly part of the experience and something golfers oftentimes remember and will talk about. There’s a lot of variations of it. There’s the spartan surprise; essentially underwhelming facilities and a fantastic course. There’s the largest house on the block; that’s when the clubhouse/practice facilities/pool, etc. are grossly disproportionate to the crappy golf course that is usually seen as an obligatory appendage to the whole operation, this usually happens at wedding crazed venues. There’s the lipstick on a pig, which is more about conditioning than anything else and self explanatory. I could go on, but alas, it’s worth mentioning one more; the “nailed it.” That’s when the pre-round experience fits in nicely with the tenor of the course and adds to its character appropriately.
All of this comes down to the same question – what about the course?
So as I literally could have walked right back into that clubhouse after hitting balls, sunk right into one of those leather couches and watched whatever tournament was on that week, Bloody Mary in hand, and been as happy as a clam, I started to wonder. Let’s see the course.
The course was a collaboration between Johnny Miller and Jack Nicklaus, the only such course of its kind. While I’ve played plenty of Nicklaus designed courses, I had yet to play anything by Johnny. Unlike the hoards out there that bemoan Johnny as an announcer, I always liked him. He’s analytical, would do a ton of research beforehand and was able to provide insightful succinct commentary. He was straight forward and his directness was refreshing amongst the avalanche of fluff that we get with most mainstream golf content. Beyond all that, he was a brilliant golfer and his articles and other writings are really good. I also knew Johnny has an artistic side to him and was interested to see how that came out on the course. In all, he’s a pretty interesting guy who’s been through a lot. I’d put him up there as one of the underrated golf figures of our time.
This was evident back in 2013, at the U.S. Open at Merion. All of the past U.S. Open Champions gathered out near the First tee for about an hour before a photo opp and then retired into the clubhouse for dinner. Johnny was one of the guys everyone wanted to talk to, while other guys like Rory were away from the group completely, on his cell phone (it was a different time for him than what we see today). In particular, Jack and Arnie were relentless in bringing him in discussions and generally having him talk. Who knows what they were talking about, perhaps it was that course they designed together, a little over an hour away.
The U.S. Open Champions at Merion, including Johnny and Jack
Johnny and Arnie, arm in armWhile a certain degree of “championship” caliber is usually expected of Nicklaus courses, I was interested to see how the influence of Johnny would meld with that. The course is an expression of each of their distinct personalities, interwoven together in a cohesive theme. Strategy and freedom of shotmaking meets challenge and execution under pressure. All among a very balanced set of greens, almost where the both of them seemed to become unified. Set upon mostly flat wooded terrain in the Jersey wetlands, gentle mounding and slopes conspire with the natural hillocks, framed with fescue and water interlocking into play a comfortable amount. The back tees stretch things to 7,225 yards and it has hosted U.S. Open qualifiers, the New Jersey PGA Championship, The New Jersey State Amateur Championship, New Jersey State Mid-Am Championship, New Jersey Tournament of Champions and the New Jersey Four Ball Championship. There’s an ease that sets over you as the holes go on. While the challenge is there and certainly can confound even the most skilled among us, there’s a comprehensiveness of skill here so you know it’s a matter of time you’ll get to something right in your wheelhouse. And with enough flexibility in the design for a variety of plays, figuring out how to get around in the manner you see fit is likewise comforting. Of course, what might be most comforting of all is knowing that whatever happens out there, that couch, big screen and Bloody Mary will be waiting no matter what.
While I had promising rounds around this time, I had moved from desperation and anger to a more focused grinding search as far as my swing went. Those promising rounds were glimpses, previews, of what lay ahead. Things became clearer in terms of what I needed to change and it was a matter of getting there. No longer terrified about hitting the ball, I could improvise my way through a round and became much better at simply accepting bad shots, whether it was one or a series of them. This was the learning stage. My old swing was now way out of the rear view mirror and a new harbor awaited. When we would see land again was anybody’s guess... Read More Here
6,589 yards, 130 slope from the Gray Tees
Eagle Oaks is in Farmingdale, New Jersey, which is the golf rich area of Central Jersey near the coast. Formerly known as Shore Oaks Golf Club, the course was designed by Johnny Miller and Jack Nicklaus, opening in 1989. I mention this area because Eagle Oaks is yet another course around here I had never heard of before last season yet came away impressed after playing it. The club enjoys a bit of anonymity and with a membership that includes professional athletes, celebrities and politicians, they are probably ok with it. As you pass through the gates, the grandiose Colonial style clubhouse comes into view, along with the immaculate landscaping and facilities that comprise the club. It doesn’t take long to appreciate the sensory overload of first rate amenities and I wouldn’t be surprised if a member decides to forgo a round every now and then to simply enjoy the setting. The well groomed driving range awaited and as we hit the perfect condition golf balls to the perfect condition range fairway, that sense of bliss came flooding in.
I call it the pre-round build up. It’s certainly part of the experience and something golfers oftentimes remember and will talk about. There’s a lot of variations of it. There’s the spartan surprise; essentially underwhelming facilities and a fantastic course. There’s the largest house on the block; that’s when the clubhouse/practice facilities/pool, etc. are grossly disproportionate to the crappy golf course that is usually seen as an obligatory appendage to the whole operation, this usually happens at wedding crazed venues. There’s the lipstick on a pig, which is more about conditioning than anything else and self explanatory. I could go on, but alas, it’s worth mentioning one more; the “nailed it.” That’s when the pre-round experience fits in nicely with the tenor of the course and adds to its character appropriately.
All of this comes down to the same question – what about the course?
So as I literally could have walked right back into that clubhouse after hitting balls, sunk right into one of those leather couches and watched whatever tournament was on that week, Bloody Mary in hand, and been as happy as a clam, I started to wonder. Let’s see the course.
The course was a collaboration between Johnny Miller and Jack Nicklaus, the only such course of its kind. While I’ve played plenty of Nicklaus designed courses, I had yet to play anything by Johnny. Unlike the hoards out there that bemoan Johnny as an announcer, I always liked him. He’s analytical, would do a ton of research beforehand and was able to provide insightful succinct commentary. He was straight forward and his directness was refreshing amongst the avalanche of fluff that we get with most mainstream golf content. Beyond all that, he was a brilliant golfer and his articles and other writings are really good. I also knew Johnny has an artistic side to him and was interested to see how that came out on the course. In all, he’s a pretty interesting guy who’s been through a lot. I’d put him up there as one of the underrated golf figures of our time.
This was evident back in 2013, at the U.S. Open at Merion. All of the past U.S. Open Champions gathered out near the First tee for about an hour before a photo opp and then retired into the clubhouse for dinner. Johnny was one of the guys everyone wanted to talk to, while other guys like Rory were away from the group completely, on his cell phone (it was a different time for him than what we see today). In particular, Jack and Arnie were relentless in bringing him in discussions and generally having him talk. Who knows what they were talking about, perhaps it was that course they designed together, a little over an hour away.
The U.S. Open Champions at Merion, including Johnny and Jack
Johnny and Arnie, arm in armWhile a certain degree of “championship” caliber is usually expected of Nicklaus courses, I was interested to see how the influence of Johnny would meld with that. The course is an expression of each of their distinct personalities, interwoven together in a cohesive theme. Strategy and freedom of shotmaking meets challenge and execution under pressure. All among a very balanced set of greens, almost where the both of them seemed to become unified. Set upon mostly flat wooded terrain in the Jersey wetlands, gentle mounding and slopes conspire with the natural hillocks, framed with fescue and water interlocking into play a comfortable amount. The back tees stretch things to 7,225 yards and it has hosted U.S. Open qualifiers, the New Jersey PGA Championship, The New Jersey State Amateur Championship, New Jersey State Mid-Am Championship, New Jersey Tournament of Champions and the New Jersey Four Ball Championship. There’s an ease that sets over you as the holes go on. While the challenge is there and certainly can confound even the most skilled among us, there’s a comprehensiveness of skill here so you know it’s a matter of time you’ll get to something right in your wheelhouse. And with enough flexibility in the design for a variety of plays, figuring out how to get around in the manner you see fit is likewise comforting. Of course, what might be most comforting of all is knowing that whatever happens out there, that couch, big screen and Bloody Mary will be waiting no matter what.
While I had promising rounds around this time, I had moved from desperation and anger to a more focused grinding search as far as my swing went. Those promising rounds were glimpses, previews, of what lay ahead. Things became clearer in terms of what I needed to change and it was a matter of getting there. No longer terrified about hitting the ball, I could improvise my way through a round and became much better at simply accepting bad shots, whether it was one or a series of them. This was the learning stage. My old swing was now way out of the rear view mirror and a new harbor awaited. When we would see land again was anybody’s guess... Read More Here
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