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550 W.Country Club Drive
Cologne, NJ 08213
1-800-4STAR-GOLF
Alan B. Nichols
Golf Writer
Two quite different but equally stunning
layouts greet you at Blue Heron Pines Golf Club,
located just west of Absecon in the village of Cologne.
(Parkway exit 38).
Recently, the course was named among
the "Top Women Friendly" and "Top 100 Fairways
For Women" by Golf for Women Magazine; and
received a "4-Star" rating by Golf Digest.
Blue Heron Pines West is the area's first Stephen
Kay creation, which opened in 1993 to rave reviews. Atlantic
City Magazine named it the best 18-hole course at the
Jersey shore. Meandering through an ancient pine forest,
this parkland style course, which measures between 5053
and 6810 yards from five tee sets, also has abundant sand
and modest elevation changes with a few lakes thrown in.
The course will host the 2003 U.S.G.A. Public Links Championship.
The course’s best and toughest stretch
of holes is on the slightly better back 9 and begins with
#14, a 518-yard beauty requiring a carry over and a 100-yard
long waste bunker planted with native long grasses to
a slightly raised green. Many golfers could be undone
by this arguably controversial hole if they are not careful,
but once they’ve completed it, there is still more
challenge ahead. The 421-yard 15th is quite spectacular,
featuring an elevated green bordering a lake on the left;
a fairway marked by bunkers on the right that tempt players
to carry them (230 yards) to set up an easier approach
shot; and a right to left sloping fairway that will promote
overly hooked tee shots perilously close to or into the
water. A redan style long par 3 and long straight par
4 follow this gem, and the course finishes with reachable
par 5.
In Blue Heron Pines East, which
opened in 2000, designer Steve Smyers has created a links
style track that has all the earmarks of greatness. Its
wide open windswept and largely treeless environment is
reminiscent of the famous Scottish links. It is also very
spread out, winding hill and dale over 300 plus pristine
acres – a majestic, spatially opulent canvas.
Smyers, who apprenticed with Tom Fazio
and who was on the University of Florida golf team with
several former PGA stars, loves the open, rustic look,
as evidenced by some of his other courses, including Southern
Dunes near Orlando. At Blue Heron Pines, his intent was
to bring back the bump and run shot on a hard and fast
playing surface. His homage to the Scots is all over this
course, minus the gorse. Though not thick, the rough is
similar to the kind of rough you will encounter in the
Old Country, and the rolling, pitched fairways look as
if Smyers laid them down on the land just as he found
it. In fact, relatively little earth was moved to create
this masterpiece, which also has five tee markers ranging
from 5165 to 7221 yards.
The courses are the prize of a large
decidedly upscale residential and hospitality community
that will eventually include a hotel, elegant homes, and
rental suites. The backdrop of the front nine of the West
Course is already being modified by development. Each
course now sports two very large and graciously appointed
clubhouses, each with their own pro shop.
Blue Heron Pines is home to the prestigious
Golf Digest Schools – one of two locations for Golf
Digest in the Northeast. Both 2-Day and 3-Day school packages
are taught by Golf Digest Instructor Bob Lennon. For more
information, contact www.golfdigestschool.com.
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