Soldier Hill Golf Course

I am generally not very judgemental of the courses I play. But this course was the first I've experienced that was in such horrible shape that it really effected the round.

Fairways full of weeds. Rough made of weeds. There were several times I had to relocate my ball due an unplayable lie IN THE FAIRWAYS - including once due to dozens if huge miner wasps swarming around their underground homes all over the fairway of the 13th hole.

The 15th green is mostly sand, weeds, and burnt up ground. Also, the 16th green is under construction. It's unacceptable for a green to be under construction during the middle if July.

I'm not sure I'd play this course again if you offered to pay for me.

nice course in the middle of Bergen cty.
its a bit much 87.00 . Sun round was 5hrs., rangers should push pace of play....

Some narrow shoots to larger landing areas. Challenging dog legs made for a fun day. Greens were slow due to heavy rains of previous days. Some wet areas.

Nice course, very little water, pretty open.
Ranger keeps play moving
Not much water
Greens open
No really bad shots.

Midafternoon rate was good, actually out earlier than expected due to hot weather keeping golfers away. Long Par 4s which I liked however even balls in fairway were difficult to find. The ground swallowed my balls more than I liked!!! Watch out for falling tree limbs!

Dear GolfNow:

Re: Emerson Golf Course

I heard of this course a few years ago. I've had an image of it and have wanted to play it ever since.

Visually, the course wasn't how I'd envisioned it. It did not have quite the eye appeal I'd imagined.

At roughly 6400 yards, the mens standard tee box was a good 400 to 500 yards longer than what I normally play. That was fine. There were many narrow tree lined fairways, which added to the challenge.

The high rough was a fair penalty for missing the fairway. But I thought the frequently excessive fairway grass height made the course a bit unfair. It took longer than normal to find balls hit into the fairway. That resulted in pressure to keep up the pace of play. It was also frustrating to have to look for balls that should have been readily found when hit into the fairway. On 3-4 occassions I just took a drop and penalty stroke on balls I should have been able to find and hit from the fairway.

At the 19th hole my golfing buddy and I enjoyed a nice combo meal from the cook on duty. (I wish I could recall his name.)

All said, I was still glad to visit and play the course. I would consider coming back later in the season.

Sincerely,

Gdsunl, 7/9/13
[GolfNow customer, Friday 7/5/13 at 10:45am]

It was well maintained. Staff were friendly. Over all good course.

Expensive for a town course. Needs a lot of work greens were very slow. Pace of play was way to ;long and the ranger was useless.

Good course- greens need more attention- way too slow

I find this course to be enjoyable, though a little boring. The course is relatively flat and the par fours play long, so it can be challenging in that regard. This is a good course to "work on your swing", since there are not too many natural challenges. I find the regular rates for this course to be too expensive, so I tend to play it on a twilight rate. The good part about high prices, is that this course isn't so congested like all the other Bergen county public courses.

I was hot day, but not many people play, therefore, no pressure from back.

The pace of play was so slow that it took well over 5 1/2 hours to play a round. The greens are the slowest I have ever played. The pro shop is empty. It looks like the place is going out of business! The grill is fine. Pretty standard there. Decent price for the area I guess.

We had an excellent time here. The course is well maintained, there is a cart driving around for snacks and drinks and the staff is friendly. There is a small range as well for warm ups.

My biggest issue was their lack of organization. Our tee time was the last before a small outing and we were being rushed by the staff after just ONE hole. We played a brisk four hour pace over the first five, but were being watched like hawks the entire first hour. Again, we played five in an hour!

We started 15 min before our scheduled time and were still being hurried along. With that as my only complaint we did not have any other issues and after the 5th green didn't incur any more inquiries about "slow play".

First off, let me begin by stating I played here on a Monday afternoon on a hot deal from Golfnow ($35 w/ cart). The starter was very friendly and did an excellent job getting the groups out in an efficient manner. The field was in good shape but the greens were a bit slow. This course is an easy course that is wide open with very little water in play. Bunkers were also in great shape making it easy to hit out on to the greens. I had a great round here due to the good field conditions and excellent pace of play. Did not have a chance to check out the club house.

For novice or intermediate players this was a good course. Forgiving fairways, short cut rough, few traps and 2-3 water holes.

$65 including cart - and the course was in decent shape (which surprised me based on the other reviews). Only complaint would be some of the sand traps were really packed. Don't think they've been worked for a couple rains.

Course play was moderate. We got backed up a little but never waited longer than a couple minutes. I would recommend going out earlier - it's possible to complete a weekday morning round in under 4 if you get ahead of the crowd (7:30 or earlier).

Would play again.

This course is not worth the money. It was an expensive round of golf for what we got. For that kind of money, I expect a really nice course and this was no frills with nothing extra (no nice clubhouse, lunch place, no snack cart riding around). Would not go back.

Everything about the course was nice except the greens.
The greens haven't been rolled or cut in nearly a month. They were practically unputtable. Once they get the green situation in order I would recommend this course as a 4 star.

Stay away from Emerson GC. At $87, this place is basically a low end municipal course with a high end price tag. The pace of play was horrible. 5 hours and 45 minutes to be exact. Cart path only for the whole 18 holes didn't help. The rangers did nothing to speed things up. The course was in rough shape and the greens were like putting on my lawn. Very slow. the staff was dismissive and not attentive at all. In fact, we found a club that some player had left behind on one of the greens. When we tried to turn it in to the ranger, he didn't want to take it and acted as if he was doing us a favor by taking the club. don't go to Emerson. There are tons of other places that are much better for much cheaper.

Play was incredibly slow, held up on every shot for the entire round. The help was no help. It seemed like the maintenance staff, rangers and everyone had no clue as to how the game was to be played, and performed their functions in a manner that contributed to the rate of play.

The clubhouse staff was beyond rude. They bungled our reservation and proceeded to take an attitude with us when we requested that they remedy the situation. Someone should inform them that they are in the customer service industry.

It should be noted that the starter/ranger was beyond friendly and obviously enjoys his job.