Crystal Springs Golf Club

I play Crystal Springs once or twice a year, each time inviting a newcomer just to hear their expressions as drives with slight draws or fades deflect off the fairway moguls and leave unintended second and third shots into inviting greens. The course demand straight shots and precision if you hope to post a score close to your true handicap. The #2 hole on the classic side is by far one of the most scenic golf holes you will ever play. Overall a great experience.

In my opinion the most interesting golf course of Crystal Springs and probably the most challenging of the North New Jersey area. You really need to think about every shot, especially from the tee as is very important to place the first shot in the right part of the fairway. You need to be very accurate in every shot. Played following a day of heavy rain and course was in great conditions anyway. In addition even if I was the first on the course and played as a single did find only very few people working on the greens, which were all very well prepared. Even at the fill price of $85 I believe is a must play, more than Wild Turkey and Ballyowen.

This was the first time I played this course and I cannot wait to go back there. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The only thing I did not like was the sprayers were on on the greens while we were playing and on some holes we had play through the sprayer. Overall it was a very tough course and certainly not for beginners. Highly recommended

I like playing Balyowen and Wild Turkey but this course is a bit out there...blind shots, tight holes...for me its a one and done...not that i hated it but its just something to experience once kinda like tobacco road in NC. Some scenic and beautiful holes though esp the down hill par 3!

Great course in great condition for a New Jersey public course. Tight fairways and large greens. Overall a fun and enjoyable layout.

A bit pricey but if you can get a good deal this place is fantastic!

If the pace of play wasn't ridiculously slow this would have been an all around great round. No rangers seen to enforce pace and didn't see a cart girl until the back 9. Grabbed an overlooked, bone dry burger and an iced tea at the turn for only the price of a steak at Lugars. I.e. Expensive for the quality. Everyone was very nice though and the conditions were great.

The fairways were absolutely ridiculous. It was tough to have a decent lie with all the hills and elevation changes. I'm a 20-handicap and this course provided a great test to my game. Every shot needed to be carefully planned and executed. The greens were very fast and it wasn't easy to read the breaks. Overall, this was a fun layout and a great afternoon!

Amazing views. Well designed course except for the famous 11th hole was tucked behind trees for the ladies tees.
Hopefully next time it won't be.

The course is a nice track. The practice facility is nice and easy to get to. The course has a reputation of being challenging and lived up to that.
You need to be on your game when playing this course and keep the ball in or very near the fairway.
There are uneven lies in the fairways and some of the greens have large undulations and are difficult to read. Playing the course more than once will help scoring.

If you have the chance to play any of the Crystal Springs' Resort courses, excluding minerals, take that opportunity. The original resort course, Crystal Springs (which is actually two 9 hole courses, classic and villages) is the second best course that the resort has to offer, behind Wild Turkey. The course has great diversity in hole layout, scenery, and is always in great condition. Anything around 30$ for this course is a steal. Plus all tee times come with complimentary range balls(~40 balls).

My buddy and I played here last year and for some reason did not remember it the way it was this time. Course conditions were average at best. While the rough was thick the ground was rock hard. The greens are rock hard and fast... too fast and tricky for the average player. The course design does not reward good shots the way it should often leaving you an uneven difficult at best 2nd shot - From the fairway! Now, the worst part is the shot that is slightly off line (and I'm not referring to the shots I legitimately hit well off line that deserved what they got). The humps contour and moguls on and lining the fairways often take balls that should be off the fairway in the rough and kick them out of bounds and unfindable, though you generally don't know that till you go looking for it. Finally, approaching the greens and keeping the ball on... yesterday was - for my skill level (about 16 handicap most days) impossible. Chips that landed in the fringe rolled completely through and off the green. Approach shots that weren't sky high simply rolled 10, 15 or more feet past the hole.

So, full disclosure, I definitely did not play well and a couple of my lost balls were well-deserved. But the course stole a few extremely findable balls and the greens stole multiple decent or even very good shots and puts from our entire 4some. All in all a big disappointment and we will not play this course again, period.

OOh, almost forgot the kicker. Pace of play? Atrocious. Just about 5hours give or take 10 minutes. Rangers seemed unwilling or unable to monitor and speed up at least two slow groups in front of us.

We only paid $44 with the calendar card-thank God! If we paid $70+ I would have been reallllly ticked off. So I guess my final word is approach this one with a lot of caution!

Always a challenge to play this course. Moguls, side hill lies and undulating greens make this a difficult course.

Hadn't made the trip up from Westchester in a while so took my son on a day trip and it was worth the ride. Not an easy track and in pretty good shape. Pace of play was fine. Bring your game or prepare to be humbled at Crystal Springs.

The course was excellent, beautiful, but even on a Monday, it took 5:20 to play. The one time the ranger stopped to talk, he thought the pace was OK.

Really have to drive the ball well and straight on this course. Overall conditions of course were great besides the tee boxes which could use some work. Top notch course in nj and probably the hardest public course in the state. Expect a long round however, as it's a hard course and always busy. Greens are large so u really have to hit it to the side of the green in which the pin is placed or you will be facing a three putt. Overall great experience and will keep coming back as there aren't many courses like this in the state and even the country.

This course sometimes gets a bad rep from people that make a lot of bad shots. Yes, there are moguls and fairly frequent down hill lies, but overall this course rewards the golfer who has a plan for making good but not overly ambitious shots. There are several holes that are quite easy. There are several more that are a bit challenging. And then a bunch in the middle where you could make a par or a birdie or an ugly 7 or 8 or even worse. But for someone in the handicap range of let's say 10-18, you can have a lot of fun on this varied uphill, downhill course with many twists and turns. I've played this course perhaps 30 times and I always enjoy myself. (17 handicap). Today was especially rewarding with an 89 and 8 pars. Oh, yes, I played from the whites, 5862 yards.

Very nice place . Staff is very friendly . Two employees stopped what they were doing to come and take our golf bags for us . Practice range is nice . The course is tough . A lot of blind shots . Expect to lose a lot of balls . You really have to be able to control the ball. Even if you hit straight you are going to have a tough time . Do yourself a favor and buy a yardage book at the clubhouse .

Played in the afternoon through a golfnow prepaid deal. Conditions and staff were nice, but the course is another example of how difficult suddenly means fun in golf. Lots of blind shots and narrow fairways that kick the ball down the mountain. Worst part was pace, group in front held up the four holes behind us. Thankfully as the groups came from behind to quit they saw the bad group taking forever on the green. Rangers admitted it was an issue but didn't force them along at any point.

Course was in great shape, fun to play. You have to be on top of your game to score well here. Lots of variety to the holes, some have trouble long, some short and some left and right. We played on a weekday so the pace of play was very good. Highly recommend . I rated the value for the money as excellent because we got a 'hot deal ' otherwise a little expensive but worth it.