Ballyowen Golf Club
About
Ballyowen Golf Club is an homage to the great Scottish links courses, the place where golf originated. The course sprawls across 250 acres of rolling farmland that overlooks the Walkill River. The layout tumbles through valleys and hills, staying as true as possible to the natural contours of the land. Much like a traditional links golf course, the virtually treeless landscape is accented with craggy knolls. The challenging layout features lush green fairways that contrast beautifully with the pristine white sand bunkers and golden patches of rough that border the greensides. There are also water hazards that come into play on five holes. Ballyowen has earned the title of New Jersey's top public course and Golfweek has even ranked it as one of the top 50 courses in the country.
| Tee | Par | Length | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black | 72 | 7094 yards | 74.1 | 134 |
| Gold | 72 | 6508 yards | 71.5 | 130 |
| Blue | 72 | 6066 yards | 69.4 | 125 |
| Blue (W) | 72 | 6066 yards | 76.4 | 137 |
| White | 72 | 5531 yards | 66.9 | 119 |
| White (W) | 72 | 5531 yards | 72.1 | 129 |
| Red (W) | 72 | 4903 yards | 68.7 | 123 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Out | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | In | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black M: 73.7/140 | 378 | 342 | 567 | 196 | 560 | 203 | 473 | 420 | 423 | 3562 | 513 | 195 | 350 | 395 | 480 | 212 | 451 | 520 | 416 | 3532 | 7094 |
| Gold M: 71.6/133 | 351 | 312 | 546 | 180 | 530 | 174 | 384 | 395 | 393 | 3265 | 482 | 161 | 328 | 360 | 448 | 167 | 420 | 490 | 387 | 3243 | 6508 |
| Blue M: 69.4/129 W: 74.6/137 | 328 | 282 | 505 | 159 | 509 | 159 | 347 | 374 | 364 | 3027 | 460 | 140 | 315 | 338 | 409 | 143 | 394 | 475 | 365 | 3039 | 6066 |
| White M: 66.3/119 W: 71.6/131 | 293 | 271 | 457 | 150 | 459 | 122 | 321 | 330 | 324 | 2727 | 446 | 109 | 286 | 321 | 394 | 111 | 374 | 425 | 338 | 2804 | 5531 |
| Red W: 68.8/124 | 286 | 212 | 423 | 95 | 422 | 107 | 285 | 283 | 282 | 2395 | 396 | 87 | 247 | 303 | 354 | 99 | 355 | 357 | 310 | 2508 | 4903 |
| Handicap | 13 | 11 | 3 | 17 | 5 | 15 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 18 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 16 | 2 | 10 | 6 | |||
| Par | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 36 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 36 | 72 |
| Handicap (W) | 11 | 13 | 1 | 17 | 3 | 15 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 18 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 16 | 2 | 10 | 8 |
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Course Details
Rentals/Services
Practice/Instruction
Policies
Food & Beverage
Bar, Snacks, Restaurant, Beverage CartsLodging
Lodging AvailableAvailable Facilities
Clubhouse, Spa, Showers, LockersReviews
Reviewer Photos
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Photo submitted by u314160982379 on 08/24/2023
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Photo submitted by u314160982379 on 08/24/2023
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Photo submitted by rich4par on 06/07/2023
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Hole 1 Photo submitted by ArtofWar347 on 05/27/2023
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Photo submitted by underqover on 06/23/2021
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Outstanding views Photo submitted by Amirosenfeld1 on 12/18/2019
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Hole 2 Photo submitted by bledsoe2000 on 12/06/2019
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Photo submitted by LICC on 08/25/2019
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Photo submitted by LICC on 08/25/2019
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Photo submitted by LICC on 08/25/2019
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Photo submitted by LICC on 08/25/2019
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Photo submitted by LICC on 08/25/2019
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Photo submitted by LICC on 08/25/2019
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#1 on the railside Photo submitted by Brian8324235 on 06/13/2013
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6th Green Photo submitted by agurango on 05/24/2013
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14th Tee Photo submitted by agurango on 05/24/2013
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13th Fairway Photo submitted by agurango on 05/24/2013
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Ballyowen: view of clubhouse. Photo submitted by Vinh4484263 on 04/23/2013
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Photo submitted by null on 10/04/2012
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Photo submitted by null on 10/04/2012
CC style golf for the public
Generally used to playing country clubs, this course condition and amenities are on par with CC. Price is a bit higher, but less crowded means for golfers who really enjoy golf has some breathing room.
There were some groups that were horrendously slow. They were older ladies that could only drive 100 yards with horrible swing. They never lost any ball (I'm sure), but took a long time. Other than them, all was good.
Great course
Couse conditions - great
Well manicured course
Food and beverage cart was seen on several occasions
Great pace of play
Treat yourself to this wonderful course
Excellent Course!
First time I've played this course and it was excellent. Fairways, rough, bunkers, greens, everything was great. I expected the greens to roll much faster than what they did though. With the views and links style it's a simple reason why it is always one of the best courses you can play. It would be nice if a ranger went around though instead of getting stuck behind some hackers and the ranger saying in short "oh well". If it weren't for the GolfNow Hot Deal of $40, I wouldn't ever put out $110+ to play. Overall this course is a must play at least once!
A different kind of course
For those that have not played this (tree-less) course, it's design utilizes distance, grasses and water as the challenges to overcome. The course is in very good condition, the greens are fast and true. The staff is exceptional and friendly. Avoid the traps as they contain small amounts of sand and numerous small stones.
Lives Up to Its Reputation
Beautiful course in phenomenal shape. High grass will catch your strays but you can find them and play from it, at least right now. Greens a touch slow but overall good.
My only complaint was the pace of play, like others have mentioned. We rode a 4some, even after picking up a single and playing as a 5some for the last 13 holes. When we called and asked for a ranger to do something about it, he rode by, said hi, and left.
But, overall I understand why this is the top public course in the state given its layout, challenge, and condition. It's well worth the trip, and if you get a hot deal time, you're flat out robbing them!
Premier course
This is an excellent layout and it's in great condition. It was a little slow but it was really due to one group. I highly recommend it, especially if you can play later in the day at a reduced rate.
Great challenging course, but play can be very slow
Great course, but can be slow because there are no Marshall's on the course ensuring groups are moving at a reasonable pace. Other than that, this is a very nice course, but beware that hitting into the deep grass is practically a guarantee that the ball is lost.
Nice layout
Except for pace of play Ballyowen never fails. Very well maintained, challenging layout, beautiful scenery.
lousy policy
We didn't play. The weather was bad enough, sporadic thunderstorms, some lightening, to have us not play. But the course was still open so some could play later after weather cleared. So I'm out $110 bucks and will never use you again.
About as good as NJ publics get
Great course.....getting up there is a pain if you aren't from the area but once you are what a course. I imagine when the fescue is up in the summer this place is diabolical. Feels like a country club and you pay country club prices. That being said this place attracts better golfers than some of the others, which keeps up pace of play.
Pretty Nice but Slow
Know the course well and love it. Early in season after tough winter and greens had recently been aerated so won't complain about condition, but slow play was an issue. Starter made issue about but no evidence that anyone was telling anyone to play faster. Fescue was low so that should not have been factor. Staff friendly.
Worth the trip
Took advantage of a hot deal and it's deserving to be the top course in the state. Although it was a 2.5 hour drive, it was well worth the trip. Conditions were great for the beginning of the year and much easier to play with the fescue not fully grown. Each hole had an awesome layout with hills and elevation changes. Wish this course was closer and looking forward to playing the other 6 sister courses within the same area.
Review
Terrific course. Best available public in NY region. Considerable wind, which may be normal, but, so what. Greens heavily aerated, but reduced price made up for that inconvenience. Made for many more undeserving gimmes.
Another Round
Great course. The only drawback is that its a slow round. The conditions were very good for this time of year. Will definitely be back
A must play
Finally got to play this course. So glad I did. All the great reviews
Are true. I got there early and they let me go as a single. Was not
that busy . It is in superb condition and the greens are very fast.
I wish it was a bit closer to NYC. but worth the trip.
Staff were really friendly.
A must play!
Course was still maintained (not quite but close to peak season). Even had a drink cart out there in sub 55 degree weather and ball washers. Fescue was thankfully cut down a bit - still would advise hitting away from this stuff. Views were incredible.
Poor course managment of players
Course did not manage tee time seperation and allowed too many people to play off the wrong tee. Also, to chare $100+ at 1:00 in Oct is unacceptable since you most likely won't get the round in. The course is gourgeous and in super shape. It was a shame I could not finis the round and had to wait 10 minutes on each tee.
Great layout and people, pace of play was brutal.
The layout here is awesome. On a nice fall afternoon, the course couldn't look better.
Following an apparent frost delay, our noon round went off 20 min late, and required over 5 hrs to complete. We waited on just about every shot.
While in great shape, it drives me crazy the number of ball marks in the greens at such a "quality" course. The greens did run pretty quick, and were kept in good shape otherwise.
Perfect Day
Ballyowen is a great golf experience! My brother and law drove up from the city for an afternoon of golf and we couldn't have had a better time. Course is in great shape!
Seaview Stay & Play Golf Package