Ballyowen GC
View of a green at Ballyowen Golf Club.
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Rating Index Rating
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4.5
401 Reviews (401)
5 Stars
248
4 Stars
108
3 Stars
28
2 Stars
10
1 Stars
7
Conditions
4.4
Value
3.9
Layout
4.7
Friendliness
4.6
Pace
3.9
Amenities
4.5
90.4%
Recommend this course
360 out of 401 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
5.0
3 Reviews (3)
5 Stars
3
4 Stars
0
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
4.7
Value
3.3
Layout
5.0
Pace
5.0
Amenities
4.7
StaffFriendliness
4.7
100.0%
Recommend this course
3 out of 3 reviews
Read Reviews
Average Rating
Avg Rating
4.5
35 Reviews (35)
5 Stars
23
4 Stars
7
3 Stars
5
2 Stars
0
1 Stars
0
Conditions
4.5
Value
3.8
Layout
4.7
Pace
3.8
Amenities
4.5
StaffFriendliness
4.6
91.4%
Recommend this course
32 out of 35 reviews
Read Reviews
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AI summaries based on real golfer reviews
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Course Highlights
Ballyowen stands out as one of New Jersey's finest public courses, with a highly rated layout featuring wide fairways and thick rough. The beautifully manicured conditions, stunning clubhouse, and driving range consistently impress golfers visiting this top-rated course.

About

Holes 18
Type Semi-Private/Resort
Style Links
Par 72
Length 7094 yards
Slope 134
Rating 74.1

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.

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Ballyowen Golf Club
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Course Details

Year Built 1998
Fairways Bent Grass
Greens Bent Grass
Golf Season Year round
Architect Roger Rulewich (1998) A. John Harvey

Rentals/Services

Carts Yes - included in green fees
Caddies Yes
Clubs Yes

Practice/Instruction

Driving Range Yes
Golf School/Academy Yes
Teaching Pro Yes
Pitching/Chipping Area Yes
Putting Green Yes

Policies

Credit Cards Accepted VISA, MasterCard, Amex Welcomed
Metal Spikes Allowed No

Food & Beverage

Bar, Snacks, Restaurant, Beverage Carts

Lodging

Lodging Available

Available Facilities

Clubhouse, Spa, Showers, Lockers

Accolades

The Best Way To Book Is With GolfPass+ Annual
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12 rounds of waived fees
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Reviews

4.5
401 Reviews (401)

What Golfers Are Saying

The 19th Hole is Great For:
Drinks 24
19th Hole Scenic Views 21
Dinner 13
Course Challenges Include:
Thick Rough 43
Bunkers 42
Undulating Greens 36
This course/club is great for:
Advanced Golfers 42
Wildlife/ Scenic Views 32
A Bucket list/Top 100 Pick 29
This Course's Location is:
Worth the Drive 47
In the 'Burbs 17
At a Resort 15

Numbers based on reviews tagged with attribute.

Advanced Filters
Overall Rating
Recommended
Handicap
Age
Type of Golfer
Gender
Played On
Reviews 4
Skill Beginner
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Great Links Course in the Mountains

Fantastic resort course in the scenic mountains. Always a great time to play there. Third hole Par 5 is awesome! Golf now had a great deal and got a round for $89.00 at 1:20pm in early June. Price is usually $140.00! What a deal. Will definitely go back soon.

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 11
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Previously Played

Links Course Experience

Need to be accurate not only off the tee but on your second shots too. Easy to make a double playing from the fescue. Take it easy going for the green in two on the par 5's

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
First Time Playing

worth a try if you can get a good deal

i got a great deal, $90 for 2 including greens fees, cart and range balls. had i paid full price i would have been disappointed as the greens are not up to the standard of a top notch private club.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Very nice course in great shape

Great course in very good shape rough is thick greens are very tough. Got a great deal on greens fees $55 normal greens fees are very high!!

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser

wear a hat

Course is a fantastic layout. Links course with no trees but punishing rough. Good mix of par 3s, 4s & 5s lengths. Played from the blues at about 6100 yds. Temperature reached 90 degrees and there is no shade. Only negative was the inconsistency of the bunkers. Seems like three different types of sand but of course "you shouldn't hit it there". Greens are medium fast.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 5
Handicap 20-24
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

Sand traps strategically placed

This is a thinking players course. Traps are strategically place, you need to plan out the next shot. Stay out of fescue,and you got a good chance of shooting a good score. I enjoyed this course,will play again

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
1.0
Verified Purchaser
Previously Played

It took 5 hours and 10 minutes to play 18 holes, the cart rule was 90 degrees!

For the $140 I paid to play to wait on EVERY shot ruins the experience…you just want it to be over! People would look for balls for 5 and six minutes. There were many groups playing from the 6500 yard tees when they hit a good drive, which they didn’t do often it went 175 yards. Every hole had 3 groups on them. I never saw a ranger engage and player, they just dove around seemly obliviously.

Conditions Average
Value Poor
Friendliness Average
Pace Poor
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 47
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser

Many holes look alike

Overrated. Nice course . Glad I got a good price on Golfnow because otherwise it is way overpriced..

Conditions Excellent
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 1
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser

Beautiful course, well maintained, friendly staff, difficult course

Beautiful course, well maintained, friendly staff, difficult course

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 90
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser
Top 500 Contributor

Excellent course with great deal from Golfnow

Excellent course condition. Tough green to read. Golfnow deal is the best deal to play Ballyowen

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 10-14
Skill Advanced
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser

Great Course

Very fun course with great views. The greens were not perfect, but with that many rounds a day, they still held up very well. The pace of play was not to bad, think we finished in a lil over four and a half hours. If that was closer to 4 hours, it would have been 10/10.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0

4.5 Stars

Went on a Monday when the greens were being aerated, so putting was obviously more difficult than usual. Overall the course was in great condition and played easier than normal due to the time of year. Highly recommend this course and will be back to play soon.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 11
Handicap 5-9
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
3.0
Verified Purchaser

overrated course...

Not good condition..average speed green
Just long course not tough because of short weed in spite of link style
Too expensive green fee to play with regular price in case of the current condition

Conditions Average
Value Poor
Friendliness Average
Pace Average
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 14
Handicap 5-9
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser

Great Links Course

What a great place.
Early spring play, the greens still recovering from aeration, but the course was in great condition anyway.
Great layout, and with windy conditions, it can be a bear to play. Best played around July when the grasses are up to get the full effect..

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 17
Handicap 15-19
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser

Challenging course, nice condition.

Nicely maintained course even early in the season. The greens were recently aerated so were very slow and bumpy but in another two weeks should be perfect. Fairways are fair, bunkers can use some freshening up. The wind was blowing up to 25 mph so even with the short fescue you will lose some balls.
Overall, a nice course with helpful staff.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Average
Pace Poor
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 11
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
4.0
Verified Purchaser

Great layout

Besides the greens being recently airated the course was in great shape for mid April. Pace of play was tough due to an outing and gusty winds.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 19
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays Once a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser

great day

Ballyowen is one of my favorite courses. The course plays like some of the links courses I have played in Europe. Even though the greens were aereated (Which we knew before booking), it was a great experience. :)

Conditions Excellent
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Excellent
Difficulty Moderate
Played On
Reviews 4
Handicap 15-19
Skill Advanced
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser

Grear experience

This course is in great shape considering it is just opening after the winter. Everyone was friendly and accommodating. Be ready for challenging target shooting.

Conditions Average
Value Excellent
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Good
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
Played On
Reviews 56
Handicap 10-14
Skill Beginner
Plays A few times a week
4.0
Verified Purchaser

A rare November round

Turned out to be a great day to play. There was a frost delay but we ended up getting out early due to the crew scrambling and getting the first few groups out in a shotgun. We started on two and they easily snuck us in on one after we played 17.

The course was in good shape, though I've seen it better. Fairways and tee boxes were fine. Greens were a bit beat up with ball marks. The rough was not as punishing as normal. Sand traps were in amazing shape considering the weather we've had.
It is a traditional links course with few trees. Bunkers and the rouger can really make scoring well difficult. Without the trees the wind comes in to play.

Conditions Average
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Average
Difficulty Moderate
Default User Avatar
Anonymous
Played On
Reviews 2
Handicap 10-14
Skill Intermediate
Plays A few times a week
I Recommend This Course
5.0
Verified Purchaser

Exception Course rooted in tradition

When you hear the bagpiper at first tee you really get the sense you are actually in Scotland. Clearly its modeled after traditional Scottish courses and it feels like it. It’s a real pleasure to play here and worth going out of your way. I wish i lived closer i would play this course regularly. I drove about 90 miles (each way) to reach this course and was very glad I Did. I will be back again next season. At which time I Will also play the Nearby crystal springs (which sports the best driving range I have EVER seen)

To give you an idea how classy it is my friend lost his wallet (fell out of cart?) and about half way through the round the snack and beverage cart girl drove up and looked at my friend (and the picture in the wallet) and said: i believe you lost your wallet sir! it was returned to him before he even knew it was lost!
The staff is truly exceptional, one of our friends was stuck in traffic and running late, the starter went out of his way to get us off at the designated tee time and not hold up play.

The course is really nice, bring you’re A game and stick to the fairways or you will lose a lot of balls and decimate your score.

Conditions Excellent
Value Average
Friendliness Excellent
Pace Fair
Difficulty Extremely Challenging
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