Mercer Oaks Golf Course - West Course

Great course to play. Well maintained. Staff friendly. Nothing bad to say about course, it's all good.

I’ve played this course many times over the years. The conditions now are simply awful: slow, bumpy greens; little to no sand and uneven conditions in the bunkers; raggedy mowing around bunkers and hazards; and crab grass seemingly everywhere. Truly a shame. They played the State Amateur here just a few years ago and the course was pristine, but the conditions have really deteriorated. Many more public courses nearby (many Somerset and Monmouth County options come to mind) that are in much, much better shape and much better experiences overall. And to make matters worse, the group in front of us took 2:25 to play the front 9. Brutal.

Pace of play is excellant. Tees, fairways and greens are in great shape. Only 1 issue...the bunkers on this course are in horrible shape. Most do not have any sand. It doesn't appear that the bunkers have been worked on this year. Most still have water from the recent rains.

Course was in fabulous shape. Pace of play was also great. Would definitely play here again soon.

Average maintenance, tee boxes and Greens are not in good shape

This golf course frustrates me. Playing from the blacks, it’s long, 7100 yards long and the blues at almost 6700 are no bargain either. For some reason I cannot break 90 from the back on this course. It’s a blood field between us now.

The landing areas seem generous, the course seems wide open, however being in the right position of the fairway greatly affects your access to the greens, and it’s not as open as it seems.

The fairways are hard and the ball does scoot. The greens are hard, difficult to stick, virtually impossible to stop. Beware of sucker pins. They are in fairly decent shape, taking into account the amount of traffic, certainly the beleaguered greens keeper has a tough time keeping up with the rash on repaired ball marks on the greens. They are medium pace, fast enough with subtle breaks.

The sand is very inconsistent.

The layout is interesting with a few really well designed holes, and a handful of significant doglegs. This course does feature a few monsters, the 450 yard third, and a brutal back to back, the 485 yard par 4 6th followed by a 600 yard par 5 at seven.

The signature hole on the front is the 9th which features an approach shot over water (complete with fountain) of anywhere from 110 yards to 170, depending on the placement of the tee ball. On the back, the 235 yard 16th gives way to the signature 17th, whose entire right side features Carnegie lake, and an approach shot to a wiled green over water.

Mercer Oaks is , a sprawling public golf course with a decent practice area, and a good 19th hole, and oh yeah, two golf courses. The west is whatever you want it to be, a real taskmaster from the back, a challenge from the blues and whites that allow the golfer to enjoy the layout without taking a beating..