Top 10 Private Courses PLAYED in New Jersey — 2025 Rankings

This week on The DROP Podcast, we unveil our highly anticipated Top 10 Private Courses Played in New Jersey for 2025, a full breakdown of Ryan’s list, Mike’s list, and the stories behind the rounds that made each track stand out. From elite layouts to exclusive experiences and unforgettable member-for-a-day moments, we dive into what makes these private clubs the best we’ve played this year. Expect honest reactions, course-by-course analysis, surprises, disagreements, and plenty of Garden State golf flavor as we deliver the definitive ranking for anyone curious about where New Jersey’s premier private golf truly shines in 2025.

To close the episode, we hit a fresh round of Quick Hitters, including Tiger Woods’ press conference and a look at the Hero World Challenge – Tiger’s event – where Chris Gotterup was in the field. Then we roll into Fast Facts, highlighting the last chance to guarantee Christmas delivery for DROP orders (place yours before December 11). We also recap PGA Tour Q-School’s Second Stage: Ryan McCormick advancing with a T12 finish, Ethan Ng moving on, and the tough DNQs for David Pastore, Jack Simon, Melan Dhaubhadel, and the crazy story surrounding James Nicholas’ Round 4 fiasco. Final Stage begins December 11-14 as the chase for PGA Tour cards continues.

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You guys just like keep coming around. I just keep hearing about you guys. And I might need to tell Ryan to cut that up a little bit and just put it in my audio for my phone. First of all, I love the game. I had a passion to play the game, not only football, but I I love the game of golf and and and what it lends to a person and the friendships you develop on the golf course. It’s been a pleasure being on the drop. I wish you guys all the best down the road. Someone like you, you have that golf itch like a lot of us do. I keep track of you and you are moving. You are on the move. So, listen. I’m a big New Jersey golf guy. Very kind, Mike. And you, too, Ryan. It’s a pleasure to be among just a couple of Jersey boys here talking about something we love. All the best. I really enjoyed it. This is the Drop Podcast where we talk golfing in the Garden State. I’m Mike Porro and this is Ryan Koul. What’s up, Drop Pod people? Welcome back. We got episode 166 here. Let’s run through our weekly schedule real quick. Uh yesterday the 8th, uh Mike was down in in Myrtle Beach. Uh played Calonia. Um it’s Calonia Golf and Fish Club, a place that’s uh that’s near and dear to my heart. I’ve I’ve said for a long time that that’s that course I just absolutely love. There’s something about it. I think it’s like super unique. I love the Spanish moss coming off the trees and and all that. So Mike, I I uh I know you had a treat down there playing. Uh, you played the 18th hole. Very cool hole. Uh, short par4, 383 yards, but overwater to a a green that’s running away from you to a clubhouse that’s got spectators heckling you. Um, and depending on what time of day is, you know, depending on the crowd. So, I would imagine you played the course early in the morning. I would imagine that you uh that you had some spectators there heckling you and and um as that as that went on. Is that is that uh is that true there? It is not. We actually played it in the afternoon and we were we were one of we were one of the um finishing groups and let’s just say I gave them a show. Well, not what I expected out of you. Yeah. Listen, me neither, especially with how well I was playing coming into that hole. But listen, every shot’s on camera. There it is. Well, there you go. Uh that if if people remember, you know, I’ve put out uh from there as well. That course is eating me alive as as uh you know, when I played it. So, yeah, tough little hole. You you look at it, you’re like par4, 383 yards. Not not that hard. It’s uh it can come up and and jump on you if you don’t pay attention to it. So, that was yesterday. If you didn’t see it, go over to YouTube, head over to um head over to Instagram, wherever, you know, that’s where those things are living. Today is the 9th. Uh it’s episode 166. Uh you got Mike and I here on uh on wherever you’re consuming this. Uh make sure you rate, review, subscribe, all those things. They do us wonders. Uh on Wednesday, I’m out at Charleston Springs. I play the North Course this year. Um I I I’ve said it for a long time. I absolutely love that course. Uh the 12th hole is a um just a a really good par three. 176 yards. It’s not it’s not the most challenging par three, but it’s definitely not the easiest par three either. You know, you got some you got some obstacles. You can’t pull it left. You got to go over a little a little marsh area. You got bunkers. It’s uh you got to hit a good golf shot, but if you do, you’re going to be safe. So, um, Charleston Springs North Course, 12th hole. That’s my Wednesday. Stay tuned for that tomorrow. Thursday, we have Jason Burnbound, who’s a golf teacher, coach, instructor out of Manhattan Woods. Um, one of his famous pupils is Chris Goddup, who we’ve uh we’ve talked about on the show with him. So, uh, he’s our interview for this week on Thursday. And then anything you got this weekend, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, you got coming out as a bonus. So that is our weekly wrapup this week. This episode is presented by All County Exteriors. If you’re a homeowner or builder in New Jersey, there’s one name you need to know for exterior and interior remodeling. It’s All County Exteriors. From roofing, siding, windows, and doors to kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, and trim, they do it all. And with over 40 years of experience as a third generation family-owned company, you’re getting more than just a contractor. You’re getting a team that stands behind their work. Now, it is a great time to finally start that deck project you’ve been putting off before the winter weather hits and lead times pile up. And when you choose All County, you’re not just getting top tier craftsmanship. You’re supporting a company rooted in real community values, proudly giving back through organizations like Makea-Wish, St. Jude’s, Roose for Troops, and Parents of Autistic Children. Right now, they’re offering an instant 20% off a limited time. Call 732-370-2780 or email [email protected] to schedule your free consultation. All County Exteriors. Quality you can trust from people who care. All right, let me hit you here real quick with the fast facts. I got a I got a few things, especially when we get down to the the second stage of Q School. But like I mentioned last week, um this week is the last chance to guarantee delivery before Christmas if you want some of the merch that we have available over there at golfingthegarnstate.com. It needs to be ordered before Thursday, December 11th, if you want to guarantee you get what you ordered prior to Christmas. Just wanted to toss it out there as the last little, you know, public announcement about that. Now, as we transition a little bit here to the PGA Tour, I forgot last week to mention that the Hero World Challenge was going on out there in the Bahamas. It’s Tiger’s little event where he basically selects 20 of his buddies um to come down and play. Now, one of the 20 buddies selected to play was Chris Gdup, and obviously the connection there is the Bridgestone. They both play the golf ball. They’re both in different commercials and different advertising that they do. Unfortunately for Chris, as we’re recording, he’s in dead last place. Um, but the positive is he’s guaranteed a paycheck. So, so it may not be what he envisioned the Bahamas was going to be like in terms of his play, but I’m sure it doesn’t hurt walking away with a nice big fat check with only 20 guys in the field. I was just going to say, Mike, he’s, you know, he’s hoping for a top 20 finish there. Yeah, he’s guaranteed and he’s locked to get it. And um so listen, he hasn’t played well. I’ve literally checked the scorecard every day. Too many big numbers. Um but this time of the year, you know, it’s it’s not it’s not the same as the middle of the season when they’re grinding. So, um not the best showing. Nice invitation. Hopefully, he can, you know, gear things back up. I know he’s playing in the Grant Thornton in a couple weeks with with with his partner. So, but I think the more interesting topic this week is the PGA Tour Q school qualifying because we had five guys playing and obviously I need to put my hand up here. I also made a mistake last week when I was reading through things after you and I recorded on Monday and Tuesday. I found out that James Nicholas did not have a free pass to final stage and he had to go to second stage first. He had a free pass from first first stage but not second. So I added him to my star list of guys I needed to follow this week. So in theory, we actually had six guys trying to get to final stage. So out of the five that we had always we were talking about Ryan McCormack, David Pastor, Jack Simon, Ethan Ing, Milan Dodel, two of those guys made it through, do you have a guess, big fella, as to who the two guys are that made it through? Unless you know already. Well, I I do know already. Um, I do know because I’m staring at the list, but I also uh Okay, so I don’t I don’t want to play a game here, but I did also know that Ryan McCormack made it because uh you know, obviously I’ve been, you know, I was following Ryan along as as we as we go there. So, I do know Ryan made it. Um, and then Ethan Ing making it as well is is a big step in his young career. So, that’s a huge huge step for him. No doubt. So, Ryan made it, Ethan made it. That means David, Jack, and Milan unfortunately did not. But I think which that means Ryan and and Ethan will go to final stage beginning December 11th. But I I don’t know if you know the story about what happened at James Nicholas. Did you hear that story? Why don’t you give it to us? Okay. So, more or less he is trying to qualify down there in Florida. Okay. Um I take that back in Georgia right across the street. Okay. and you had to finish in the top 15 to get to final stage. Well, in the middle of the fourth round, he’s now climbed back inside the top 15. And at the time, he was inside the cut. All he had to do was finish five more holes. He was through 13. If he had gotten through five more, it would have been done. He would have been locked. He would have had a chance to go earn one of those five PGA Tour cards at Q school. Well, unfortunately, inclement weather came and they ended up bagging bagging the entire fourth round as a whole. And bylaws for the PGA Tour state that we will go back to the where things stood in the third round and that’s who makes it through. Therefore, getting a guy like James Nichols who was going to get a chance to earn one of those five PJ tour cards and gets waxed. So now he finishes where he was one shot outside the cut line and does not make it through. Now this is heartbreaking for so many guys. Luckily for James, he’s got his cornferry tour card full status. He’s able to do that. But for other guys that are trying to get to the cornfairy tour or to the PJ tour to have their feet just cut off like that because of an ancient bylaw, man. Oh man, a lot of rumors going around that they need talk about changes on a PJ tour. That is one that needs to be done 100% that needs to be changed especially when when it’d be different if they just started right if the if the leader if the if the opening group was through three holes or something like that different story but I’m guessing James wasn’t the opening group and I’m guessing that that people had finished their rounds and James is through more than half of his round. How do you do that? I I don’t I don’t get that. That needs to be uh changed addressed. Um, I mean I I’ I’d even if they open it up to be like, “Okay, any, you know, let’s open it up to 20 people in the field. Let’s open to top 20.” Like, you you got to do something differently. That has to be changed because how many other people were in James’ boat in in that situation where they were in outside on on after day three and then inside during their round on day four when they stopped it. Yeah, it was it was when I heard that and I saw his little video put out and I was looking at things, I’m like, “No way.” I would have thought maybe you either would have stopped it, began it the next day, right, and just finish the whole thing like they do like they do on the PGA tour. I Dude, I know. I was like, which which you would think that’s what they’re trying to get to. Why would they not just do that? I I it’s crazy because and then I started going really down the rabbit hole and reading these bylaws and the bylaws state that a round of a quote official first or second round qualifying stage that is not completed by the end of the last scheduled competitive day will be cancelled. And I’m like that is absurd. It’s absurd in so many ways. Why? But like I can’t I can’t for I I can’t wrap my mind around that. I I just can’t. Like it’s not like it’s not like the course disappears the next day. How many more guys would need to finish in in one day? And even still, even if you were to be like, “Okay, we have it for one extra day.” And and if we don’t need it, terrific. How many guys would have needed to finish that round? You you can get that done in a morning. It’s not like the membership is is first off, it’s not like the membership at these places is going to be playing the next day anyway because they have to clean up the course. They got to bring all the signage off. They got to bring all the like they got to clean up the course anyway. So, it’s not like they’re it’s not like they’re waiting at the first tea 7 o’clock the next morning. I can’t for the life of me I’m never going to understand that. Yeah. And obviously, you know, you feel bad for everybody involved because ultimately, not only are the players screwed in the caddies, but the people that run the tournament, they don’t make the rules. Like, it’s a PGA tour that are making these rules. It’s not You can’t get mad at the tournament officials and and the director there. It’s it’s the people that sit in the nice chairs, you know, at at the players have all the nice offices that are making these rules that are insane. So, this is I’m sure they fielded a lot of calls and angry messages and things like that and it’s like, hey, I’m just this is what I have to go by. This is a don’t kill the messenger kind of situation. Yeah. So, it’s unlucky break, you know. Thank god James has something to fall back on. But Ryan, Ethan, best of luck next week. Yeah, guys. See if we can get it done here. So, how many people are in final stage? And you said it’s top five get their card. So top five of how many guys are in there. Yeah. So it’s again they haven’t put out the field. They’re it’s very it’s like one of these things that like it starts Thursday the 11th, right? So they don’t list anybody in the field unless I literally copied and pasted all the people that qualified then all the people that have exemptions to get to the final stage. I I didn’t put a master Excel sheet together, but it’s I mean it it’s gonna be a lot of guys. I’m gonna say 144. Okay. So, that’s what I was asking. Is it is it 30? Is it is it 100? Is it So, 100. So, we have a big big old field this week, right? And and and for five spots, right? So, five spots will go to the PGA tour guys. The next 70 are automatically exempt for the corn ferry tour. Okay. So, and then after that, so after 75, it becomes conditional status, which is kind of hit or miss, like are you going to fly out to these different spots if you’re the third or fourth alternate and may or may not get in, right? So, really the goal for a lot of these guys is top five, backup, top 75, and and that’s where our guy Dawson Jones was. He was in that alternate. He was outside that 75. So, vice versa, that’s where James got inside the top 75 and got his Cornfair Tour card. Yeah. So, lot a lot of movement going on. Lot of move. Where where is uh and I I imagine he’s not there. Where what’s Dawson? Speaking of Dawson, what’s his situation? Now, listen, he didn’t get through. He he missed first stage, so now he’s kind of back to the drawing board really. So, probably doing a lot of minor league stuff down there in Florida. Maybe trying to qualify for some cornfairy tour events. Yeah. Monday qualify for Q school for cornfairy events. Yeah. Yeah. It’s it’s that life of the pro that man, if you don’t make it, it’s to your point, what are you doing? So, you just got to keep grinding. You got to hope that you have people backing you on the financial end to keep to keep to keep it afloat. Something that we’ve talked about before on on here that’s like if you’re not making it, you’re just like how long can you do that for, you know, like you gota it it’s got to be a process. You know, guys like we’ve talked about Ryan. Ryan’s in his mid-30s and he’s kind of bounced back and forth between, you know, the corn ferry and the and the PGA tour, but he’s, you know, he’s lived a majority of his life in that realm of the cornfairy tour to to qualifying for all that stuff. So, he’s um you know, a journeyman guy, so to speak. And there’s very few guys that could be journeymen in that kind of regard like what what Dawson’s trying to do here if he’s not going to make it, you know, unless you have you unless you have an empty bank account that just has endless money coming in, man. Yeah. But then still it comes down to the play. Still comes down to the play. So listen, for sure. Obviously obviously next week we’re not even going to be able to give you an update. It’s going to be kind of a two-eek thing here um because they don’t tee off till Thursday, December 11th. Oh, no. We will be. We will be. Yeah. Because we’ll record, you know, Sundayish. We’ll be able to give you three days. Yeah. Yeah. We’ll figure out a couple days there. That’s all I got this week for the FastFax, Pal. Winter is coming, but there’s no golf facility still as busy as Galloping Hill Golf Course in Union County, New Jersey. The courses are open all winter. The Hill Tavern is still buzzing with holiday parties and guests and kids eat for free all winter again. The Clubhouse at Galloping Hill is a hub for social events. From stunning weddings to lively corporate events, the clubhouse is a dynamic venue that can host any type of event that you can imagine. But the real star of the winter is the swing suite at Galloping Hill. You can book by the hour just to focus on improving your game or book longer sessions for an unforgettable time with your friends while you watch the game. Enjoy the bar style food and drinks while playing some of the most famous courses in the world on the simulator. It’s a perfect blend of sport and socializing where even non-golfers can have a blast. Head to learningcenter ghc.com to book your slots now. Or if you’d like to reserve the space for a group outing, please contact Greg Ward at 908-241-8700 extension 308. It’s all happening this winter at Galloping Hill Golf Course. Let’s get into our major topics for this week. Mike, one second. I got to call 30 here on you. I got to call 30 here on you. Okay. U So, I’m throwing you a little curveball here. I gotta say thank you to everybody and anybody that commented that DM’d us that about our top 10 list because the amount the amount of comments that either were posted on the post itself or in the DMs or the private text I’m sure you were sent and I was sent was unbelievable. It was it was overwhelming. But Mike, I did read all the comments. I don’t usually, but I did read all the comments on Instagram. Wow. And it is amazing to me how many people can’t read. Just amazing to me how many people can’t or unable to read. Either unable to or unwilling to because it says that we played. It says the courses that we played. I mean, it couldn’t be. It’s not like we made a mistake and it was like Ryan’s top 10. No, no, no. It says played. I believe it’s underlined. I believe it’s bolded and italicized, too. like it clearly states that we played in 2025 and and 90% of the comments were this list is hot garbage as soon as as soon as Nishanic wasn’t on there. Harmony Hill, where is it? Like it was just it was it was so like we tried to do the right thing and we still get people that are like, “Oh, this is so again once we put out there then you respond to all the comments which again I was scrolling through them. people, you know, then, oh, okay, yep, got it. This course is still great. Yeah, we know. We know Harmony Hill’s great. We know Nishanic’s great. We didn’t get there this year. That’s why they weren’t on the list. So, it was just like, that’s the catch, right? That’s the catch is that people that don’t listen to us preface that ahead of time. So, the list comes out. They don’t listen. They don’t understand. So, what I’m saying is it still said it on the front cover of that of that page, right? But but the people that don’t listen may not realize that we might have played it, right? And it may not have gotten inside the top 10, right? So if you don’t listen to us on a weekly basis or follow us, you know that we didn’t get to Harmony or Nishanic. For the random people that just follow on Instagram that don’t know that think may you may have played harmony and why is it not top 10? That’s why I went back to certain comments and said that, “Hey, we did not play because we can’t put a disclaimer of every freaking course that we didn’t play.” So, right, but I think it’s in the title. It says Ryan’s Ryan’s top 10 courses of played in 2025. Played is bold and underlined. I just I I was uh that that made me chuckle every time that I saw it because it was just like you can’t get mad at it because it’s just like people are just again either unable to read or and they’re just looking at pictures or they just didn’t want to. But it was uh yeah, I did get a chuckle of that because there was it was hot. We did get a ton of messages on it. Yeah, I this is so I I do appreciate that, you know, because it makes me laugh because I know how much time you and I spend doing this. Like we we talk about it. The list is not something we just plop on there and say, “Hey, let’s go with it.” But we also try to preface it in the podcast like today. Hey, listen. Obviously, if you follow, you know, we didn’t get to, you know, we didn’t get to Nishanic. You know, we didn’t get there. So, they are not going to be in the list. It’s the same thing with today’s list. when we start diving deep into the private side. We got to a lot of spots, no doubt about it. But listen, I’m going to preface it this way. We did not get to Pine Valley. So, Pine Valley will not be on our list even though it is the best public golf course in the world. Okay. Private, but so private. I apologize. People would love for it to be public, but private. So, I I want to It’s like it’s it is it makes me laugh at times, but I do I feel obligated to respond. I’ve always have. I always will just I got to put it out there because maybe you’ll start to listen moving forward when you see the list and you’re wondering why certain courses aren’t on there. But that was my 30 second. I probably took a minute and a half, but that’s quite all right. No, it was good because I was going to bring it up as well because again I I uh I had to scroll through and I I just was I was just amazed. Um maybe we need to put a clip of us explaining that it’s that we’ve played in 2025. Maybe that needs to be like the second clip in, right? You have like the the front cover of it and then the next clip and then our 10 courses. Maybe that’s what it’s got to be. I don’t know. But with that said, let’s get somehow someone will complain about that. Somehow someone will complain about that, too. So, let’s let’s do this. Let’s get into our top 10 private courses that we played in 2025. And again, these are the courses that we played in this golf season. If we played it last year, we’re not rating it. It’s anything that we’ve played in the 2025 season. So, Mike, you want to go first or you want to go second? It doesn’t matter to me. I just know that mine’s going to be very controversial. Um, okay. It took me a lot of time to legitimately sit here and think about it. Um, but I I’ll go first. I had 19 private golf courses played in the state of New Jersey. Okay, I take that back. 17 played in the state of New Jersey. Two were outside in Jersey. I will also put this aster that Marian Golf Club, the East Course, was far and away the best private golf course I played. Not in New Jersey. It’s not counting. So again, please don’t DM me or yell at me because you knew I played there. I’m not It’s not on my list. I’m going New Jersey only. Okay. So, get we put that out there. I’ll still somehow get a DM saying, “Well, how is Marion not on your list?” But beside point, so here we go. I’m going to list you my top 10 private golf courses in order from 10 to one that I played this year. Number 10, Balta Straw Golf Club, the upper course. Number nine, Hackinack Golf Club. Number eight, Matita National. Number seven, Hidden Creek. Number six, Hollywood. Number five, Somerset Hills. Number four, Bayon. Number three, Galloway National. Number two, Balta Straw Golf Club, the lower course. And my number one course was Essex County Country Club. Wow. I knew you liked Essex, Mike, but I I was sh I’m shocked at a few things. I’m shocked. I it took me I can’t lie to you big fella. I was copy and pasting. I was moving people in and out. If this has been like a a a 19 course list 17 in New Jersey that it took me a very very long time to decide on this. And even this morning when I got up it was like 8:35 8:40 and I’m still relooking at the list and saying am I going with this? And I had to switch one or two but I said listen it’s where your gut lies. It Yeah, it is. I I will say it is a it is a loaded list, right? Like this you have top 10, top 10, top 10, top 10, top 10. Uh top 10. You know, we got is Matita Conk in the top 10 in the state? No, it’s like top 15, 16, something like that. So you But we have like six of the top 10 in here, right? Um, yeah, that’s that’s a crazy uh crazy list, Mike. Um, my first one is I I’m shocked at Bayon. That’s going to be the first and foremost. I I thought I knew how much you loved Essex. I was obviously top three. Figured it would be top two. Had a shot at being number one. But I’m shocked that Bayon for you just because of how much you were looking forward to it. It’s been your white whale um this whole time. I was shocked that you that it’s uh that it’s that quote unquote low for you. Again, I’m just not that it’s low, not that it’s bad, not not knocking it, but I know how much you loved it. So, and talked about it, so I’m a little I was a little shocked that it was that that I can’t lie, dude. I literally was looking at the list and I’m and I’m saying I don’t know where they all can go. I don’t know where they all can go. That’s going to be like, yeah, that makes sense. And I think you could have done a cool lot. You could have done a 1 A, 1 B, 1 C, 2 D. We would had 17 in New Jersey. But I I I think ultimately I started to think about so many things and it just like I to give you an actual reason, bro. I don’t have one. I don’t. At the end of the day, I kind of just went on my gut instincts and said, “Okay, think about your day. Think about the golf course. Think about the people that were around. Think about your overall vibe the minute you got back in the car when you left. Think about the holes.” And it’s not that I can’t remember legitimately probably 1 through 18 at Bayon. I can’t like I could, but I it’s not like that’s held it back. It’s just like these little things that you’re picking at that really are really probably non-existent. Um, but yeah, listen, I I don’t know. I don’t I can’t I I’m speechless. I don’t have a reason for you. I just sit there and say, “Listen, I left Essex County, and there was something about Essex County, that golf course just it it just hit in every aspect of the word hitting.” And I can’t emphasize that enough about that place more so than all the others that it just felt different. I don’t know why. It’s one of those unexplainable things. It’s like that it factor that we talk about with different athletes. It just had it for me that I simply loved every minute of it. I did. Well, I’ll tell you, uh, Don Juan coming up this year. I got to see it. I gotta cuz if if you’re telling me and again, I know how much you loved it and I know it was going to be there, but if you’re telling me that it was above Bon for you, um, that’s that’s you’re telling me something here. You really are. Uh, Mike, I’d say the other thing from your list that hits like if you give me a one and a two, I didn’t think that Hollywood was going to be that high for you is my other thing that kind of sticks out for me. Again, not that you don’t like Hollywood or or or anything like that. I just know the type of golf courses that you like and I know that Hollywood doesn’t particularly have those views that you like to see. you know, like uh you know, like like a Liberty National has the views and the and the you know, that kind of thing. So, I was a little surprised for it to be uh I thought it would be on there, but I thought it would be closer to the bottom than the middle. Yeah. I think the theme for mine is is it is definitely more of a treelined golf course. Like when you look at all 10 of them, there is that similarity where there are things that separate the holes and all of them may maybe not so much bolt straw upper anymore because they’ve kind of opened that out a lot, but the rest of them all have some sort of definition between holes and and I think from my perspective, I enjoy that separation. The reason Hollywood ended up where it did is because I think I had one of those like coming abouts in my mind when I was there because I had a perception about it and I just was like, you know what, it doesn’t do it for me. It’s not my cup of tea. Not saying it’s anything wrong with it, but being out there and I think you know you and I have said this earlier in a non-competitive fashion and being able to kind of just look around, enjoy the little intricacies of the golf course itself kind of brought me back to my high school golf days when I played Hollywood as a high school golfer and was like, there’s not a better course in the world than Hollywood. And all that I could ever remember was that fourth hole. That fourth hole was everything in my mind that I could think about as a high school kid. And then going out there with with you, Tyler, Eric, this past fall, I was like, you know what? This place, I’m not giving this place enough credit, regardless of what my things I like are. I’ve got to be able to be a little more open to things that not always are what I like. And that place, I don’t know, pal. I don’t know. It just did it for me. I enjoyed it way more. I left there with way more appreciation of the golf course itself. And I said, “Listen, as stubborn as I can be, as thickheaded as I can be, I got to give credit where credit is due.” And and that’s where I had to put Hollywood. I I couldn’t get them in the top five because I simply like the other five better and I thought there were better golf courses, but Hollywood’s right there, right on the precipice for me of cutting into that top five. Yeah. Well, I’ll I’m going to hold off a little some comments on Hollywood for a few minutes here, but um but yeah, those are a couple that just jumped out at me on uh on your list there. I did do a solid for you though. I did give you an honorable mention category. Oo, okay. I I did. Um so I have four courses in my honorable mention for you. Now, there’s no particular order here, so please don’t be like, well, he said that one, that’s number 11. No, that’s not true at all. Okay, so my I have four in my Gotcha. Okay, so number 11. Okay, so you and everybody else in the comments, too. I got I got Planefield, I have Little Mill, I have North Jersey, and I have Nickerbacher in my four honorable mentions. Okay, so yell at me all you want, scream at me all you want, DM me all you want. I will stand up, I will comment back, I will respond to you. yell at me, scream at me, agree with me. I’m here to take anything that you got. I I uh Mike, I don’t I don’t really have anything else to add to your list there. I don’t want to do like a which one is rising because um I don’t think necessarily on a private side like they rise as quickly as public courses do uh rise or fall because they’re unless they’re doing a huge renovation or something like that. I I just feel like that’s more of a public side thing. Um so I’m not gonna I’m not going to ask you that. I I do want to ask you this though. Would your list is your list the order in which you’d want to play every day? Like is that something you considered in this or is this just the best course to the to the 10th best course? You know what I’m saying? Do you know what I’m asking? 100%. I think it’s a combination of both. I do. Okay. cuz I was just because what I was getting at was I was going to ask you if there’s one course on this list of top 10 that you could play every day for the rest of your life, which is it if it’s not if that wasn’t part of your inclusion. Yeah, it was. I would say for me it’s both. I would say for me it’s not only the golf course itself, but it’s also would I get bored? Like would I get bored going to play that place all the time? And and and I don’t think I would. I don’t think I would. I I I mean, listen, if you if you said you would get bored playing one of the courses that you and I played on the private side, there’s something wrong with you, right? Like ultimately, um, but no, to me, Essex County clear as day. I had a hard time. I was even trying to find ways to not have it number one because of maybe a point like you mentioned. I just couldn’t. I love the logo. I love the f everything about it. It just it just hits for me, man. It does. So, love it. That’s my top 10, pal. That is my top 10. George Wall Ford in Redbank, New Jersey is family-owned and operated, proudly serving New Jersey residents with superior customer service since 1960. Rye, share your story about your experience there. I can’t say enough good things about George Wall Ford. Um, I needed a new car. I had I had an old I loved the brand that I had. I loved, you know, it was an SUV, but had 165,000 miles on it. It was just time, you know. So, I hopped on over to George Wall Ford. I saw a guy, Jerry, and Jerry and his team were awesome. I mean, from from stem to stern, they’re there. They’re helping. They’re knowledgeable. They have so many cars on the lot that you can go in and say, “Hey, I want a sunroof, a navigation. I want this kind of rims on it.” There’s a great chance that they have that car with all your specs, the color, all that thing. I’d like to be higher in my car. And I went and saw Jerry. He pointed me in the right direction. And again, it’s it’s awesome to have that kind of help and support from your salesman to the finance guy to to even they got somebody who helps you set up your car, right? I got an app on my phone now that’s got my auto start on it. I can locate my car if I don’t know where it is. Uh I could take a trip to to Japan if I wanted to and be like, did I lock my car? And I can go into the app and lock my car. So just the hands-on approach over there is is incredible. So, if you need a car, head on over to George Wall and go ask for Jerry. They were awesome there. Again, Stem to Stern from everybody. I can’t say enough good things about it. It was an unbelievable experience. There isn’t a better place to shop for a brand new car. Just call 732-741932 and ask for Jeremy Wall, George Wall, Ford, and Redbank for all your car buying needs. I’m going to give you my top 10 here, but I do want to give this quick point. Uh I do love North Jersey, but I didn’t play North Jersey this year. And it’s funny you say that because I I didn’t play Manisquan River. I played nine holes. Yeah. And I thought people would say, “You talk about Manisquan River every single episode. How’s it played nine holes, so I was like, you know what? I’m not counting it.” Yeah. Um I I I didn’t Same thing. Didn’t get out to Manisquan either. So, um, so I do want to preface that I do love North Jersey. I’ve talked a lot about it, but North Jersey didn’t get to this year. Not on the list, but here is my list of top 10 private courses in New Jersey that I played in 2025. Starting at number 10, Mike, Beacon Hill. And, and I, let me go back for a second. I played 13 private courses in New Jersey this year. Number 10, Beacon Hill. Number nine, Nickerbacher. Number eight, Trump Bedminster. Number seven, Planefield. Number six, Hackinack. Number five, Somerset. Somerset Hills, I should say. Number four, Matita Conunk. Number three, Hollywood. Number two, the upper course. And number one, the lower course. That is my top 10. Mike, let me uh let me say a couple things and then I want you to fire away with some questions, comments, thoughts, concerns, and other uh I took my uh I took our golf rating system that I’ve been doing all year and I put it in uh I I looked at all the private courses that we played. I put all 13 down. I wrote their numbers down. Then I went through and I said, “Okay, these are the top 10 in that list.” I looked at the other three to see if I liked them. As I put them in order, I started with the backside. Did I like the other three that weren’t on the list more than 10 or nine? And it I don’t I don’t think they jump in. So, I got my 10. Then the same thing that you did. I I I kind of get went on feel. I put them in order on the number that they got. Uh Baltas lower got a 9.9 out of 10. So number one, right? Upper got 9.7. That was number two. And and so on and so forth. And then I looked at that that order and I said, “How do I like those courses compared?” And I flipped uh courses one spot or you know like I flip-fpped um uh uh three courses I flip-flopped uh basically to kind of make them you know I like I like this one better. I like this one like I like this one a little bit better than this one and just kind of moved them around. So that’s that’s how I got my list. Right. So, it’s it is again a little funny that it’s it’s mine’s a little bit more um analytical than yours is, just going on gut there, but it is uh it is definitely something that that I took the time to do. Um and so I just wanted to kind of give that caveat like I did last week of the private or the public courses. I wanted to share with everyone my thought process for for this on the on the private side here. All right. So, let me dive into this. I’m I’m actually surprised to see kind of two Donald Ross golf courses. I know Nickerbacher may not be, you know, all Donald Ross, but seeing Nickerbacher and Planefield both on your list is kind of surprising knowing how much quote you’re not a Donald Ross fan. And I I I know I feel like we’ve had this conversation endless amounts of time. So talk to me about how those two kind of came about in your process. So Mike, I I uh I really feel like um I I think one of the things that we’ve tried to push here for the last couple years is that we are going to be honest and we’re going to be open and outfront with with our with our thoughts without hammering people. You know, we’re not going to try to be negative, right? Even just a minute ago, I said your favorite course to your 10th favorite course and not your favorite course to your least favorite course, right? Because we’re it’s not least favorite, right? But so we’re trying to be fair and and keep everything transparent here. Um while also giving a a fair shake as to what we think, right? So, I I can not like Donald Ross courses because I don’t play well because I don’t I I don’t hit, you know, my irons good enough to hit all the greens or anything like that. I I can I can not play well at Donald Ross courses. I got that. But I can still appreciate the architecture, the the beauty, the in the the landscape, the grounds. I can still appreciate all that stuff while knowing that I don’t play well at those courses. I I I I think that’s what this list would do for you in in that is is that it I know that I don’t play well. I know that when I go to a Donald Ross place, I know I’m going to be in for a tougher day. Uh but I also can can kind of peel that away and go, “Okay, this is this place is really good.” And I know we had our talks about playing field, right? And I had Planefield on my list. You didn’t have it on your list. I I can appreciate the vastness of it. I can appreciate the the the rock work along some of the bridges and the and the rivers, right? Or the ponds. I can appreciate the how many tea boxes there are. I can appreciate the undulations in the green. I can still appreciate all of those things. Um again, while knowing that I’m not playing well there. Yeah, I mean that’s a that’s a valid explanation. No doubt about it. You know, I can’t say I’m surprised with one and two. I kind of knew not only from the golf course perspective, but also the history of that place. I knew, you know, after our time there that was going to be a rock solid one, two. I kind of would have guessed maybe that you would have flipped the order. I kind of maybe would have. Um, but really what kind of surprised me was like that three through six range. I I I knew that That’s where the the flips happened. The that if you go by that’s like the the number that I gave them on the course rating is not in numerical order with three through six there. Those are the those are the gap that some got m jumped around. That makes sense because when I look at that stretch 3, four, five, six. Yeah. Three, four, five, six. I I kind of would have guessed it may be a little different in terms of after we left after we spoke. But obviously now when you put the list together, what was the difference for you between Somerset and Hackinack? Um, well, as far as as far as a course rating goes, one got it got a 9.5, the other got 9.4. So, super close. Not much. I can’t listen I loved Hackin Sack and and honestly if I look at it I would have Hackin Sack would be a course that I I think if you were to give me a a membership to both places. I’d probably take Hackin Sack over Somerset because of the the the golf course, the patio, the vibes, the like I I liked I really loved Hackin Sack, but in that specific case of a 56, I didn’t think that Somerset deserved the knock at six over Hackinack because it had it’s a fantastic golf course. It really is. And And yeah, I just I I don’t I don’t want to be negative on it because it’s not there’s nothing to be negative about, but I really loved Hackin Sack, but I I didn’t it it’s a tough uh it’s a it’s tough to say that it’s a better golf course than Hackin Sack. Uh Somerset’s a better golf course than Hackinack. I think that’s I think that is a is a I don’t want to say no-brainer, but I think that’s a a a gap there. But what I think that Hackinack has is it has the awesome patio. It has, you know, renovated locker rooms. It has like it has so much so much good stuff there. Um, plus it has the history which I know Somerset has as well. It’s it’s a it’s really close for me there. But and then and then I got one other one because you know the Hollywood thing at three. I always think about like oh people talk about top three, top five, top 10 and making it inside that number is a big is a big thing and I think it’s a big to everybody. Like when I’m six in the shore or six in this, it’s like you got to say you’re top 10 because you’re six, right? If you’re four, you can’t you got to say top five. You’re not top three. Y talk to me about Hollywood and what solidified that as number three. Uh again, I I love Hollywood. That’s another place that like I would I would play there every single day and not get bored of it. I I love every single hole that’s out there. and and I’ve said I think the first two holes are rather um straightforward, right? It’s particularly the second hole there. But I absolutely love that place. Um it’s a little biased because I have played there uh significantly more than some of the other places I would say. But I I I think that it is, and I’ve said this, I think that it’s an underrated golf course. And I know how highly rated it is. I think it’s that good that it has the history. It has the like they redid that locker room structure a couple years ago, but you would look at it and think that that’s from 1920. I mean, like they’ve done everything right there. Um, and it just doesn’t I think it deserves to be right next to Baltas in that in that atmosphere of it’s got the architect, it’s got the history, it’s got the the golden age architecture look to it. like I think it has all of that stuff and I don’t think it gets the love that it deserves um in that in that respect. That said, I know I’m not saying it doesn’t get the love. I’m saying that it’s you know what was it ranked by by um it was like six seven eight nine somewhere in that range of and and again I think that it’s I think it’s better than that is is what I’m saying by it being underrated. I I really do. I I absolutely love Hollywood and yeah, it would between those top three um the lower course was was special. It really was. I I I don’t think that um even with the lower course being your number two place, I I don’t I think it’s obvious the lower course is special. It hosts PGA Championships. It’s it’s on another level for a reason, right? That said, if you were to tell me one of those two courses I could play and I could not play the other one, I may take the upper because I absolutely loved the upper. So, I think that goes to to say how much I loved Baltistrol, right? The whole complex is just is just special. But Hollywood is right there for me. It really is. I don’t like the gap like my my one, two, three is is was easy quite frankly. It it didn’t get hard until after that. No, listen, that that’s that’s a nice problem to have. It’s a nice problem to have is when you’re locked in, you know what you know and you like what you like and that’s it. And that’s and that’s pretty solid because it’s hard to argue any of it, right? It’s hard to argue like, hey, listen, this should be there. So on and so forth. Yeah. And it’s come down to like we’ve talked about this, you know, how many times have we brought this up now that like your list is your list. Like someone’s going to hammer me for having Somerset at number five because I know that people love Somerset. And it’s not that I didn’t, it’s just it it doesn’t there’s something about it that I what makes me like other courses slightly more. And I I honestly I can’t really put my finger on it because it’s it’s a tilling house uh design. It’s got it’s got the golden age architecture. It’s got cool features of like you’re hitting through the apple orchard to uh you know on one you got the old racetrack that’s still there kind of in the you know so it’s got that kind of stuff like it has all the stuff for me. Um I I can’t really put my finger on it but I know that there’s going to people that be like Somerset’s best course in New Jersey minus uh Pine Valley and and again it’s it’s tough to argue but opinions are are opinions for a reason. It’s it’s just, you know, what kind of suits your eye is different than my eye. It’s different than Joe Schmo on Instagram’s eye. So, can I ask what the three were or the four were that did not make the cut? Um, or we don’t want to wrench them. I I I certainly can. I I I don’t mind mentioning them because I don’t think that they would argue to be in the top 10 here. Um, I have uh Pine Barons, Jumping Brook, and Matuchen, and all those courses. I think that’s fair. I think that’s fair. I think it’s a fair comment. I I I don’t think that they would argue that they are um I I honestly I think the last one that they that they would argue is that that they’re all kind of like I don’t know how to I don’t know how to describe it, Mike, but like I would put Beacon Hill with those four as being like smaller local country club places, more intimate more intimate spots. More intimate spots. 100%. Right. Um, and and I think that that’s kind of a again I would I would think that I could put Beacon Hill in there and that’s a those four are kind of in the same and I think the other nine are different types of clubs, right? Does I think that’s a fair statement. I think it’s a 100% fair statement. And I’ll tell you and I’ll tell you what, in in my opinion, Beacon Hill is absolutely it’s it’s going to be a riser for me. Like if you were to ask me which course is rising, Beacon Hill’s doing work to it. When I played it a few weeks ago, uh well now maybe now maybe a few months ago, but um it was it was in the best shape I’ve ever seen it. Uh they’re they’re putting in the driving range. They’re doing work to do like a little indoor simulator on like the other side of the road there. They’re moving some of the course around. Like this is a course that’s going to rise. I absolutely love it. This is a place that for me the the course is is really good, but the clubhouse, the vibes, the people there, the service that you get, like the kind of the other stuff that happens there uh bring this course up tremendously. And now that said, they’re working on the course to get a again, they put in a driving range recently. They’re working on maneuvering some things. They put in a little halfway house that they that they didn’t have a few years ago. So, like this is a course that’s putting in the work to make it better. And and it’s going to be a riser for me. It I absolutely love it. I really did. I I love it so much that I now I live close by to it as well, so this is part of it. But like I was like, hey, if I’m if I’m looking to join a place, let me get some paperwork on Beacon Hill. That’s how much I I like it. Bold statement. There you go. There it is. Watch out. Beacon Hill 2026. Here we come, baby. So, uh, so yeah, that’s my list. Um, that’s the order of my list. And it is I I can’t stop not thinking about the Eminem song, but there we go. I don’t know what’s um there’s a line in Eminem song. It goes, here’s the order of my list that it is. Reggie, Jay-Z, Tupac, Biggie, Andre from Outdas, Janick, Corrupt, Nas, and then me. There you go. We got We’re We got a little bit of everything in today’s podcast. Top 10’s yelling at us. We got rapping. Um, and I’ll put a final bow on it because I You’re not You’re not an Eminem guy. I am, but I’m not a lyric guy. I make my own lyrics up and act like I know the words and people think like, “Oh, you know the words? Well, my own.” I definitely I I would say I got about 80 to 90% of those lyrics correct because you know sometimes they they kind of they kind of mix in some different words. But yeah, I kind of I got everyone that knows what I’m talking about. They’re like, “Oh yeah, I I think it’s this, but he might be right. I’ll put the song in there. We’ll bump it in.” There you go. Yeah. So, and then obviously Well, we might as well go from one stretch of Eminem to Now we got to just put a final bow in the episode. Did you see Tiger Woods’s press conference? I know that this comes about every single year, this time of the year. I mean, the man got up there. Did you see any of his press conference before the hero started? I did not. I didn’t I didn’t I mean, I know his I know he has the press conference. I didn’t I didn’t watch it. I didn’t, you know, I didn’t I didn’t tune into it. So, let me you know, not breaking news, but he’s not obviously going to be playing in the Hero, which just went on this past weekend. He’s not playing in the PNC with Charlie because he’s not fully back. But he did throw a few jokes out there which kind of hints to some things for me that anytime that Tiger Woods is a little sarcastic and he’s a little kind of like jabbing with his comments to the press, it kind of makes me feel good that Tiger Woods in a good state of mind. And someone did ask him, you know, Tiger, what are you thinking about for next year in terms of your schedule? Are you going to play on the PGA Tour Champion schedule? like things like that. He’s like, “Well, I’m going to play 25 events on the Champions Tour. I’m going to play 25 events on the PGA Tour.” And everybody kind of got quiet for a quick second, like, “Wait, what?” And then he started laughing like it was like a joke, and then everybody started laughing because with Tiger Woods, you just never know what to expect when this guy says something. and the fact that he seemed upbeat. He seemed like he had some, you know, things going on in the background. I can’t help but think that the dude’s got one more left in him. He’s got one more left in him. And I don’t know which one that is, but I know he turns 50 the end of this month. I’m not shutting the door. I think we got one final goodbye left in him. And I’m going to throw this out there. Maybe it’s not in 2026. Maybe it’s in 2027. But we’ve seen Tom Watson try to do it at 59. We’ve seen Phil do it at 51,52 at the PGA. If you’re a guy you’re not counting out, can’t count out Mr. Eldrich Woods. Are you saying a major or you just saying a tournament? Oh, he’s not going to play in a tournament. I’m talking a major. Okay. A major victory. Yeah. I I I karate kid kicked that door close. I went full crane, right? And just and kicked it like he kicked Johnny’s face. That’s what I did to it. Well, I I just don’t like I I I would love it. I really would. It would be good for golf. It would be good for Tiger. The whole like finalize his comeback. But Mike, I honestly believe that we already finished that. We already closed the book. He won the Masters in in 2019, right? that was his comeback already. I I think that he’s just been through too much. You look at Phil when he won it. Phil has never been injured like Tiger has. I don’t know if Phil’s been injured really anytime throughout his career. Um I I just don’t I just I just don’t think his body can hold up through it. I don’t. Right. Time will tell. Time will tell. No doubt. But right now, you’re right and I’m wrong. So I I gotta keep that glimmer of hope alive. Well, you keep it alive. All right, Mike. Anything else? Any other any other quick hitters or or things that I need to I wasn’t prepared for. Nope. That’s all I got for this week. All right. So, then stay tuned for our episode on Thursday with our interview. Uh we have Jason Burbam again. He’s a teacher, coach, instructor. Um huge in that aspect of the world, uh out of Manhattan Woods. Um he’s our interview for Thursday. Till then, cheers.