Blue Heron members feel course is being taken out from under them
By 
COLOGNE, N.J. -- Tom Paul didn't just buy a membership to Blue Heron Pines. He bought a house.
"I purchased my home based on this golf course,'' Paul said. "I moved based on this golf course. I wanted to get away from the usual Jersey Shore beach community and find something where I'd have great golf facilities I could use anytime."
When Paul saw Blue Heron Pines' two course complex, he was certain he had found his dream. So certain, he bought one of the houses in the linked Blue Heron Pines subdivisions. Paul could have kissed the real estate agent. He was living in a golf fanatic's fantasyland.
Now the fantasy is moving underneath Paul's feet. Blue Heron Pines East is slated for extinction. The beauty that first caught Paul's eye is set to be turned into another housing development with a scaled down nine-hole course. This is the worst kept secret in Jersey Shore golf, even if Blue Heron officials have yet to publicly acknowledge it. To Paul and other Blue Heron devotees, it is a reality they cannot escape even as they try and enjoy every last swing. When asked what his favorite hole at Blue Heron Pines East is, Paul pauses and then shoots back, "You mean which hole are they going to bulldoze under first?''
Sometimes gallows' humor is all you've got. At least, Cinderella knew she only had until midnight. Paul and others like him thought they held mortgages on their dreams.
It was bad enough when they started building new homes right on the West Course as opposed to houses like Paul's out of swing sight.
"If they do what they did to the West Course here, I'm out of here,'' Paul said, shaking his head. "You've got houses right along the holes there now. It just takes away from the golf experience, you know? That's not what golf is supposed to be all about. You want to escape a little, not see someone's pool. Blue Heron Pines was supposed to be about pure golf.
"That's what I signed up for."
Sitting in the East clubhouse, head pro David Lee tries to assure his loyal customers as best he can.
"Nothing is concrete on that,'' Lee said. "Nothing's been made concrete on the selling of the golf course right now. You can write that. We're still open for business.''
The sense of impending closure makes for a curious, almost morbid scene. On this day, many of the golfers playing in a corporate outing on the East Course sound like they are paying their final respects to an old friend. None of them need to be told by a reporter about the bulldozing plans. They bring it up first.
"It's in great shape, great shape,'' Josie Meill said as she waited on the tee. "Every time you play here it's a treat. It's shame they're tearing it down."
The idea that they will not just be losing any course, but one of the best courses in New Jersey, adds to the melancholy. With its narrow fairways, punishing bunker placements and length (7,221 yards), it is easy to see why the United States Golf Association selected Blue Heron Pines East to host the U.S. Amateur Public Links. Members like Paul love the fact that Blue Heron Pines is open to the public, that more golf aficionados like them get to walk away wowed. It delivers a sense of pride in their course.
"I tell you what, if you took 20 people and had them play at (the legendary) Pine Valley and then had those same 20 people play here, I bet their scores on average would be higher here," Paul said. "At Pine Valley, you can land 747s in their fairways. Here, you don't have much of a target at all."
That degree of difficulty may have actually contributed to the East Course's demise. The tourists who take the shuttles from Atlantic City seem to prefer the West Course and its more forgiving, gimmicky track (it incorporates features from some of America's best known golf course including Long Island's Bethpage Black and Chicago's Somerset Hills).
Lee estimates that 75 percent of the East Course's players are members or locals, with only 25 percent coming from out-of-town visitors. There may be something to being too USGA-tournament-strength worthy.
"Some holes can seem ridiculously hard,'' said golfer Peter Bertram of Haddon Heights, N.J. "If you don't land on the exact right part of the green, you can be in big trouble. You have to like a challenge to like playing here.''
Golfers like Paul thrive on challenge. It's hard for him to criticize his favorite course even as it's set to close on him (by the end of 2005 according to reports). He loves the practice facilities. He loves having a head pro who competed on the mini tours and is willing to share those war stories in Lee. He loves the fact that Blue Heron Pines essentially revolutionized golf on the Jersey Shore.
When Blue Heron Pines first opened in 1993, there were few options in upscale golf on The Shore. But Blue Heron brought big money vision and courses like Sand Barrens, Twisted Dune, Pine Barrens and Sea Oaks entered the picture.
Now Paul is afraid Blue Heron is revolutionalizing Jersey Shore golf again.
"The day those bulldozers get here is going to be a sad day for golf in New Jersey,'' Paul said.
Where's Paul supposed to move then?
The verdict
The impending closure will be a blow to the Jersey Shore golf scene. Blue Heron Pines East isn't just a big money pioneer, it's one of the best courses in the area. Most serious golfers would much rather see its gimmicky sister West Course shut down if given a choice.
Right now, the East Course is largely isolated from the Blue Heron housing developments (no guarantee on how long that will last). The holes are relatively close together though, and the course can get crowded, so don't go expecting a strict commune with nature. You'll be bumping into plenty of other groups as you wait to tee off.
The course will test you and sometimes it will seem like the test is stacked to make you fail. Staying in the fairways is essential. The large patches of wild grass and rocky terrain turn wayward shots into long misadventures. The par 3s are long. Sometimes the East Course comes across as an insecure bully determined to show how tough it is.
There are some pin placements that only a USGA official could love. Overall, it's a course that allows plenty of strategic choices. Right now, the No. 1 being how to work getting a round in before the bulldozers arrive in late 2005.
Places to stay
The beachfront motels in Ocean City and the high-rise hotels in Atlantic City are both an option for Blue Heron Pines play. The only thing right in Cologne is the A-1 Motel ( (609) 965-51410 ), a choice best reserved for the economical traveler who cares about golf and only golf.
Places to eat
Mickey and Minnie's Inn ( (609) 965-1877) offers the usual pub fare and Al's Custard Stand ((609) 965-1764) offers better-than-average ice cream treats. Both are just a few miles from the course. The golf complex also has its own full-service restaurant.
If you go
Blue Heron Pines East
550 W. Country Club Drive
Cologne, N.J.
Web: blueheronpines.com
Tee times: 1-888-4STARGOLF
September 23, 2004
Chris Baldwin keeps one eye on the PGA Tour and another watching golf vacation hotspots and letting travelers in on the best place to vacation.
Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management.
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