Don't call golf-only Manasquan River a country club
By 
BRIELLE, N.J. (Sept. 15, 2004) -- Dr. Robert Evans simply refers to it as "the country club incident." The way his lips his curl makes it sound like a toxic case fit to be featured on one of those new copycat TV dramas. This week on Medical Investigation: The Country Club Incident.
Of course, it does not take long to see this isn't false hyperbole. Not to these guys. The veteran golfers who make up the heart of the Manasquan River Golf Club viewed The Country Club Incident as nothing less than a threat to their way of life.
"We survived them trying to turn this into a country club,'' Evans said, shaking his head. The subject was getting to Evans again and he'd excuse himself in a moment.
Watching his friend go, Dr. John Shea smiled.
"This isn't a country club,'' Shea said. "There's no pool. There's no tennis courts, no racquet ball, no badminton. It's only about the golf. And that's the way it should be.''
That's the way it's always been at the Manasquan River Golf Club. And to most people in this area, it seems like it's been that way forever. In a Jersey Shore marked by population and golf building booms, the Manasquan River club is a virtual dinosaur. The course was founded in 1922 and still owes most of its unique look today to the design of St. Andrews native Robert White. White became the first president of the PGA in 1916, but around here Manasquan River Golf Club is regarded as his finest hour.
The course is private, strictly members only, but that doesn't stop the locals from telling you it's a track you have to experience. This isn't Pine Valley, which guards access better than Buckingham Palace (no Batman impersonator would ever get far enough to wreak havoc at Pine Valley). Manasquan River's head pro Brent Studer is known for reaching out to the community, holding a number of tournaments and golf clinics for golfers of various ages every year.
Plus, some of the members themselves are surprising willing to help a non-member who shows an interest get in a round. This is a group that's proud of the course's history and sometimes eager to show it off. Even if you don't have the Lexus that appears to be the official clubhouse parking lot car.
Shea can show you where the old farmhouse that used to serve as the clubhouse stood (part of it's still used in the dining area). He's been a member for more than 30 years, Evans for more than 40. Yet these gray-haired golf buddies feel like youngsters when they're hitting drives off land that used to belong to an old Revolutionary War colonel.
Excuse them if they felt like they were defending Colonel James Osborn's honor too when they led a membership uprising against the country clubinization plan.
"We've grown with this course, with this clubhouse,'' Shea said.
The grown course now includes one of the most extensive, high-end pro shops you'll ever see, a concession to the 21st century the membership happily endorsed. If a Manasquan River member forgets to get that necklace his wife wanted for her birthday, he can pick it up here after a long 19th hole.
Yet it's the old somewhat schizophrenic design that delivers a memorable day.
Back in the 1920s, White wasn't worrying about the theme course golf model that's so prevalent today. He worked with whatever Mother Nature gave him. On the front nine that meant a hilly, almost mountainous track of land. On the back nine that meant largely level ground and spectacular views of the Manasquan River Inlet.
It can make for a jarring transition, but the dysfunction definitely adds another dimension to the round. This isn't a course where you feel like you're playing the same holes, working around the same obstacles, over and over again.
"I call it seaside hilly golf,'' Evans said.
It's really two completely different nine-hole courses,'' said Tom D'Amato, Manasquan River's outside operations supervisor.
The ninth hole includes the highest point in Brielle, one of the highest points in New Jersey. On a clear day, you can see all the way to the New York City skyline (the city's about 80 minutes away by car). In contrast, large stretches of the back nine are right along the Manasquan River Inlet. On the elevated 17th tee, you could easily stick your club into river's edge. On a clear summer day, the fishing and pleasure boats look close enough to board.
Get too caught up in the contrasting scenery and scores are likely to balloon. Manasquan River Golf Club measures only 6,733 yards from the back tees and it sometimes seems to play even shorter than that. White wasn't trying to test 300-yard drives. In many cases using driver off the tee is a sure recipe for disaster. The fairways are narrow, almost comically so on some of the hillier holes.
"It's old fashioned,'' D'Amato said, proudly. "You have to think to score.''
That's a tradition two old school doctors can swing behind.
The verdict
The course's worth could be measured in the number of golfers braving this rainy, chilly day to get in a round. Manasquan River is one of those courses students of the game will love if only for its history and wacky two-minded nines format. Starting on the hilly side can be trying. These are serious mounds. Walking it could qualify as a treadmill workout. Go too fast on your golf cart and you'll flip it. There are few actual cart paths, which add to the sense of being on a course from the past.
The 609-yard, par-5 seventh would be a monster in any age with its rising and falling slopes.
The back nine does abut the lawns of several million-dollar homes, taking away a little of the front nine affect. They are nice largely unique homes, but they're still homes. The par-4, 344-yard 18th requires a tee shot over a pond with a shooting fountain. It looks a little miniature golfish at first glance, but it's actually fun.
Manasquan River is not a course for those who live to let driver rip, but it provides a definite workout for the iron game. One complaint is the inordinate number of trees all over the course. Sometimes the slightest miss swing results in a severe penalty. White's original course included hardly any trees and restoration architect Ron Prichard is attempting to reverse the mad tree planting spree.
Places to stay
The Albert Victorian Inn ( (609) 492-4154) and the Green Gables Inn with its own tea room ( (800) 492-0492) are good Bed & Breakfast options in Beach Haven. A little further north, The Belmar Motor Lodge ( (732) 681-6600) is an economical option in an area known for its nightlife.
Places to eat.
For something different, try River Queen ( (732) 528-6620), which offers sightseeing dinner boat buffets from Brielle. If you're looking for chain restaurants, Route 70 in Brick offers all the usual suspects.
Fast fact
Robert White, the first PGA president, designed this course in 1922.
If you go
Manasquan River Golf Club
843 Riverview Drive
Brielle, N.J.
(732) 528-9678
September 15, 2004
Any opinions expressed above are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the management.
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