Cash in your chips at these Atlantic City golf courses

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Its main claims to fame have remained the same for almost a century now: home of the world's first boardwalk, Salt Water Taffy, Monopoly and the Miss America Contest (which turns 83 this September). What Atlantic City wasn't for all those years, with the exception of a few private courses, was a golf destination. That all changed with during a course-building boom of the mid-1990s, and now the gaming capital of New Jersey is a sure bet on the itineraries of golfers up and down the Eastern seaboard.

According to Teddy O'Keefe, Executive Director of the Greater Atlantic City Golf Association (GACGA), the average golfer who comes here hails mainly from New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, stays for two nights and plays three rounds. Geographically that makes sense, but considering the lineup of courses now available, the length of stays and number of rounds should be a lot longer.

There's a dozen resort and public tracks worth checking out in the area, with more than a handful attracting high praise from the usual course ranking sources. Four-star ratings abound, and even during the summer high season, few rounds will run you more than $125. Try finding those rates in Vegas, baby.

Here's a brief primer on where to play in and around Atlantic City.

Seaview Marriott - Site of the LPGA ShopRite Classic once again this June, this full-fledged resort is home to two layouts with deep roots, high ratings and plenty of wind. The Bay Course, originally designed by none other than Donald Ross and A.W. Tillinghast, celebrates its 90th anniversary this year. The Pines Course (longer than the Bay by almost 500 yards) came on board in 1929. There's also a 297-room hotel, spa and a Nick Faldo Golf Institute.

Blue Heron Pines - The explosion of upscale public golf in South Jersey started here in 1993 when the Stephen Kay-designed West course was unveiled. The East course, designed by Steve Smyers and opened in 2000, placed 7th overall Golfweek in New Jersey on its most recent listing of America's Best Public Access Courses. It was already good enough to host the U.S. Amateur Public Links championship in 2003. The whole facility is well-known for quality conditions and great service.

Sand Barrens - Definitely make the 32-mile drive south of Atlantic City to find this well-named facility, which includes three nines designed by Dr. Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry. Ranked 2nd in the state by Golfweek in 2004. The North/West combo has the highest slope rating from both the regulation and pro tees.

Harbor Pines - Located in Egg Harbor Township, 14 miles west of Atlantic City and on the same road as McCullough's Emerald Links and Twisted Dune, this is another worthwhile Stephen Kay design. Generous fairways and greens are framed by a pine forest and 17 acres of lakes.

Twisted Dune -- Archie Struthers, who at one time caddied at Pine Valley, designed this course. Opened in 2001, you'll be playing among huge mounds and sprawling bunkers. Find the fairway or else here. Landed in 4th place on Golfweek's 2004 New Jersey rankings of public courses.

McCullough's Emerald Links - Stephen Kay's latest design in the area opened in 2002 and pays homage to some famous Scottish courses. Built on a former landfill, the layout only measures 6,535 yards from the tips but don't be fooled - it's still a challenge.

Shore Gate - Designers Ron Fream and David Dale throw plenty of bunkers and multiple lakes at you here 28 miles south of Atlantic City, building a tough newcomer that will only get better. At 7,227 yards from the tips, one of the longest courses in the region and well-deserving of the acclaim it has attracted since opening two years ago.

Those are just the highlights. There's also decent values at the refurbished, 77-year old Links at Brigantine Beach; Mays Landing Golf & Country Club, located 14 miles from Atlantic City on the western side of the Garden State Parkway; Sea Oaks in Little Egg Harbor Township and Cape May National.

Off the course, the biggest buzz has been generated by the newest casino in town, the billion-dollar Borgata, which opened last summer. Taking a cue from Las Vegas, there's also more upscale shopping and a wider choice of dining options in AC than ever before. Also check the local music listings because more concerts are finding their way to Boardwalk Hall, which underwent a $90 million renovation last year.

The GACGA is also upgrading, rolling out a new online booking system on its website early this summer. "Almost from the start we were one of the first associations in the country to connect our courses and hotels electronically with an online reservations system," said O'Keefe. "We're not like Myrtle Beach or Ocean City, Maryland, where the hotels are really help drive the association because they need to fill rooms. In Atlantic City there is a shortage of rooms. The casino hotels operate at about a 98 percent occupancy rate and the non-casino hotels are about 80 percent year round. The new online system provides real time booking of hotels and tee times at courses that belong to the Association. You'll be able to complete the entire transaction online, just the way you can do now with the airlines or hotels."

Stay & Play

With 12 casino resorts offering close to 14,000 rooms, there are plenty of options but book well ahead. The one casino participating in the GACGA's online system currently is The Tropicana. For online tee times and hotel packages, contact the GACGA at 800-465-3222 or at gacga.com.

Dining

Italian: Angeloni's II, corner of Arctic and Georgia Avenues Cuban: Babalu Grill, 2020 Atlantic Avenue, near shopping outlets Famous Sandwiches: White House Sub Shop, 2301 Arctic Avenue Beer/Food: Back Bay Ale House, 800 North New Hampshire Avenue in Gardner's Basin

Fast Fact

Bet you didn't know there are wineries in New Jersey. Well there are, and now one near Atlantic City is adding a golf course on its property early this summer. The Renault Winery in Egg Harbor Township was founded in 1864, will unveil a resort course designed by Ed Shearon. You can also stay onsite at Tuscany House. Call (609) 965-2111 or go to renaultwinery.com.

If you go

You can fly into Atlantic City International Airport (via Delta or Spirit Airlines), which is located just nine miles from the boardwalk. If you're driving, get enough gas to cover 58 miles from Philadelphia, 125 miles from New York City, and 150 miles from Baltimore. For tourism information, go to atlanticitynj.com.

March 24, 2005

As an Associate Editor at GOLF MAGAZINE for three years, Tom Mackin wrote about golf destinations in the United States, Mexico, Scotland, Ireland and Australia.