The Ridgewood Country Club (West/East) – Played June 2019
- Rankings: Golf Magazine #84
- Location: 96 W Midland Avenue, Paramus, New Jersey
- Year: 1929
- Original Architect: A.W. Tillinghast
- Additional Work By: Gil Hanse
- Course Access: Private
- Walking Rules: Carts & Caddies Available
Score Card Information:
- Championship: 7,215 yards, Par 72, 75.5 Rating/143 Slope
- Back: 6,563 yards, Par 72, 72.5 Rating/136 Slope
Back in June, I was able to put together a sweet long-weekend trip to New York and New Jersey with a stop in Maryland on the way back. I had a course set up in each state with The Ridgewood Country Club, Hudson National, and Caves Valley on the itinerary. A nice rota indeed!
After the drive up to Paramus, New Jersey the wife and I realized our hotel was basically across the street from the course. It was a little more difficult to get to it than that since the highway wasn’t crossable. Once you get there, the sign below greets you to Ridgewood.
The Ridgewood Country Club has plenty of history. It opened at its present site in 1929 after purchasing the 257-acre tract to relocate from the original Ridgewood location. The club chose A.W. Tillinghast to design the 27 holes and you can’t blame them for that choice. According to the course website, Tillinghast’s granddaughters called Ridgewood his favorite design. That is high praise if true.
The course has played host to some big tournaments. They have hosted the PGA Tour’s Northern Trust three times as well as the 1935 Ryder Cup. The USGA has been a frequent visitor, awarding the US Amateur, US Senior Amateur, US Girls Junior, and US Senior Open. Throw in a Senior PGA Championship and LPGA event and the course has plenty of tournament chops.
Many great courses have good clubhouses. Ridgewood stands out as having a phenomenal one. Clifford Charles Wendehack designed the building with a Norman style featuring a tower and porches. The clubhouse in on the National Register of Historic Places. As such, there is an active preservation and restoration program.
Check out some of the clubhouse photos below.
The scorecard only showed two sets of tees. For my Top 100 quest, the West and East nines are what I played. Let’s do it!
West – Hole 1 – 335 yards – Par 4
The angle of this hole in conjunction with the trees favors a draw. The left bunker can be in play depending on club selection on the tee.
The green has some good slope to it. We had putts beyond this flag and they were lightning quick.
West – Hole 2 – 363 yards – Par 4
It’s good to get as far down the hole as possible. The trees on the right stop and the hole opens up so the drive is not a bad play.
I’ll mention it here because it applies to all the holes. I love the wispy grass on the bunkers. The green is a big target.
Here’s a closer look at the green.
West – Hole 3 – 179 yards – Par 3
This is a good uphill hole with all the trouble residing in the deep right bunker. Avoid that thing at all costs.
See what I mean.
West – Hole 4 – 536 yards – Par 5
Tillinghast usually features a “Great Hazard” at his courses. I explained those in-depth in the Baltimore CC post, you can check it out here. The Ridgewood Country Club version is on the fourth hole of the West nine. The depth perception on this hole was tough as it was hard to tell if you could get to the hazard.
The hazard features long. wispy grass and sand traps. It is imperative to stay out of this.
The green backs up to another golf course entirely (on the other side of the bushes). Our caddie mentioned that a tornado had come through this part of the course and really cleared out some trees.
West – Hole 5 – 397 yards – Par 4
You’ve got a wide-open fairway to aim for here. For an angle into the green, the left side of the fairway is best.
The green is situated in a cool spot with the trees and bunkering surrounding the putting surface. You must carry your ball far enough into the green or it will come back down the hill.
West – Hole 6 – 135 yards – Par 3
This is a sweet little hole with sand all over the place. The green slopes from left to right and is a bigger target than you can see from the tee.
West – Hole 7 – 390 yards – Par 4
Nothing tricky here. The tee is slightly elevated and the fairway is fairly generous. Solid shots are necessary but this is a good birdie opportunity.
West – Hole 8 – 571 yards – Par 5
This dogleg left reminded me of the Barn hole at Baltimore Country Club. While there is no barn, the turn is very sharp and comes quickly.
In the photos below, you get to see the interesting green site. It sits right near the first green and is a traffic hub.
Missing the green comes with consequences.
West – Hole 9 – 423 yards – Par 4
The driving range hugs the left side of this hole and the tee shot calls for a fade. It’s a long hole and demanding.
I went way right from the tee and didn’t get a great photo of the proper approach shot. Below is the view after walking up to the green.
East – Hole 1 – 348 yards – Par 4
This was our actual first hole of the day. You can tell by the shadows. The elevated tee makes this play a bit shorter than the yardage.
This was a great introduction to the wonderful bunkering on these holes.
East – Hole 2 – 161 yards – Par 3
We’ve got another, more elevated tee shot here. Hit the green or par is going to be really tough.
East – Hole 3 – 546 yards – Par 5
I found this to be a difficult tee shot. Left is absolutely dead but the trees on the right block out most of the hole as well.
Once you get past the first two shots, you are greeted with the green site. I liked how it is set to the right and among the bunkers.
There is also a lot of slope, that is illustrated below.
East – Hole 4 – 408 yards – Par 4
This hole is a draw player’s delight. You really have no option to fade it, which is a fair criticism. The approach shot is also difficult to a sloping green.
East – Hole 5 – 371 yards – Par 4
We flip the script here to an uphill hole. The green is dramatically sloped in the front, so much so that my good shot to the center of the green spun back into the fairway.
From behind the green, you can’t even see the drastic front slope.
East – Hole 6 – 204 yards – Par 3
The other short hole on this nine is downhill as well. It does play a good bit longer than the first one albeit to a larger green.
East – Hole 7 – 430 yards – Par 4
This hole is a beast. It’s uphill and well over 400 yards. From my experience, I don’t recommend hitting into the left rough.
East – Hole 8 – 396 yards – Par 4
This straightaway hole is flat the whole way. The main defense is the trees and the greenside bunkers. The proper angles are important.
The green sits closely to other holes on this nine as you can see below.
East – Hole 9 – 370 yards – Par 4
Going back to the clubhouse, this hole bends slightly left. There is a pond over this hill that long hitters can likely reach.
The slopes on some of these greens are subtle and don’t show up in photos. This is a perfect example.
The look back at the hole reminds you that you’re at a cool spot.
I was refreshed playing The Ridgewood Country Club. I would say there is nothing flashy about it, meaning that as the ultimate compliment.
The clubhouse is stately and the course is classic. The conditioning was wonderful and the greens putted true. Tillinghast is quickly becoming one of my favorite architects.
