Worldgolfer's Golf Course Reviews

Designer: Robert White (1923), Robert Trent Jones Sr. (1948, Redesign)

Location: North Caldwell, New Jersey

History: Green Brook opened in 1923 as a private club and was designed by Robert White, the first president of the PGA. Robert Trent Jones Sr. redesigned the course in 1948 and it underwent several minor changes since. Sadly, Green Brook closed in 2024 and will be developed into condos.

Conditions: 9/10, Conditioning was one of Green Brook’s greatest attributes, as it was always in excellent condition with firm, fast greens, thick rough, and lush fairways and teeboxes.

Value: N/A, This was a private club.

Scorecard:

Tee                                 Par         Yardage         Rating          Slope

Blue                               71            6612                71.9              135

Blue/White                71             6402               71.1               134

White                           71            6303               70.5              132

Green                           71            5598               67.0              126

Green/Gold                71            5248              70.6               126

Gold                              71            4859              68.5               123

Hole Descriptions: The private scene in Northern New Jersey is extremely deep and competitive but there are a number of local clubs that are affordable and fly well-under the radar. Green Brook was one of these clubs. While not nearly as memorable as its neighbor Mountain Ridge or some others, Green Brook was a solid private course that was decently challenging and always in fantastic condition. The course was built on the side of a giant hill and featured dramatically different nines. The front nine was quite good and featured an interesting routing with numerous blind shots and several quirky holes. The back unfortunately suffered from the terrain and featured too many tree-lined par fours that ran parallel to each other along the hill. This resulted in many uneven lies and a serious lack of variety. This was not a course I would travel long distances to play, but was certainly always a fun round and well-worth your time.

Green Brook’s opening hole was a 409 yard slight dogleg left par 4 on fairly level terrain. This was almost certainly the most boring hole on the front side featuring a generous fairway lined by sporadic trees and a bunker down the left at 200 yards. The most interesting aspect of this hole was the green, which featured several plateaus and was defended by two bunkers short left and a false front.

Running parallel to the 1st, the 2nd hole was a lengthy 434 yard par 4 that played as a slight downhill dogleg right. This teeshot was semi-blind but a trio of bunkers down the right beginning at 235 yards was visible and should be avoided. This approach ran downhill towards another excellent green, playing diagonal and sloping steadily towards the front with bunkers short and long.

The 3rd hole was Green Brook’s first par 5 at 500 yards and was a solid risk/reward hole. This teeshot was a bit intimidating, playing uphill to a narrow fairway lined by a hazard down the left the entire way and a steep hill of rough right. At about 320 yards, this fairway turned left and continued uphill towards a back-to-front sloped green defended by bunkers on either side. Longer hitters who got near the corner of the dogleg could absolutely reach this green in two.

At just 267 yards, Green Brook’s 4th hole was its shortest par 4 and was one of the more fun and memorable holes on the course. Playing somewhat like nearby Ridgewood’s famous “Five & Dime” hole, this par 4 was reachable but played uphill the entire way. This fairway canted left-to-right with OB right the entire way and crossbunkers running down the right at 120 yards and left at 180 yards. This green was very tiny, was surrounded by bunkers and a false front, and sloped severely back-to-front. Anything above the hole here was in danger of putting off the green. The golfer was given numerous options here and scores could range from eagle to ball-in-pocket!

The 5th hole was the first par 3 on the course and was another fun hole at 178 yards. From the highest point on the property, this teebox provided wonderful views of the course and surrounding hills of northern NJ. This distance was tough to judge, as this green sat well below the teebox and required less club. Surrounded by five bunkers long and left, this green was large and contained a back right plateau.

Local knowledge came into play on the next two holes, consecutive dogleg right par fours that played completely blind on the teeshot. At 380 yards, the 6th hole played uphill on the teeshot over a plateau to a fairway that turned right around 210 yards. Fescue lined both sides so accuracy was required here. This green ran hard back-to-front and was defended by bunkers on either side short.

The 7th hole was slightly easier playing downhill and shorter at 363 yards, but again featured a very unnerving blind teeshot to a fescue-lined fairway that began at 180 yards. This approach continued downhill towards a right-to-left sloping green guarded by bunkers left, long, and right.

The 8th hole was the longest par 3 on the course at a strong 215 yards. Playing slightly downhill with trees down either side, this one-shotter required a good strike to reach a narrow green that generally sloped back right-to-front left and was well-defended by numerous bunkers on either side.

The 9th was one of Green Brook’s most memorable holes and a seemingly polarizing one as a 392 yard par 4. From a low teebox, this hole played as a severe dogleg right with a teeshot traversing a valley to find a fairway that turned at about 225 yards. Thick forest ran down the right the entire way and this approach played steadily downhill towards a very tough, two-tiered, back-to-front sloped green. Again, putts above the hole here were extremely dicey.

As mentioned earlier, the back nine was not nearly as good as the front due to a questionable routing on very hilly terrain. The 10th hole was not on this hill but was my least favorite hole on the course as a 430 yard dogleg left par 4. Playing as the number 1 handicap, this was a tough hole that turned 90 degrees left at about 220 yards. Tall trees down the left were there to protect other holes, but really took away the option to cut the corner, leaving a very long approach in for nearly everyone. This green sloped hard both back-to-front and left-to-right and was defended by bunkers on either side.

The 411 yard 11th hole was the first of several straightaway par fours lined by trees on the back nine. This hole was probably the best of the group, as it contained a fairway bunker down the right at 230 yards and a speed slot following this. This green was also quite fun, sloping hard towards the back right and defended by a bunker right.

At 444 yards, the 12th hole was the longest par 4 at Green Brook and also played straightaway lined by trees. This fairway sloped right-to-left the entire way but was less severe than the green, which sloped severely towards the left defended by a bunker on this side as well. Par was a strong score here.

From the lowest point on the property, the 509 yard par 5 13th played slightly uphill to a fairway that sloped hard left-to-right and turned right at about 220 yards. A pair of bunkers ran down the corner of the dogleg and OB lined the right side the entire way. This fairway progressively narrowed as you neared a severely left-to-right sloping green well-defended by deep bunkers on either side.

The 14th hole continued uphill as an 178 yard par 3. Playing at least a club longer, this hole featured a back-to-front sloped green defended by bunkers on either side. This was a rather forgettable hole.

At 525 yards, the 15th hole was the longest par 5 at Green Brook and played straightaway and downhill to a generous right-to-left sloping fairway. Sequential bunkering and trees came into play for the final 150 yards and this green again sloped severely right-to-left with a bunker left as well.

The 16th hole was the shortest par 4 on a lengthy back nine at 393 yards. This hole again played straightaway and tree-lined and also featured a pair of bunkers down the right beginning at 210 yards. This green was a lot better than the previous few and featured an interesting rim of rough around its edges and a deep bunker left. It contained numerous internal undulations and funneled balls towards a left swale, opposite the predominant slope of the land.

The 17th was somewhat of a signature hole at Green Brook as the only hole that featured a significant water hazard. This par 3 played level over a pond the entire way to a back-to-front sloped green surrounded by bunkers. This was a very pretty hole, but for some reason didn’t seem to fit the course.

Green Brook’s closing hole was a 402 yard straightaway par 4 that featured a very narrow fairway lined by trees and a total of seven bunkers on either side. This approach played slightly uphill to a green defended on either side by bunkers and sloped generally back right-to-front left.

General Comments: Practice facilities at Green Brook included a small driving range near the 10th hole and a practice green near the clubhouse.

Verdict: Although not one of New Jersey’s elite clubs, the historic Green Brook was always in extremely strong condition and featured some fun and memorable holes. The back nine’s hilly terrain and repetitive design held the course back, but it was still well-worth a play if given the opportunity. Sadly, the course closed in 2024 amidst financial difficulties.