Ash Brook Golf Course

Ash Brook Golf Course is a Union County-owned public facility in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, that has served the greater Westfield and Scotch Plains community since Alfred Tull designed the original layout in 1953. Stretching to 7,040 yards, Ash Brook plays as a genuine championship test with tree-lined fairways and large greens that reward accuracy and intelligent course management. Subsequent work by Rees Jones has kept the course current while maintaining its traditional parkland character.

Ash Brook Golf Course was built in 1953 as a public golf facility owned and operated by Union County, New Jersey. Alfred Tull, the architect commissioned to design the original layout, created a championship-caliber parkland course on property in Scotch Plains that would become one of the premier public golf destinations in the metropolitan New York area. Alfred Horace Tull brought considerable experience and pedigree to the project. English-born, Tull emigrated with his family to Canada in 1907 and then to the United States in 1914. He began his career working with his brother William J. Tull in a firm that supervised construction of courses designed by Walter Travis, A.W. Tillinghast, and Devereux Emmet. In 1924, Alfred joined Devereux Emmet as a design associate, reaching full partnership in 1929 and continuing the practice alone after Emmet's death in 1934. By the time he received the Ash Brook commission, Tull had designed or collaborated on dozens of courses across the northeastern United States, including courses at Bethpage State Park. He became Member No. 33 of the American Society of Golf Course Architects in 1963 and a Fellow of the society in 1967. At Ash Brook, Tull produced a course of genuine length and challenge. From the back tees the course stretches to 7,040 yards, making it one of the longer public courses in New Jersey.

The fairways are lined by mature trees that define each hole and demand accurate driving, while Tull's large, undulating greens require precise approach shots and sharp putting. The course quickly established itself as a competitive venue, and its designation as a Union County property ensured that it would remain accessible to the public rather than being converted to private use. The most comprehensive renovation came in 2017, when architect Rees Jones—son of Robert Trent Jones Sr. and one of America's foremost renovation architects, known as the "Open Doctor" for his work preparing major championship venues—led a comprehensive bunker renovation alongside co-designer Steve Weisser. The scope of work included updating course drainage, tree work, and bunkers, which were renovated and rebuilt to industry standards. Jones's improvements refined the course's defenses while maintaining the essential parkland character that Tull had established six decades earlier. In May 2019, Union County cut the ribbon on a new 21,000-square-foot clubhouse at Ash Brook, replacing an aging facility that had served the course since its 1953 opening.

The new structure features The Tavern at Ash Brook restaurant with seating for 120 diners. The building also houses a full retail pro shop and an underground cart barn accommodating 90 electric golf carts. The course also features a Pitch and Putt course, reinforcing Ash Brook's role as a multi-generational community golf facility. Its combination of public access, championship length, and a history of thoughtful architectural stewardship makes it a significant public golf institution in Union County.