Atlantis Country Club

George Fazio's 1961 design on the Jersey Shore's pine barrens corridor features tree-lined fairways of bentgrass, a particularly memorable mid-round hazard at the 6th hole where a pond divides the fairway, and the full complement of amenities originally built for a private club membership. Now operated by Ocean County, the course retains the bones of a genuine private-club layout.

The Atlantis Country Club opened in 1961 in Little Egg Harbor Township, Ocean County, New Jersey — a stretch of the coastal pine barrens that sits midway between Atlantic City and the southern tip of Long Island Sound. The course's origins are somewhat unusual: the original architect abandoned the commission before completion, and George Fazio was recruited to take over and finish the design. George Fazio came to golf course architecture from a distinguished playing career. Born in Norristown, Pennsylvania on November 12, 1912, Fazio won two PGA Tour events — including the 1946 Canadian Open — and came within a playoff stroke of the 1950 U.S. Open title at Merion, finishing third to Ben Hogan and Lloyd Mangrum in the 18-hole playoff.

His transition into design was initiated by necessity: with no prior architectural experience, he was recruited specifically to complete the Atlantis project after the original designer departed. That commission proved to be the beginning of a second career. A few years later his renovation of Cobbs Creek for the PGA Tour stop in his hometown area earned wider notice, and his subsequent original design of Waynesborough — a private course he designed, owned, and operated — established him as a serious architect. He eventually designed Palmetto Dunes in Hilton Head, Jupiter Hills in south Florida (which reached Golf Digest's America's 100 Greatest Courses list), Edgewood on Lake Tahoe, Butler National, Hershey East, and Pinehurst No. 6, among 64 total designs. He also mentored his nephew Tom Fazio, who joined his practice in 1962 and became among the prolific architects of the late twentieth century.

Fazio accepted the Atlantis assignment and delivered an 18-hole, par-72 championship layout that reflected his strategic sensibilities and his experience with the bentgrass and sandy soils common to the Mid-Atlantic coast. Fazio's design used the natural landscape of the New Jersey pine barrens as its primary aesthetic framework. Tree-lined fairways of mature pitch pines and Atlantic white cedars create defined corridors that reward accuracy off the tee, while bentgrass greens offer consistent, readable putting surfaces suited to the region's seasonal conditions. Water hazards appear at strategic intervals throughout the round, with the most distinctive being the 6th hole — a par three where players must carry a pond to reach the green, making it simultaneously the course's most demanding and most photographed hole. The course was originally developed as a private club, and its infrastructure reflects that heritage.

At some point in its history the club transitioned from private to public operation, and Ocean County government eventually assumed ownership. The course is now managed by the Ocean County Department of Parks and Recreation as one of two public courses maintained by the county, and is formally known as the Ocean County Golf Course at Atlantis. George Fazio's design at Atlantis stands as one of his earliest completed works and an important thread in New Jersey public golf history — a course built from an abandoned commission that outlasted its origins to become a county-owned public facility still serving golfers more than six decades after it opened.