Neshanic Valley Golf Course

Neshanic Valley Golf Course is a 27-hole Hurdzan/Fry design operated by the Somerset County Park Commission, offering three championship nine-hole courses — Meadow, Lake, and Ridge — that combine into three distinct 18-hole rounds ranging from 5,050 to 7,108 yards. The complex hosted the 2012 USGA Women's Public Links Championship and consistently ranks among the finest county-operated facilities in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Neshanic Valley Golf Course opened to the public on Labor Day weekend in 2004 with the Meadow and Lake nines ready for play; the Ridge nine followed in 2005, completing the 27-hole facility. The Somerset County Park Commission, which operates five golf courses across the county, developed Neshanic Valley as its flagship public golf destination — a facility capable of hosting national championships while remaining accessible to everyday players. The design work was entrusted to Hurdzan/Fry Golf Course Design, led by Dr. Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry. Hurdzan and Fry had established themselves as specialists in high-quality public golf, with a portfolio that included the 2017 U.S. Open venue at Erin Hills in Wisconsin and the highly regarded Hamilton Farm Golf Club in nearby Gladstone, New Jersey.

For Neshanic Valley, they worked with 420 acres of rolling Somerset County farmland, ultimately using 350 acres for golf while designating 70 acres for future park purposes. The architects carved three par-36 nine-hole courses through the farmland terrain, with each nine offering its own distinct character while sharing the five-tee system that gives the facility its broad accessibility range of 5,050 to 7,108 yards. The Lake nine, as its name suggests, incorporates water hazards most prominently; the Ridge nine plays with more elevation change; and the Meadow nine moves through the more open farmland portions of the property. From the championship combination of Lake and Ridge, the course measures 7,065 yards from the Black tees with a USGA rating of 73.6 and a slope of 134. Women's ratings are provided at the Blue, Silver, and Green tee positions. The 18-hole combinations — Lake/Ridge, Meadow/Lake, and Meadow/Ridge — each offer sufficiently different playing experiences that regular visitors can rotate between them through the season.

Neshanic Valley has hosted a distinguished list of championships since opening. The Somerset County facility welcomed the 2007 Metropolitan Golf Association Men's Public Links Championship, the 2009 New Jersey State Golf Association Women's Amateur Championship, and — its highest-profile event — the 2012 United States Golf Association Women's Public Links Championship. The latter brought national attention to the facility and confirmed the quality of the Hurdzan/Fry design as capable of holding up to championship conditions. The facility includes a par-32 Academy Course for beginning golfers and those looking to improve, featuring five par-4 holes and four par-3s across three sets of tees ranging from 1,420 to 2,019 yards. The Academy Course is supplemented by the Callaway Golf Performance Center and a double-ended driving range with short-game practice areas. Neshanic Valley also regularly hosts the New Jersey State Golf Association's Men's Public Links Championship, cementing its role as the state's leading daily-fee venue for competitive golf.

Neshanic Valley Golf Course plays approximately 7,082 yards from the championship tees on a design operated by the Somerset County Park Commission in Neshanic Station, New Jersey — among the celebrated public golf courses in the New York metropolitan area. The Neshanic Valley complex in Somerset County provides among the complete public golf offerings in the metropolitan region, with the main championship course complemented by the Academy Course to create a facility whose combined capacity and programming serve the full spectrum of Somerset County's golf population. The New Jersey State Golf Association includes Neshanic Valley among its member facilities, and the course has hosted major state-level competitive events — including events of the New Jersey State Golf Association — consistent with its standing as one of the premier public championship courses in New Jersey. The Somerset County Park Commission's commitment to maintaining championship-quality public golf at Neshanic Valley reflects the park system's mission of providing exceptional recreational facilities at democratic pricing. The rolling Neshanic Valley terrain — named for the Neshanic River tributary of the Raritan whose valley provides the natural landscape for the course routing — creates variety through elevation change and stream crossings that give the championship course its distinctive character among metropolitan area public courses.