Heron Glen

Those familiar with a more rural lifestyle could easily imagine a range of livestock wandering the rolling hills of central New Jersey, grazing the tall, native grass. Such an era is bygone in the region but fortunately, for golfers at least, the property has transitioned nicely into a municipal golf offering.

The farmland surrounding Heron Glen Golf Course was rapidly developed into subdivisions at the turn of the century, but that trend was not continued here, leaving a golf-and-golf-alone experience.

The work is from Maryland-based architect Dan Schlegel, who is more renowned for his work at Atlantic City’s Ballamor Golf Club. The course uses the natural contours as its primary defense, with bunkers positioned to good effect. Although there are no lakes or ponds, wetlands dot the property and Schlegel uses them, especially during the par fives; if the players is awry from the tee on almost all of the long holes at Heron Glen, they’ll need to think twice about pulling a long club for their second shot, lest they end up where the property’s namesake waterbirds lurk.