Little Mill (Red & White) - New Jersey - USA

Doug's comments are spot on. The Red and White nines are not architecturally compelling but the need for quality driving is a requisite item when playing. Trees frame the holes and those who hit loose shorts off the tees will be having to fight especially hard to avoid painful numbers on the scorecard.

Turf conditions are quite good and the routing works well in moving players around the property.

Between the two nines the White has the more varied land movements. The concluding trio is a fine ending stretch with the 7th a dogleg left par-5, the long 8th a par-3 and the 9th a mid-length par-4 that climbs slightly uphill.

Little Mill is the home base for a number of top tier players and it's easy to see why -- the need to consistently find the fairway is a clear priority.

The Garden State has an especially deep roster of exemplary designs in the private club category.

There's no real architectural heft to push Little Mill among the upper echelon top 25. Nonetheless, the Red and White present a good test of golf and is worth playing firsthand if an opportunity arises.

Little Mill is a very nice 27 hole complex in south NJ. My son is a member here. The course attracts many of the best players in SNJ. Three years ago the club won the GAP championship which all of the top clubs in the Philly area play in. A view to the course doesn't per se point to it being a club which should attract great amateur players. In the GAP matches though many visiting players are humiliated by Little Mill. It's somewhat long, somewhat tight and demands a creative short game. It's not the type of course you dream about. There are no special views. There isn't any exceptionally memorable holes. There is just hole after hole of pure golf with no pushovers. Conditioning is very good. The staff is very accommodating. If you get an invite take it.