How to Shoot a Low Score at Pine Valley Golf Club

In annual rankings of the best golf courses in the world, the top two publications in the sport, Golf Digest and Golf Magazine, have ranked Pine Valley Golf in southern New Jersey first more times than the other winners combined. The ratings system assigns number values to several categories, such as design rhythm, aesthetics and memorability. Pine Valley has garnered a reputation as a mecca for golf enthusiasts, and those lucky enough to get a day at the invitation-only club can use several factors to shoot a low score.

Instructions

    • 1

      Use the top-rate practice facility before your round. Pine Valley has a world-class driving, chipping and putting area that is available to players. Pay attention to the wind direction that day. Hit bunker shots to get a feel for the quality of the sand, and practice putting to acclimate yourself to the speedy greens.

    • 2

      Hit your drives in the fairway. This is never more important than at Pine Valley, which features not so much fairways as landing areas surrounded by scrub brush and sand. The golf course features 266 sand hazards, including 49 on the second hole, and many of them can only be escaped sideways or backward.

    • 3

      Listen to your caddie. Each player at Pine Valley must take a caddie, and his advice is valuable, according to Leo Glutting, a winner of four South Jersey Amateur and three Gloucester County (N.J.) Amateur championships who has played the course regularly for many years. Glutting said during an interview in January 2011 that the caddies are as good as any he has seen, and they are particularly skilled at reading breaks and speeds on the huge, undulating greens.

    • 4

      Hit the green safely instead of aiming directly at every pin. Glutting says he often plays away from a treacherous pin placement and tries to get down in two putts. Even if you miss a fairway, Glutting suggests knocking it back into play if necessary and then simply trying to get it somewhere on the green. Maybe, he adds, you'll get lucky and make a 15-footer for bogey or even par. In any case, Glutting says he tries to hit good lag putts that at least set up a fairly easy second putt.

    • 5

      Seek advice from your host. To play Pine Valley you must be accompanied by a member, and he can offer valuable knowledge to his guests based on years of experience. Often that experience will include a horror story about trying to stretch his capabilities and being unable to save a respectable score or even finish the hole.

    • 6

      Play it safe if you're a high-handicap player. It rarely pays when you try to be a hero at Pine Valley, and Glutting suggests playing short of hazards rather than trying to hit shots that are beyond your playing ability.

    • 7

      Remember the 10th hole is an opportunity for a fresh start. Many matches swing wildly at Pine Valley; no lead is safe and no deficit is out of reach until you run out of holes. If you are playing a match for both the front and back nines, take a deep breath and a few practice swings before striking your tee shot on the 10th hole.