The “Play 9” movement has really caught on, and one of the best places to play nine is at Heritage Golf Links in Oceanview, New Jersey. Just south of Marmora, and minutes more from Ocean City and Cape May, and with slogans like “Play Nine before Beach Time” and “Play Nine Anytime”, Heritage Golf Links is fast becoming one of the go-to, and must-play, golf courses at the South Jersey Shore.
Measuring 1,886 yards from the back tees, Heritage Links, laid out on the old Corson family farm just off historic Route 9, features six par 3s and three par 4s.
“ We’re a family owned, family friendly, fun and affordable place to play golf,” said Heritage Links Superintendent Rob Prettyman added. “ We have a little bit of everything here. You can play every shot.”
One of the best examples of this is the 3rd hole. A par three playing uphill and over water and sand, the third holes plays about 100 yards with four different teeing stations that can stretch the hole to another 20 to 30 additional yards. The tee shot can be played with anything from a gap or sand wedge to a seven or six iron.
Well manicured, and with smooth, sloping, and fun-to-putt putting surfaces, Heritage Links is a scenic, and hidden, gem that features stunning views and holes meandering around ponds and marsh, and even a family graveyard going back to the 1600’s.
The graves border the par 4 8th, a slight double dogleg hole which plays for an uphill, and blind, tee shot to a downhill approach to a long, taco shell shaped green that slopes most severely from right to left. Similar is design to the par 4 6th which runs right along it, making par, or birdie, at the par 4 8th is a highlight of any round.
“ It’s a great hole,” said Prettyman. “ It’s tough because it’s uphill. It plays more like 400 yards. You have to sort of play a draw with your tee shot over and around a pond to the left, and then you usually have to play a fade into the green. Four is a really good score on Number 8.”
The course then ends with the par 3 9th. Straightaway, and only about 140 yards, Nine calls for a short to mid-iron tee ball to a two tiered green which slopes, mostly, from front to back.
The par 3 4th hole is the course’s signature hole. Perched atop an elevated tee some thirty feet above the target, and adjacent to the Garden State Parkway overlooking Corson’s Inlet, the Fourth plays for a slight fade to a long green that runs left to right with water short and right.
“ The great thing about us, and Nine Hole Golf, is that players get a chance to play and be done in under two hours,” Prettyman said. “ And if they want to play more they can do that, too.”
Golf’s a great big game that’s loads of fun, but you don’t have to play 18 to have a great big good time playing. And with a great little nine hole course like Heritage Links to play, you can do just that.
