A wonderful course, designed by Stephan Kay to replicate the distinct Irish and Scottish golfing experience, McCullough’s Emerald Golf Links, located only minutes from Atlantic City, N.J., keeps improving like a top shelf single malt.
Kay designed a course with wide fairways that are open to the tricky winds that sometimes assault the golfer, grass mounds and bunkers, vast natural waste areas, and undulating greens that test even the best players. You can’t help but to walk off after your round and feel that you may just have been in the British Isles rather than southern New Jersey.
“McCullough’s Emerald Golf Links is a great place to play because of the unique layout, with each hole designed after a famed European hole,” said General Manager Tom Sullivan. “With holes inspired by Royal County Down, St. Andrews, Royal Troon, Carnoustie and others it’s like going across the pond without the long journey. We have a truly inspired links design with rolling hills, elevated tees, undulating greens, remarkable grass mounds and bunkers, tricky and powerful winds that remind players of the challenge and allure of true British Isles’ golf, all at an affordable price.”
The club this year added new tee boxes on holes 1, 3, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 17. Said Sullivan, “These changes were made in an effort to make the game more fun at MEGL, as well as making our course more lady, senior and junior friendly. We also added a hybrid of the Gold and White tee boxes to add another alternative to those that may not want to play 100 percent of either one of those tee boxes for the reason of not being ready to move completely forward or back.”
McCullough’s Emerald Golf Links plays 6,535 yards from the back tees, 6,132 from the white, 5,743 yards from the white/gold, 5,244 yards from the gold, and 4,462 yards from the front markers. The slope from the championship tees is 135, denoting the difficulty of the course from that yardage. But the slope ratings for the other tee boxes are 129 and lower, showing the very approachable nature of the course from shorter overall distances.
Added Sullivan, “Last fall, we added storm shutters and heat to our enclosed 2,000-square-foot deck. This change has enabled our deck to be a four season room to host events and banquets anytime for up to 120 people.”
Here’s just a sample of the very cool holes you will find at McCullough’s Emerald Links.
McCullough’s par-three 206-yard second is a rendition of the famous Biarritz hole and has been redone many times by C.B. Macdonald and Charles Banks. The Biarritz hole has a very long green from front to back with a very deep and large valley in its center. The original hole had bunkers on both sides of the green, but again, McCullough’s decided not to penalize the golfer so early in the round. The only bunkers, therefore, are on the left side of the green.
McCullough’s eighth, a 414-yard par-four, is based on the 10th hole at Turnberry. Turnberry has the sea to the left, and McCullough’s has an enormous pond to replicate the water. The hole doglegs a little more right than at Turnberry, but plays comparably. The original tee at Turnberry is slightly elevated, the one at McCullough’s is even more so, with greater elevation change than other courses in southern New Jersey. The hole plays a little shorter than its yardage because of the downhill tee shot.
McCullough’s 16th hole, a short, 136-yard par-three, is based on one of the most photographed holes in Scotland, number eight at Royal Troon, known as the “Postage Stamp”. It is called such because of the small narrow green. The hole is similar to Troon’s, except the green is a little larger. The bunkers are just about as deep and the green is partially hidden, as is the original.
The 358-yard par-four 18th at McCullough’s is based on the great fourth hole at Scotland’s Prestwick. Along the right side of Prestwick, a long creek and an out of bounds area gobbles up many golf balls. McCullough’s pond will do the same. Fairway and greenside bunkers are placed exactly as they are at Prestwick.
McCullough’s Emerald Golf Links is offering a number of fall specials, including: Mondays (Senior Day) green fee and cart for $39;Tuesdays, green fee, cart and sleeve of Titleist golf balls for $39;Wednesdays, green fee, cart and lunch for $39;and Thursdays (Hero Day–first responders, i.e. police, fire, EMTs, veterans and active military), green fee and cart for $39.
