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Road Trip!!! Golf 'Down the Shore' 2022

Dave Tutelman -- Nov 13, 2022

( Click on thumbnail photos to see full-size pictures )

Our usually late October golf trip was planned for later than October, then got delayed further. We finally went on November 8-10. It was our standard Tues-Wed-Thurs trip, three days of golf and two nights at Warren's house on Long Beach Island, a barrier island more than an hour south of where we live.

For the first time I can remember, we dropped any pretense of a three-meal day. We settled, all three days, for a large and somewhat late breakfast (always 8:30am or later) and another big meal after golf (usually around 4pm) -- except for the last day, when we headed straight for home after the 18th hole. Unlike previous years, we didn't kid ourselves by trying to schedule an evening meal. Good thing, too; I for one had more than enough to eat with the meals we did have.

Speaking of meals, we started with a large, late breakfast at Geets' Diner in Williamstown, just a few minutes drive from our first round of golf.

Scotland Run

Our first round was at a course none of us had ever played. And while it was a south Jersey course, it was nowhere near the shore. Scotland run is southeast of Philadelphia, a little south of the Atlantic City expressway, and it took us well over an hour to get to the shore area after the round.

It is described on its web site as a combination of a links course and a quarry course. (It is built on what used to be a sand quarry.) I'm not sure about the description, but it is a tough course, with plenty of hills, and water or waste areas in play on every hole. The back nine is a lot harder than the front, which itself is certainly not a pushover.

Warren and I had a very good front nine; Warren shot a 40 and I a 42. But the back nine got us both, Warren almost as much as me. I was 8 strokes worse for a total of 92, while Warren dropped 6 strokes for an 86. I know that detail because Warren and I were sharing a cart and a scorecard. I'm sure those were the low scores in our foursome.

If I were to play the course again, I could probably find a half-dozen strokes just from local knowledge. I know I lost at least that many because I hit it without really knowing what was there -- poor course management, but more from lack of knowledge than thoughtlessness.

Rich, Warren, and Bruce
on the first tee.

Rich tees off on #2

Warren's approach shot on
#8. It was a 140yd shot that
challenges a large lake left
and front of the green.

In the background is the huge,
elegant clubhouse. I think
they get more revenue from
catering weddings than golf.

Warren and Rich watch Bruce
tee off on #12. This is a hole
that is intimidating to look at
for the first time, but not hard
at all when you know what is
where. Warren and I had no
idea what was where, and our
scores reflected that.

A repeated motif of the course
is a small plane from perhaps
1940. The tee markers are
models of such a plane. And
an anctual, full-size plane is in
this waste area off the 16th
hole. This motif is explained by
the fact that the club's original
owner was an enthusiastic pilot.

The 16th hole (picture above) is daunting from the tee, and deservedly so. You can choose how much or how little of the waste area you think you can clear. Warren and I guessed right; he was aggressive and I was very conservative, but we both got pars. Bruce was too confident and Rich too conservative, and did not par the hole.

When we finished, we turned the car towards the shore, with Rich navigating using his cell phone. He and Warren kept arguing about the town of Tabernacle (don't blink or you'll miss it) and a right turn on Chatsworth Road. For the record, we did in fact pass through Tabernacle and make a right on Chatsworth. We drove into Barnegat, where we stopped for dinner at Doyle's Pour House. It was a nice enough place, I guess, but the Reubens that Rich and I ordered were not good at all. On the positive side, Bruce and I had sweet potato fries that were delicious. A few mornings later, Warren proved to us that his air fryer could re-crisp the leftover fries we had boxed, unlike a microwave with leaves them soggy.

Then back to the house to watch the election returns. Not too much action there; all the interesting races won't be called tonight anyway, and some not even this week.

Twisted Dune

For breakfast, we found a little shop off NJ-72 called "Mr. J's" that had served good food with minimal ambience. You give your order at the counter, and you can take it out or eat at one of their kitchen-table setups. We had breakfast sandwiches. Better than McDonald's and twice the size. I would do it again -- though we didn't the next day.

Then we took off for Shore Gate, way down near the southern end of New Jersey. Wait! Shore Gate?!?! Someone had confused the Wednesday and Thursday tee times; only when the pro shop at Shore Gate told us, "Who are you? We don't have you on the list," did we check the actual tee times. A phone call determined that we did have a slot reserved at Twisted Dune. They pushed our time back almost a half hour for driving back from the south, but we were close to being able to make our original time

You have seen plenty of pictures of Twisted Dune from our previous trips. Today was the only overcast day of this trip, so not very conducive to photography. Here is our token first tee picture, with Bruce (who ironically has the worst eyesight in our group) spotting for Warren.

This was probably the easiest course on this year's itinerary, which is saying a lot because it is no pushover at all. I didn't play very well through most of the middle of the round, except for solid pars on the par-5 tenth and twelfth hole. ("Solid" includes fairway hit, second shot in the fairway, and on the green in regulation.)

The par-3 thirteenth hole is a dangerous tee shot, but we all survived it, Rich and I with bogeys, Bruce a "routine" par (on in reg and 2-putt), and Warren draining a 20ft birdie putt. Actually, I though I hit a perfect shot, high with spin and landed mid-front and mid-right on the green; then it rolled and rolled and rolled... into the lake hole-high and right. Somewhere on the back nine, Bruce figured out why his putting had been failing him, and putted lights out. He had a very good score on the back.

We had dinner at The Old Causeway, right at the mainland shore before the bridge to Long Beach Island. Everything was good there. Bruce and I both had the fish tacos, and they were outstanding. Then back to the house and, after a quiet evening, sleep.

Shore Gate

Today actually was Shore Gate. But first, breakfast at the Stafford Diner. This is my favorite breakfast place in the area, now that Scojo's has changed ownership. The service was prompt, and the breakfast food was varied and very good.

The weather was beautiful. Bright shining sun, and quite warm for this time of year. I played the entire round in shorts and short sleeves, and our whole group was in short sleeves by the end of the round.

We played three excellent courses this week, but Shore Gate is still my favorite. It is difficult (this year, my highest score was here), but beautiful, and I love the challenge. If I strike the ball well and don't make mistakes, I can shoot a score -- and I have. But not this year. I was a little off far too often, with only two pars. Worse, I took ten strokes on the difficult par-5 sixth. Well, it's not that difficult, especially not after I put the drive in a good spot in the fairway. But then I lost my swing for the rest of the hole; could not make clean contact with the clubface at all. But I still managed to keep my score in the nineties, just barely, at 98.

Rich volunteered to take this picture so that I would be in at least one. The first tee, showing the fall colors and the ever-present sand at this challenging course.	Bruce hits his approach on #7. This is a "signature hole", which curves right around the fairway-long waste area you see in the photo.
Rich tees off on the surprisingly difficult par-3 eighth hole. It's difficult because of all the bunkers, and the fact that it takes a long iron to get there.	The ninth hole is beautiful, if dangerous. This par-5 curves gradually around a lake, so any long straight (or faded) shot is quite risky; it has to go where you intend, or it will be wet or "in jail".

I felt a little better about the back nine, but I still had a blowup hole on #12. I hooked a ball into the woods, and took a drop where I had to hook the ball around some trees. I hit the hook I intended, but it wasn't enough; my ball found the lake on the right side. Still, I came back strong, parring the next hole, a long, difficult par-5 with sand everywhere. I followed with another par on the very easy 14th. (Note: #13 and #14 are the handicap 2 and 18 holes respectively.) We hung in there for a few more medium-to-difficult holes. On the last green, we each had a 6-10ft putt, and all four of us made our putt. (Though not all for the same score; only Warren made it for par.)

After the round, we took off for home immediately. No stop for dinner, or even a snack. We were all back in our houses by 5pm, and another "Down the Shore" odyssey was complete.

Thanks again, Warren!

Last modified 11/16/2022