Galloping Hill Golf Course, Kenilworth, NJ

A lot of money has been spent to improve Galloping Hill recently and it shows. The course is in good condition, they have a new clubhouse & pro shop, and they have the best public practice facilities in the area. The only downside to this course is the pace of play. A Monday afternoon round took 5 hours and weekends are atrocious. Tee times need to be spaced better and they need rangers.

I grew up in Hillside, NJ.
This was the course where I learned to play golf.
I remember it when you had to rent or bring your own pull cart; there were no riding golf carts.
I remember the green colored streams running through the course.
I was always warned to stay away because it was actually quicksand.
This past May I went to New Jersey to visit old friends and family. With a day completely to myself I decided to go back for a kind of old times sake type of thing.
The course was different. No green streams anywhere. The layout was a little different than how I remembered it. But it's still not a good golf course. I used to lose balls in the water. Now I lose them in unbelievable high weeds.
For a public course it was very difficult. Not because of the layout, but because of the conditions. The rough was so ridiculous that finding errant hits was nearly impossible.
Six feet off of a fairway could mean a lost ball. Four people searching with no luck numerous times.
The fairways were ok and the greens were inconsistent. Some would roll fast and true, but most were slow and erratic. Just when you thought you had them figured the next one would be different.
The threesome that I was paired up with, decent golfers, quit after the 10th hole. I mean they just left. They were from Staten Island, and made the drive in because of the reviews they had read. I believe I saw on a top 100 list of US courses that Galloping Hill was rated somewhere in the middle. That is very funny.
Two days later I played at Ballyowen. Now that's a great golf course.
I'll always have Galloping Hills in my heart, but never again beneath my feet.

Last played this course on April 1, 2008 and I had a terrible experience. Played it again early Sept. 2010 and it wasn't nearly as bad. They paired up with the NJSGA and are in the process of rebuilding a brand new club house which is GREAT...but the course still has A LOT of work to be done to it. Before I start praising this course yet, they need to address some key issues: 1) get the greens consistent and 2) fix those tee boxes and 3) keep the pace of play to at least 5 hours and I'd be happy to play this course all year.

I moved to the area about two years ago and play this course about twice a week during the season. I love the terrain and the scenery. Recent improvements have made the course more challenging, and it will probably be rated higher the next time the PGA looks at it.

I can say i got my MONEY($44) worth started at 8am done at 2:30, that is all 27 holes played after 2 day of rain so was wet,course great course one of my best for a county. hard to walk but that the bargin. Was a great day.

DON'T BE FOOLED... Why is this course even on the page for "Best Courses in New Jersey"? I unfortunately played the course, seeing it was on the "Top courses" list, before reading the reviews. That was dumb. They charge you an arm and a leg if your out of county, and the back nine looked more like a swamp then a golf course. Its going to make me think twice about using this site the next time I'm looking for a course.