Wild Oaks Golf Course, Salem, NJ

Played this course today and found it in poor condition. All the greens but one were in good shape. However the tee boxes were torn up and the fairways and rough had great quantities of crabgrass. I will not return.

Wild Oaks is a decent hidden course. Before I talk about the course itself I must mention the ambiance of this place. It has an extremely laid back feel, kind of in the middle of nowhere, with the most friendly staff you can find anywhere. Many of my reviews I don't even mention the staff just because they aren't great or terrible, but this was the exception. It reminded me a lot like the courses I find in the Lancaster Pennsylvania area, one of my favorite locations to find new golf courses. That being said, the course itself was average with some interesting holes especially on the yellow oaks 9. (There are 3--9 holes). The maintainance was just ok this time, this being the second time I have played there. The rough was a little too rough and the dandelions made finding otherwise ok shots hard to find. However, with the lack of play due to the hidden location one should probably expect this. With less play comes worse maintainance but also comes the ability to play on a beautiful Saturday afternoon without a jammed course, a true catch 22. That being said, it wasn't maintained horribly. The greens were slow and true, just how I like them..lol. The scenery was nice, but again, moreso because of the feeling of being away from population. They have logo balls for the logo ball lover like myself, a huge plus. The value of $25 to walk weekend is good, but probably the most this course is worth. Overall rating, B+ and I would recommend giving it a shot at least once.

I reviewed the other 9 - although now it's Red, White & Yellow, not White Cedar, Pin Oaks and Willow Oaks.

I'll cut to the chase on this one. It's a cheap course that is worth playing for locals, but not worth a 20+ minute drive.

The maintenance and conditions were below par - very spotty fairways, torn up tee boxes, slow greens, half the bunkers had standing water.

Some hole layouts were alright, and the scenery was very cool on a few holes, but overall I was not impressed and wouldn't go there again unless it was $20 or less.