First Impressions
We are all attached to certain places for different rhymes and reasons; some we wish to see are on the other side of the world, others could be right down the road. In this case, it’s the latter.
Tucked away in North New Jersey, Morristown is my current hometown and the first I lived in with my now fiancée. It’s a place that’ll always hold a spot in my heart because of it. It didn’t take long for me to see what golf was around when moving here, and a clear top dog quickly became obvious in Morris County Golf Club. As a Raynor enthusiast before the move, it didn’t take long for the club to become a top bucket list play for me. I could only walk by the gates by my apartment so many times before entering them, and I couldn’t wait to check this place out.
Morris County Golf Club is filled with history, celebrated with an awesome hall in the clubhouse. I didn’t have long to read through it all in the annex but there is a variety of interesting notes and artifacts properly displayed by the club historian.
Exceedingly rare for the era, Morris County Golf Club was actually founded by women. So rare in fact that the club was the first in the United States to hold that distinction. The “Founding Mothers” of the club certainly held authority, only admitting men they believed to be good caddies for them.
The course was laid out in 1916 and originally credited to Seth Raynor. However, there is growing evidence in the club archives that C.B. MacDonald may have been far more involved with the design than originally thought. There are attributes including bunker shaping and entry points to some greens that point more to MacDonald than Raynor, and it will be interesting to see what further documents get uncovered to settle the matter as time goes on.
Alas it was finally time to enter the gates and drive up the hill on Punch Bowl Road, the golf gods rewarding my patience with a perfect fall day and immaculate conditions that were evident before teeing off.
Following a quick beverage in the locker room lounge with our host, it was time to get going.
The Course
Design: C.B. MacDonald & Seth Raynor
Year Built: 1894 (Course built in 1916)
Yardage: 6540 (Douglas)/6207 (Raynor)/5811 (MacDonald)
Rating: 71.0/70.4/68.2
Accessibility: Private
The Front 9
The journey begins with a scenario that presents itself frequently throughout the round, a short par 4 with a semi blind tee to shot to an elevated fairway, leaving local knowledge imperative in picking an ideal target line. In the case of the opener it’s the right side as bunkers act as a nuisance for approach shots from the left. The green slopes right to left and front to back, quickly introducing you to the ferocity of the putting surfaces when they’re running as quick as they were on this day.
The 2nd is the front nine’s only par 5 at 497 yards and reveals the rolling hills that define this side of the property. The result of the tee shot is a mystery once again, this time disappearing over a ridge whose severity doesn’t reveal itself until it is climbed by foot. From there the fairway can’t make its mind up, trundling downhill before climbing once more, finally settling on a downhill slope as we reach the green. The green is square and isn’t guarded by bunkers with the exception of a hidden trap in the back. It has already become abundantly clear that familiarity and trust with the course’s contours are essential to success here.
There’s nothing left to the imagination on the 3rd, the “Short” template. Playing 130 yards, the square green is set diagonally with a moat shaped bunker surrounding all sides. What the hole lacks in length is made up for in putting difficulty, the green sloping back to the front and right to left. Shots landing on the front of the green are in peril of running off, and 2 putts are not a given on this attention grabbing par 3.
The uphill blind tee shot theme quickly returns for the 4th, properly named “Over The Top”. The hole is 390 yards but plays a bit longer as the fairway continues uphill to the green in addition to the ridge asserting itself from the tee box. Bunkers guard the front left and right rear sides of the green, which is large and sloped back to front. The par 4s have an identity here and this is another example of it.
The 5th is another short par 4 without much trouble of note from the tee. While playing just 338 yards, a bunker lurks in the center of the fairway close to the green which comes into play for longer hitters thinking they’ve hit a perfect tee shot. The approach requires plenty of care. The green is sloped hard from left to right and back to front as bunkers guard the front on the left and deep on the right. A hole that is easy on the surface but can get away from you quick without execution, a common denominator of many holes on the course that reveals the brilliance of the design.
Tucked into the corner of the property is a par 4 with plenty to deliberate over strategically. The “Woodside” hole is surrounded by trees, slightly bending to the left while banked to the right. The green complex is visually striking, perched above the fairway and surrounded by bunkering on all sides. A precise approach through the air is necessary to this delicate raised green as recovering from any of the bunkers on this hole is a real test.
While the prior 3 holes are tucked away and quieter in nature, the course opens up in bellowing fashion with the 7th, my favorite hole on the course and one of the best par 4s I’ve played in quite some time.
Appropriately named “Big Ben”, this is a big hole. From the tee, the predominant ridge we have encountered a few times flexes its muscle, leaving what awaits beyond a mystery. The ridge is very reachable, but this could be a rare case where landing on it is more enjoyable than catching the significant added distance by clearing it. Not only aesthetically, but strategically as well as severe downhill lies are imminent, so tread carefully.
The reveal when climbing the ridge is spectacular. A punchbowl green in an ampitheater of bunkers reveals itself, begging to be challenged from the heights of the fairway. Sending 200+ yard shots at that green from the highestmost point of the fairway is something I could see myself getting lost in for hours if afforded the time. The fairway has another lower plateau before approaching the green, and seeing how balls would roll through these tremendous slopes for hundreds of yards would also be a blast. It’s a hole that looks amazing in photos and plays equally so, a memorable challenge and a fantastic, fantastic hole.
The round is in full swing now and continues with the 8th. The “Shoulder” hole is a 430 yard par 4 whose name describes its primary strategic blueprint, favor the right shoulder of the fairway off the tee and let the slope do the rest. It could be appealing for bombers to cut off the edge on the left but the prudent play is laid out in front of you. The fairway remains sloped right to left leading up to the green which is fairly mundane but protected by bunkers on both sides. A friendly run up zone makes the green accessible with the ground game if you so desire. Yet another fun and demanding par 4.
The front nine closes with a challenging 445 yard par 4. The tee shot plays through a tree lined corridor into a fairway that bends right and sits up on a ridge, a long carry is needed to have a good look at the green. The hill is essentially continuous from there to an elevated green which has a steep false front and bunkers on its flanks.This putting surface has some spice, with an elevated quadrant in the back left and brutal pin positions possible on the front.
The front 9 has a distinct cadence crescendoing to some big par 4s to finish, using the burly ridges to define the holes wonderfully. I’d rank them 7,8,3,2,6,2,1,4,5.
An awesome halfway house helps fuel up for the back.
The Back 9
The back nine traverses the opposite side of the property, and where the front nine spent its time on the upper portion using the ridge as its recurring protagonist, the back descends more frequently into the lower terrain. However, variety is maintained through a series of efficient holes that avoid the typical repetition of such a routing because the ground itself is so interesting and varied.
We get started on the back with a 445 yard par 4 laid out in front of us, the tee shot slightly downhill to a wide fairway filled with subtle contours. The downward slope reverses course close to the green, running slightly uphill into the surface with bunkers on both sides.
The “Road” hole is next, a 505 yard par 5 lined by trees on the right. The tee shot is straightforward enough, but the hole ramps up in complexity as it gets closer to the green. Bunkers are on both sides, but a deviously placed bunker about 100 yards from the green right in the middle of the fairway is eager to swallow up 2nd shots. Spoken from experience, it’s not a fun place to be. The fairway rolls and falls like a fine links hole, leading to a deceptively large green that runs front to back and left to right. There’s more room on the rear of the green than it appears and it’s actually the preferred play for an uphill putt.
A short par 4 similar in style to the 5th is next, the 321 yard “Cape” hole. The fairway banks to the right and hard downhill at the end. The green is elevated and framed beautifully by a bunker on the right. The movement of the fairway is echoed on the green as the left side is flat, with back right pin positions putting putts at danger of running off the green to a steep drop off and bunker below.
A challenging Redan brings us close to the clubhouse, the green sloping hard to the back right with a very deep bunker on that side. This hole can get ugly extremely quickly with a missed green. Putts from the left side are nearly impossible to stop and I made a mess of this hole as did another member of our group. That being said it is a great par 3 I’d love to get another crack at.
The 14th is the “Pond” hole, a 422 yard par 4 that begins with a forced carry over the pond before veering to the right and gradually marching uphill to the green. There is a generous entry point at the front of the relatively wide green with bunkers on each side. A mini thumbprint on the front right of the green makes for interesting quadrant based pin position potential.
A visually disorienting longer par 3 that looks more like a short par 4 from the tee is next. Playing 219 yards, the green slopes from front to back making it a difficult green to hold, the smarter play may be coming up a bit short and letting the slope guide your ball down towards the green.There are bunkers guarding both front corners and covering the entire rear of the green. Par is a great score on this hole.
We move towards the clubhouse and have another semi blind tee shot over the ridge on the par 4 16th. The “Gibraltar” hole is 438 yards and runs a bit uphill, the approach complicated by a dive in the fairway before working back up to the green. Distance control is the test on approach as short misses will run back down into the fairway and a steep drop off looms behind the green.
My favorite par 3 on the course, the 17th is the Eden and it is gorgeous. The green was redone in 2025 and is large, banked from right to left and back to front. There is a plateau on the right side of the green and plenty of adventurous putts are possible here. Like many of the holes, bunkers defend both sides and I’d advise staying out of them. A beautiful par 3 I could look at and play all day.
The journey ends with the first instance of water really being in play, a 422 yard par 4 with a pond hidden from the tee but very much a factor on the left side. The fairway banks towards the trouble and runs downhill before pinching and making a final climb to the green. An elevated bunker on the left side impedes the view of the green from the low point of the fairway and makes for an awesome visual looking back from the green. The clubhouse and terrific members patio looks on as we finish on a green with no shortage of minute details.
The back has a different feel and subtler land than the front, yet has characteristics that flow through the whole course seamlessly building an unmistakable identity.
I would rank them: 17,18,13,14,10,12,11,15,16
Final Thoughts
It is a true testament to Macdonald and Raynor’s brilliance that such an engaging course was formed on a condensed piece of land, showing that great courses don’t need distance to belong in that echelon. The aforementioned identity is evident through dramatic elevation changes, twists and turns of the fairway contours, and terrific green complexes supplemented with signature MacRaynor style bunkering. I’d never get tired of playing this course and the membership seems absolutely tremendous. Everybody we met was really great and our host was no exception, a great vibe permeates around this group and it’s evident there’s a lot of camaraderie throughout.
Favorite Holes
7, 17
Final Score
8.5
See how we score here