Somerset Hills Country Club

A.W. Tillinghast's 1918 course in Bernardsville, N.J., with an open, heavily bunkered front nine, a wooded back nine and a classic Redan at the 2nd.

Somerset Hills opened in 1918 in Bernardsville, in New Jersey's Somerset Hills, and is one of A.W. Tillinghast's early designs; its natural water features show the Scottish influences he brought to his work. The club has hosted the 1990 Curtis Cup, which the United States won 14–4, along with Met Amateurs in 1982 and 2003. It remains a quiet, members-focused club that rarely appears on television.

The two nines feel like different courses. The front, on open terrain, has bold bunkering and the 205-yard 2nd, one of the best-known Redan holes in the country. The back nine turns into woods, with less sand but water on four holes, including the short 12th on a peninsula into a pond. A long restoration effort, including tree removal and green expansion by Tom Doak's firm in 2010 and 2013, has led some to call it Tillinghast's best design for everyday play.

Holes to know

2

Par 3 · 205 yd

A Redan: the green angles away from the tee behind a deep front-left bunker, rewarding a running shot from the right.

9

Par 5

A par 5 broken up by a cross hazard that shapes the lay-up.

12

Par 3 · 151 yd

A short par 3 with the green on a peninsula into a pond on the left.

Championships

• Curtis Cup 1990

Design history

• 2010 and 2013: Tom Doak and Renaissance Golf removed trees, widened fairways and expanded greens to recover lost hole locations