First of all, happy New Year! I knew as the year went on that I was falling behind in my blogging. That's a good thing and a bad thing ... good because it meant I was playing so much great golf that I couldn't keep up, and bad because I know that the farther I fall behind, the harder it will be to catch up. Thankfully, with a bit of a lull here as winter has set in in the northeastern U.S., I can knock out my last few posts looking back at rounds I played on top-ranked courses in 2021. And I can start to really look ahead to even more great golf in 2022!
This post, I'm taking a look back at a round I played in September 2021 at Atlantic City Country Club (ACCC).
Founded in Northfield, New Jersey, in 1897 and sitting just across Lakes Bay from the bright lights and boardwalk amusements of Atlantic City, ACCC currently ranks No. 87 on Golf Magazine's list of the Top 100 Courses You Can Play in the U.S. and No. 90 among Golfweek's Top 100 U.S. Public Courses. (NOTE: Since this blog post was originally published, it has come to my attention that ACCC is closing to the public as of March 1, 2022.)
As the story goes, in the early days of the club's history, movers and shakers from Atlantic City would take the trolley from the city out to Northfield, where they would hit the links, dine and play cards in the men's locker room. To hear locker attendent and resident storyteller "Jimbo" tell the tale, there were days when more money was won and lost across the poker tables in the locker room at ACCC than in Atlantic City's biggest casinos.
Late in the day, a bell outside the clubhouse would ring to let members and guests know that the last trolley of the day was headed back to the city, and though the trolley rides are a thing of the past, the bell remains an important and honored part of the club's history to this day.
One of the club's true claims to fame -- and perhaps it's most significant contribution to the game of golf -- is that it appears to be the birthplace of the term "birdie." As Jimbo told us when my friend Gregg and I visited in the fall, many players at the club in the early days were immigrants -- well-to-do immigrants, but immigrants nonetheless -- who brought with them to America certain colloquialisms. And one of those colloquialisms happened to be the use of the word "bird" to mean something was good or great.
"That's a bird of a shirt," Jimbo said to me, by way of example.
Well, apparently a player in 1903 hit a tight shot into one of the greens, and his playing companion called it "a bird of a shot." When the ball was tapped in for a one-under score on the hole, the term "birdie" was born.
ACCC boasts a beautiful clubhouse with terrific event and dining spaces and gorgeous views across the course to the Bay, Atlantic City and beyond to the Atlanti Ocean.
Inside the men's locker room, there are lockers that have been used by some of the famous golfers that have visited through the years -- players like Palmer and Daly -- and also some of the club's more infamous members and guests. This locker has been perpetually assigned to the gangster Al Capone.
And this locker belonged to Atlantic City politician and crime boss Nucky Johnson, who is said to have basically controlled Atlantic City from the days before Prohibition until his conviction and imprisonment for tax evasion in 1941. According to the club's history page, Johnson hosted an organized crime convention in Atlantic City in 1929, and Capone was said to have “hid” out at the club to avoid detection.
We found ourselves at ACCC on what turned out to be an absolutely gorgeous fall day, and the course was in terrific shape. For a top-rated public course -- well, public insofar as the public can play the course on certain days of the week -- we were surprised to find we had the place almost entirely to ourselves in the morning. There were a few members out to play, but we seemed to be the only public players on the tee sheet before noon. And we took advantage of the opportunity to fully soak in the experience.
This large stone -- does it qualify as a boulder? -- marks the spot where the term "birdie" was coined in 1903, though the hole on which it happened is apparently no longer there due to redesigns and expansion of the practice facilities.
ACCC is a par-70 course that plays just 6,577 yards from the tips. However, at sea level, the ball doesn't carry nearly as far as it does farther inland and at higher altitudes. Gregg and I played from the middle tees at 6,175 yards, and that was plenty long for the two of us. Distances listed throughout the blog will therefore be from the middle tees unless otherwise indicated.
Hole 1 - Yea Begin - Par 4 - 428 yards
The first hole at ACCC is a long par-4 ... no gentle warm-up here! There's room to pull it left so long as you can get by the fairway bunkers on that side, but the better angle of approach is from the right side of the fairway.
The first hole taught me an important lesson about the course -- that it gives you ample options to run a ball into the green if you're playing from the right positions in the fairway. We played on a day when the wind wasn't blowing terribly hard, but I can imagine that having the option to keep the ball low could make a significant difference to scoring when the wind is up.
Gregg is so committed to mastering his bunker game that I'd almost swear he hit into this one intentionally on the first hole.
Hole 2 - Gather - Par 4 - 332 Yards
The second hole at ACCC is a terrific short hole -- straightaway and just over 330 yards, it feels from the tee like it ought to be a birdie hole. But a cross bunker coming in from the left at about 200 yards and a fairway bunker right at about 250 yards off the tee make for a tighter driving hole than it might first appear.
Players who find the fairway should have a relatively short shot into the green, but two-putting this hole is no sure thing as subtle undulations appear to be accentuated by the shadows that play across the green, cast by the tall trees down the left side.
No. 3 - Major's Favorite - Par 4 - 339 yards
The third hole offers the first good look at the Atlantic City skyline in the distance. The right side of the fairway is wide open, but a ball pushed too far right will find tree trouble. Anything left, however, is almost sure to find one of the large fairway bunkers that guard the entire left side of the hole or, worse, one of the stands of high native grasses into which a ball might disappear and never be found.
Once again, this hole offers players the option to run a ball into the green from a tee shot played to the proper side of the fairway, which could be especially important on this hole that is so exposed to the winds coming off the ocean and across the bay.
No. 4 - Arroyo - Par 3 - 131 yards
I really enjoyed the par-3s at ACCC. I didn't play them well at all, but I really enjoyed them. They were visually interesting and challenging, yet fair. This first of the course's five par-3 holes is a fairly straightforward short-iron hole made more dramatic by the views of Atlantic City beyond the green and the wind that blows in from right to left. My pulled 9-iron, which looked to be headed for the left bunker when I struck it, wound up left of the cart path by the time the wind had finished with it. And the shot into the green from there was not piece of cake. None of these holes are easy. And that's what makes them fun.
No. 5 - Punchbowl - Par 4 - 417 yards
By the fifth hole, it does start to feel like there might be too many straight holes at ACCC. The bunkering and routing relative to the wind, however, make these early holes visually diverse enough and demand that players shape different shots with or into the wind such that even these straight holes remain interesting. Bunkers down the left side of this hole aren't automatic score killers but can make scoring difficult, depending on the lie you draw in the sand.
From the fairway, this green is fairly vulnerable. The front bunker is actually well short of the putting surface and shouldn't much affect shots into the green, and the bunker long of the hole is likely only in play for especially poorly hit approach shots. The real challenge of this hole is its green, which can be difficult to read as most putts seem to break toward the center.
No. 6 - Far - Par 5 - 561 yards
The 6th hole is just a big ole beast of a par-5. I'm sure there are players who can get home in two on this hole -- maybe even some who can do it handily (guys with names like DeChambeau and McIlroy). But none of those guys were in our group. This hole requires a big drive, a big layup and still a full short- to mid-iron to reach the green in regulation. And woe to any player whose swing fails him on the tee on this hole; a topped tee shot will make it near impossible to come away with a par. Take it from someone who walked off this hole with a double-bogey.
Even a really good drive can leave you with 300 yards or more into this green, and the hole just gets tighter and tighter the closer you get as bunkers left and right try to swallow up approaching golf balls. A player who successfully avoids the sand on this hole stands the best chance to make par or better.
No. 7 - Headwind - Par 4 - 425 Yards
No. 7 is a long par-4 that requires an accurate tee shot. Any ball hit into the fairway bunkers left or right of the fairway will make it very difficult to get home in two.
Having found myself in the second fairway bunker on the right, my only option was to play a wedge up and over the lip, leaving myself a full hundred yards in from the right rough -- not the ideal angle at all as it brought the hole's three greenside bunkers into play. The ideal angle to approach this green is from the left side of the fairway.
Fortunately, I hit a terrific sandwedge in tight for a tap-in par, but this hole could have gotten away from me easily after my errant tee shot.
No. 8 - Sycamore - Par 3 - 176 Yards
The 8th hole at ACCC is another great par-3. The green is virtulaly surrounded by bunkers with just a narrow neck of fairway running up to the left half of the green. A well-played cut-shot could be the ideal approach to set oneself up for birdie.
I set up with that in mind, but my mishit 6-iron worked out insofar as my ball found the fairway short and left, which gave me an easy angle from which to bump and run a ball right up next to the hole for par.
No. 9 - Adirondack - Par 4 - 436 Yards
The first dogleg hole on the course, No. 9 bends left around a stand of trees and a small cluster of private homes that sit in the middle of the golf course. At over 430 yards, it's a long par-4, and most players should be content to stay safe and just get away with a par or even a bogey.
The smart play off the tee on No. 9 is down the right side of the fairway. That'll set up a long but manageable approach to a well-protected green with bunkers short, left and right. Some players might even want to layup short of the bunkers and take their chances pitching on from 75 yards or so versus trying to reach this green in regulation so as to avoid the bunkers and the possibility of a big number.
No. 10 - Birdie - Par 5 - 484 Yards
There may not be an easier hole on the golf course than No. 10. A dogleg right, this short par-5 is reachable in two for the daring player but also a birdie hole for those who may opt to layup and leave an easy pitch into the green. From the tee, it's just a 210-yard or so drive to carry the fairway bunker on the right and cut the corner for a shorter approach shot. A drive of 250 yards over the bunker will leave you with barely more than 200 yards into this green.
A pond guards the green front and left, so the best shot into the green from the fairway is a high ball that carries all the way to the putting surface or a draw that can be hung out right of the water and shaped around it to run into the green through the fairway.
I opted to layup to about 100 yards (after my success from that distance on No. 7) and pushed my second shot right -- short of the second fairway bunker and well away from the hazard.
I wasn't able to knock my approach as close this time, but any green in regulation with a two-putt par is a good hole in my book.
No. 11 - Traverse - Par 4 - 388 Yards
A mid-length par-4, No. 11 calls for an accurate tee shot down the left sideof the fairway, avoiding fairway bunkers left and right.
The hole can be visually intimidating because of the large cross bunkers that must be played over in order to get to this green. As I found however, the bunkers are far enough back from the green -- at about 80 yards -- that a player in the fairway can still hit a low punch that flies the bunker and runs into this green for a safe landing and a shot at par or perhaps even birdie. The greenside bunker short-right should serve as a warning to most players to simply aim at the left half of the green and take your two-putt par if the hole happens to be on the right.
No. 12 - Mesa - Par 3 - 125 Yards
Yet another par-3 that I really liked. With next to no room to bail out, this short hole demands a well-struck short-iron or wedge from the tee. The smart play is to the center of the green, regardless of pin position. On this particular day, the hole was tucked short right, just over top of the right bunker. If I were a smarter golfer, I would have played a 9-iron into the middle of the green to assure myself a green in regulation and a relatively easy par. Fortunately, my poor decisionmaking paid off in this case as I safely dropped a pitching wedge just over the bunker to about six feet. I probably deserved the missed putt that followed for having played a dumb shot to begin with.
No. 13 - Isthmus - Par 5 - 541 yards
Another big par-5, the 13th hole can be either a pretty easy par or a trip to hell and back. Drive the ball in the fairway, play a layup right of the pond between 13 and 10, and it's just a mid- to short-iron into a green defended by one bunker short-left.
Should be simple. Or, yank a drive left off the tee into the high grass. Find your ball and chunk it into the pond. Drop. Slice your next ball across the fairway in an effort to avoid the pond at all costs, and rinse it in the marsh. Drop. Hit a long-iron short-right of the green. Chip on. And then make the putt for an easy 8.
No. 14 - Salt Marsh - Par 4 - 333 Yards
No. 14 is intimidating off the tee with a forced carry across the marsh to a fairway that looks almost non-existent. Truth is, it only takes a 175-yard or so shot off the tee to find the fairway short and left of the fairway bunkers, leaving a mid-iron shot across the bunkers to the green. But it feels like you have to hit at least a fairway wood to clear the marsh and a driver to clear the bunkers. For a short hole, this one requires a lot of thought. I didn't play it particularly well, but I really liked the fact that it was such a challenge.
Gregg and I took a minute on the 14th tee to soak in the views of Atlantic City across the Bay and snap a picture. I love playing golf with all kinds of people and meeting new friends along this journey I'm on, but I will never get tired of teeing it up with this guy, and I love it every time he's able to join me for one of these outings.
Back to golf! The 14th green is pitched from left to right, toward the marsh. There's no real chance of a ball hit into this green rolling into the water, but it can feel like it when you're looking at the green from the fairway. Keep the ball below the hole for a great run at birdie.
No. 15 - Tidewater - Par 3 - 172 Yards
The 15th is an interesting change of pace among the par-3 holes. The three previous short holes were visually defined by their bunkering, but at 15, the bunkers are less hazard and more of a buffer to prevent a poorly struck ball from bounding into the marsh. The hole is somewhat hidden by high natural wetland grasses rising up out of the march, but there is plenty of room to bail out left of the green and fairway short left, allowing players the option to hit a mid- or short-iron short left, leaving a straightforward chip to the hole.
You'd think that ought to be a pretty easy birdie to convert, right? I thought so, too. Three putts later, I limped away with a bogey. That's golf.
No. 16 - Skyline - Par 4 - 353 Yards
No. 16 plays along the marsh, challenging players to bite off as much as they dare from the tee. A long iron or hybrid toward the fairway bunker on the left is a safe play but will leave another long iron or hybrid shot into the green. A driver aimed right of the fairway bunker can set up a mid- or even short-iron into the green, but it brings the marsh more into play -- a true risk-reward hole.
The view of the AC skyline from the 16th tee is as good as it gets at ACCC.
This overhead view of 16, courtesy of Google Maps, offers a better sense of how dangerous the tee shot really is. And the approach shot into the green, bordered tightly by the marsh, is no sure bet either.
No. 17 - Dunes - Par 3 - 150 Yards
One of the most interesting par-3 holes I've ever played, No. 17 is slmost impossible to see from the green. The dunes obscure almost the entire green, and if you haven't played the course before, you have practically no idea of where you're hitting the ball. This day, we could barely see the top of the flag but had no real sense of how much room we had on the green, short of the green, long or right. We could barely see a sliver of putting surface left, which was no help at all. The hole basically dares you to read the card, hit and hope.
As it turned out, the green wasn't nearly as treacherous as we imagined from the tee. There was plenty of room over the dunes to land the ball on the green -- something neither of us accomplished on this day. Honestly, though, even having played the course, I'm not sure I could go back to that tee and feel confident about the shot a second time around.
No. 18 - Trolley Back - Par 4 - 384 Yards
The finishing hole is a terrific dogleg right that plays back away from the water toward the clubhouse. With huge fairway bunkers left and right, the straighter the tee ball, a good score almost depends entirely upon the accuracy of the drive.
A long, straight tee shot on 18 sets up a relatively easy approach to this green, but miss the short grass off the tee, and your approach brings some of the course's deepest, most penal bunkers into play.
Find the green in two on 18, and the hole offers one of the best opportunities at birdie with one of the flattest greens on the course.
We absolutely loved Atlantic City Country Club -- the course, the characters and the history. The staff is absolutely fantastic, and you can tell -- whether you're talking with the starter, the wait staff, the guys in the proshop or Jimbo in the locker room -- that they love the place and its members. If I had any criticisms of the place it would be that the front 9 felt a little bit repetitive after so many straight holes, and there were two different types of sand used in the bunkers, often on one hole. There may be some reason for the sand that I'm just not aware of, but it impacted both the aesthetic and the consistency of play for me. Still, I've got no quibbles at all with ACCC's appearance on the top 100 public course lists. And I'd love to get back for another round there some day.
Gregg really wanted to ring the bell for the trolley as we made our way back to our cars, headed for other adventures.
Have you played Atlantic City Country Club? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below, or send me an email at shawn@iputtaround.com.