I was recently visiting relatives in northern New Jersey, Bergen County to be exact. Bergen County is not far from New York City, and millions of people. I thought I would do a course review for Golfwrx while I was there. I guess not. In today’s slumping economy, many golf courses, both public and private are suffering and in financial despair. Furthermore, many families have so much going on, long days at the golf course for Dad (or Mom) just are not as manageable as they once were.

Soccer, baseball, swimming, and myriad other activities all take a big slice of golf’s pie. Many city and county owned golf courses across the United States are up for sale and no longer profitable. Or at least their own government bureaucracy prevents them from being so.Courses are attempting all sorts of marketing tricks to remain in contention for that core golfer who actually plays the majority of golf rounds. I am that core golfer, I don’t belong to a club yet, and have already played over 60 rounds this year.  In fact, many of these publicly funded courses have ditched their PGA pro staffers for workers who don’t really understand the business of golf. I am not begrudging these people trying to get some free golf in exchange for working, I am merely pointing out that the absence of a PGA Pro hurts the bottom line in my opinion. Many private clubs are doling out some unused tee times to the public in hopes of making more profits, or getting out of the red and back into the black. It’s real  tough out there.

Valley Brook looks nice, but sure isn’t when you bring your "non-certified" kid along to play.

In fact, many private clubs are even going out of business. Many public courses are going under as well. Not so in Bergen County New Jersey it seems. In fact, a few weeks ago I was recently told that I could not play a public, county owned course (Valley Brook Golf Course) one evening . The course was not crowded, the golf leagues were already out and there was no one waiting for open play. Wow. I was astonished. That’s right, cold hard cash for greens fees in hand and then told to go play elsewhere. Wow, I was really stunned! It’s not like I showed up at Augusta looking to play 9 holes or anything. How is this possible you say? Especially at a run of the mill golf course like Valley Brook.

Bergen County sits at the Northeastern corner of NJ, not far from New York City.

Well, the story goes like this. I called on a Wednesday afternoon and inquired about getting nine holes in with my son in the evening. The gentleman that answered said, “Sure, come out at 5:30, the leagues will be finished going off and you can place your name on the list for open play. I arrive at 5:45 with my 7 year old son, who is chomping at the bit to play nine holes with me. The course is not crowded and there is no wait to get on the course. When we walk in the man says, “Is your son a member of the Pioneer Golf Program?” I reply, “Well, no. We live in Cincinnati, Ohio (over 700 miles away) and we are here visiting relatives.” He then says, “Sorry sir, kids under 12 cannot play at all (even if accompanied by a paying parent) if they do not participate in our junior golf program. I said that it would be impossible for him to participate since he lives over 700 miles away! “Go play at a different course, they might let him play.” My son, knows the rules, plays fast (we use a cart) has his own clubs (with Darth Vader head cover), has taken several lessons at a prestigious country club here in Cincinnati, and could probably beat many adults he is paired with. He even understands that slow play on his part means he has to skip that hole. I was shocked they were willing to turn us (more so him, than me) away from playing. On a side note, Valley Brook Golf Course (Rivervale, NJ) has NO PGA pro working there. I completely understand how their junior program works, and was bewildered why an exception could not be made for out of town folks (whose in town folks have been paying taxes in his county since the 1800’s). Bergen County has no problem overcharging me (3 times more than a county resident) for my round since I am not a county resident. Needless to say, I was upset, but nowhere near as much as my 7 year old son. I believe that if Bergen County actually had employees that understand how the golf business works, and grows (or not), they might have made an exception and allowed my son to play. As far as having employess who understand the game, the county, at the administrative level, doesn’t even have employees that understand period.

I attempted to call them the next day and discuss this discrimination and I never got a word in edgewise with the rude woman, in fact, I had to scream at her because she would not even allow me to tell about my experience. She even told me, “Well you don’t pay taxes here so what does it matter?” Well missy, my family sure does, in fact since the 1800’s! After stewing a bit more, I contacted the county’s communication director. Her name is Ms. Sheri Hensley and although she listened, when we spoke a second time she pretty much said, “too bad Mr. Hetzel, if your kid is not in the junior program he can’t play. We just don’t care, nor do we differentiate between you from out of state and a resident whose kid does not belong to our junior program. I think it’s great that Bergen County actually has a junior golf program. They should be commended for that. However, I also think that it is discriminatory not to allow kids to play with their parents in the evenings on weekdays whether or not they play in their junior tour.

People are busy. People have less time (and money) to play golf. Some kids may not have a ride to the junior tour events. This restrictive policy definitely keeps A LOT of kids OFF the course and allows you to charge adults a higher fee in their place. Obviously this is a great strategy for your county administrator, Mr. Dennis McNerney. They make more money this way. I am of the opinion that county owned courses should not be out for pure profit (and I am not sure that you are since no one was willing to even speak with me), but to provide ample and cost effective recreation opportunities for the taxpayers. Mr. McNerney, why not charge “non-players of your junior program” a higher greens fee with a paying adult? I would like to think with a real PGA pro on staff, they would have let us play golf that evening, especially since my kid can play, he was supervised and the course wasn’t even busy! At the conclusion of our last conversation, Ms. Hensley was supposed to forward me the e-mail me addresses for  the golf program administrator and the county executive so I could give them the opportunity to be a part of this story and present their side. That would be only fair. In fact, they list absolutely no e-mail address on the county webpage, which I find concerning since they are in business for Bergen’s John Q. Public. It’s been two weeks now and I have yet to hear from Ms. Hensley; I guess they are not interested in speaking to our golfwrx.com community about this issue. Like I said before, business must be booming for Bergen County golf.

I’ll contrast how restrictive Bergen County is with how much LESS restrictive it is here in Hamilton County, Ohio. The Hamilton county courses offer several junior golf programs and tournaments during the summer months. They also allow kids to play for FREE (golf cart is extra) with a paying adult after 5pm! They even set up kid specific kids’ tees if your child so desires to use them. Hamilton County Ohio actually wants kids and their parents out playing golf! These are the same kids that will return as adults and pay full greens fees. Bergen County New Jersey, you have it so wrong and that’s too bad. Too bad for me. Too bad for my son. Too bad for busy golfing families. Too bad for that future Tiger Woods who can’t find a ride to the course to play in the junior tour. Too bad for a ton of other Bergen County kids who don’t have the time or resources to participate in your somewhat restrictive kids’ golf program. And, most importantly, bad for the game of golf. So, if you are visiting Bergen County New Jersey, drive a little farther and spend your hard earned money golfing elsewhere. I am still trying to explain to my seven year old why they would not allow him to play; he’ll remember this negative golfing experience for a long time. The next day while traveling through New York State, we stopped to play Rip Van Winkle Country Club in the Catskills. When we were in the pro shop Ryan asked the owner if he was allowed to play. He laughed and said, “Sure young man, you play free!” Imagine that.

Ryan about to blast a drive at Rip Van Winkle Country Club in New York State.

He was surprised and I think he expects to be turned away at golf courses all the time now. And that’s sad.  I told him, Ryan, “It most likely would have been a six hour round at Valley Brook anyway and you would have missed Christmas!”