Ballyowen Golf Club Review

The waitress in the restaurant was not very friendly.

Absolutely one of the best courses and staff in all of New Jersey

Played on July 10th and had a wonderful time. The course was in excellent shape for how dry it has been around that area. The greens where rolling true and fast. Learned to be below the hole so you dont 3 putt. I would recommend this course all day long. Very fair if you keep it in the fairway..

Very slow round, had an outing in front of us, rangers were unable to move golfers along. Fairways in poor shape as were the bunkers

I golfed at Ballyowen this past Sunday, 8/30/2020. During our round one of the rangers came up to us and very rudely told us we were not allowed to drive in the fair way on one of the holes. He explained how there was a sign and that the starter told us this. The starter didn't tell us, and I just completely missed the sign. It was an honest mistake, but the ranger didn't accept that. I have the utmost respect for the game of golf and the course, and I must say this ranger was rude enough to ruin the rest of our day. In addition the pace of play was extremely slow which isn't any ones fault but the players, but would have been nice if the rangers were moving the pace along. We were only able to get through 16 holes, which took 4 hrs and 30min, as we had somewhere else to be that evening. In the future I think we will be taking our business elsewhere. There are many beautiful places to play in NJ, Ballyowen included, but the customer service didn't seem to be up to par.

Food was great. But the staff was so friendly and helpful throughout the Wedding

Best public golf course I've ever played. Top 5 of every course I've ever played.

In addition to golfing here on many occasions, my wife and I got married at Ballyowen on August 24th. Julie, Silje, and Louis made our day more memorable than we could have imagined. Everything at the venue was flawless, the service was incredible, and the food was amazing, plus the views on a nice summer night are hard to top. We couldn't have pictured a more perfect wedding day, and Julie, Silje, and Louis were a big reason why. Thank you all so much for making our special day absolutely perfect!

Great golf course. Expensive but in great shape. Was quite wet and it was cart path only due to recent rains. Lunch was very good with great golf course views.

Pretty good golf course but overpriced and over-hyped.

I was there for my daughter's wedding, great service, beautiful views.

I had a wedding st ballyowen golf club they do a beautiful job the food was to die for what a great affair.

Beautiful golf course in Northern New Jersey . a touch of Ireland. wonderful friendly service. You will not be disappointed playing at this course

Ballyowen aspires to be the number one public course in NJ. It is a beautiful layout with plenty of challenge. Many of the greens are elevated and we'll bunkered. Even for top end courses, it's the same problem. People just don't fix ball marks anymore. Late afternoon rounds are spoiled by harsh green conditions. Other than that, I highly recommend ballyowen.

Ballyowen is truly a great course.
No wonder it s so highly rated amongst golfers.
I played the golds and boy it made you really make the tee shot onto the fairway a bit of a challenge. If your not a pretty good long ball hitter ,,, move up.
Unlike Wild turkey the traps were like fairy dust compared to the other course.
The layout is an honest one. Play the middle and the sides and your round will be an experience.
Off to the sides? Well, that will certainly be a whole different kind of experience !!!

This place is amazing. Was a wee bit wet, but expected from mother nature...

One of my favorite golf courses, beautiful. Serve very good food as well

An excellent 1st class course with all the finest amenities ! Not recommended for the novice , lots of traps but certainly a fantastic challenge !.

Challenging but fair course kept in excellent condition. Clubhouse serves good food and drinks for after a round.

Excellent facility and top notch staff. Unfortunately for today's round of golf the website was inaccurate because it indicated that aeration had occurred 3 weeks ago when in fact it was this week. Still course was in great condition for early season golf and as always the staff was extremely accommodating, despite the lighter staff given the time of season and expected poor weather.

Really good post round Burger and fries at the clubhouse bar. Slightly overdonr, so lean towards ordering your meats more rare if you want to see some pink.

Place was phenomenal! Very challenging course. The greens run fast like any great course. Very fair. Fairways are narrow so you need to keep the driver in your bag on some holes. No layups on par 3's either. You need to bring your A game when you play here.

Course in great condition! Pace of play very good!

Very nice course. Windy and difficult. Need to hit the fairway.

Food was fantastic.
Service was great.
Good for small weddings.

This Stellar review is for two young men who work the carts, the grounds and the Pro Shop. Their names are Jason M. and Vinny D. - Two employees at Ballyowen who are HONEST, EXCELLENT and VERY REPUTABLE! Both Jason M. and Vinny D. should be commended by their Superiors for their fine skills in dealing with the customers (Golfers such as Me) who spend a pretty penny at this course. Very simply, Jason M. assisted me with finding and securing my Golf Buddy- Voice 2 GPS distance device. With the assistance of Vinny D. both young men were very helpful, courteous, and diligent in assisting me with my "Lost" Golf Buddy device (I left it in the cart on Sunday, Sept.1st. 2019 ). After returning home I realised I left it clipped to the inside of the cart and because this device costs roughly $100.00, I called the course and Jason M. was a Super-Hero !! They found it, contacted me immediately, then placed it in an envelope with my name and I picked it up the following day!! JASON M. and VINNY D. deserve a promotion, a raise and at the very least, Commendation from the Management Team at BallyOwen! Thank You Fellas.......A Job Well Done !!

Challenging course. Always in good shape. Friendly staff.

One of your better golf course in NJ without the high prices.

Course is in great shape. Unfortunately pace of play is horrible. in spite of two paragraphs on the back of the scorecard regarding pace of play, nothing is done to enforce it. "BALLYOWEN REQUIRES A 4 1/2 HOUR PACE". Frankly unless you are in the fescue, the right foursome pace is probably about 4 hours. On August 21, our group was forced into long waits over every shot starting at the first hole. Our round took 5 1/4 hours to complete. There was one group a couple ahead of us who were the obvious problem, the course rangers did nothing. In fact they just sat in their carts without even driving around. By the back nine the entire course was stacked up with groups forced to wait over every shot because of the rangers failure. We will NEVER be back.

This is an excellent course. All of the holes are different to keep it interesting. Accuracy is important to keep you out of the tall fescue which makes you think off the tee. The greens roll true with some significant breaks that make it challenging and satisfying at the same time.
It was over an hour drive from my house and would play again and recommend it to my friends.

Great Course. Layout is fair. No trick holes or blind shots.

One of the best courses l have ever played - course was in perfect condition

8/1/2018: Completed 7 holes in 3.5 hours on front and walked off the box at 8. Its too bad such a nice course gets log jammed with groups going out every 5-7 mins. Only reason not 1 star is quality of course and great customer service.Otherwise totally mismanaged at the ballyowen course

Brutal! Will never play there again.
If you want to enjoy your round and play in 4 hrs or under then don t play here .

I mean anyone that plays golf in NJ probably knows this place. It has a great reputation for a reason. It's the real deal. I wish it was cheaper but it isn't because of how good it is. The layout is very fun. It's quite challenging. I played this last time on punched greens which sucks but I just didn't let that bother me one bit. It's a must play for golfers who like nice courses.

Unbelievable course with great staff. You feel like you're in Scotland

Ballyowen is always great golfing experience. Even saw a beautiful rainbow which added to the ambiance. Look closely...the rainbow is a bit faint.

Great Links course in northern, NJ. The best course within the Crystal Springs collection of courses.

Spectacular course, rangers easily identified. Closest thing to Scottish golf in the USA

Always a great play on a wonderful track sculpted into the mountainside nestled into the countryside... nice practice range and chipping putting area. The host and staff always welcome you with a smile and extremely professional making you want to cone back for more...

The Ballyowen course at Crystal Springs Resort is widely regarded as one of the Northeast's finest golf courses. This excellent quality layout delivers as authentic a links golf experience as you'll find, akin to the great British and Irish seaside courses. However, in Ballyowen's case the ocean is several leagues hence, and rolling rural countryside is what flanks the course.

It was really pretty. I've never played golf before and this seemed nice. I won a free beer.

Great fun. Greens rolled true, rough brutal, keep in the fairway. Interesting, memorable layout.

Beautiful scenery. Such nice, nice people. Golf is hard but amazing.

I loved the layout, the friendly staff, the service, but when they know the bunkers suck and still want to charge $100 plus, I struggle.

Hard to find a more pure track than this. Excellent condition and a ton of fun to play!

The finest golf course in Crystal Springs group. Excellent greens. Tends to be pricey on weekends.

Gorgeous and relaxing, great staff, food could be better

Amazing golf experience. Very friendly staff, great clubhouse amenities. Course is challenging based on pin positions.

Great Golf Course, wonderful design! Fast greens!! Superb!!

Lone this course and had a great time except for the waiting in-between holes

Overall great course! Much better than Wild Turkey for the fees. However tough to beat the value at Neshanic Valley - which is much cheaper and probably equal or better course conditions.

An excellent place for a wedding or other special occasion!