New Jersey club unveils enhanced practice facilities

Stone Harbor Golf Club in Cape May Court House, New Jersey, has unveiled a renovated driving range and putting green for its members. The enhanced practice facilities are one of multiple golf course and clubhouse projects launched by owner Lee Fishman and the club’s leadership team over the last five years. 

 

Stone Harbor Golf Club retained golf course architect Tyler Rae to design and supervise the construction of the practice area renovation. Members will now be able to sharpen their golf skills on a 38,000-square foot teeing area offering five enhanced target greens.  Also, the club installed a Turfhound tee surface system that is designed to mimic the feel and performance of natural turf. 

 

“The expanded facility now can accommodate over 50 percent more golfers on a daily basis, which in turn gives the members an added benefit of joining Stone Harbor Golf Club, where they can hit balls and not feel cramped on a small driving range,” Rae said.

  

Taking inspiration from the club’s Desmond Muirhead-designed golf course, Rae also designed a new 6,500-square foot two-tiered putting green. Members will practice putts on an undulating green that mirrors what they will find throughout the par-72, 6,922-yard track.

 

“This project has been in the works for a few years," said Fishman, who assumed sole ownership of Stone Harbor Golf Club in August of 2015. "This enhanced amenity, along with a multitude of other improvements that we have introduced over the past five years, give members what we think is the best private club experience at the Jersey Shore."  

 

On the course, Rae most recently collaborated with Stone Harbor Golf Club on renovations to holes 1, 2, and 13 that began with the installation of new irrigation along the green surrounds. The club also initiated the next phase of its course-wide tree management program on the three holes. The program is designed to open site lines, enhance turf quality and improve playability.

 

In addition, on No. 1 and No. 2, Rae redesigned and reshaped the green surrounds and the green-side bunkers. By blending the course’s Muirhead architecture with new Seth Raynor-style bunkers, Rae created holes that are both visually appealing and more playable. On No. 13, mounds were pushed back away from the green, creating flatter, more generous areas around the green surround. Also, a 100-year old oak tree, previously in the back of the green, is now incorporated into the design, becoming an iconic feature of the hole. 

 

The club has also repaved many of its cart paths along the golf course, adding Belgian block curbing around the tees and greens and upgraded the irrigation system to maintain pristine course conditions.