14 reasons why Atlantic City needs to be on your golf getaway radar

Seaview Golf Resort, The Bay Course

Atlantic City has long been established as a favorite getaway in the United States for more than 150 years.  The area is famous for its iconic Boardwalk, amazing hotels and casinos, white-sandy beaches, and delicious restaurants. One area that isn’t talked about often enough is how Atlantic City is also a top-notch golfing destination. 

Atlantic City has a rich history in the game of golf, and in fact the term “birdie” was first created here in 1903 at the Atlantic City Country Club.

With so much to love about this region, we’ve taken the pleasure of highlighting the portion of the trip that we know you want to hear about: the golf.  You can read more about the destination here, but we’ve taken the liberty of highlighting 14 Atlantic City area courses that we highly suggest you look at when planning a golf vacation here.

Seaview Golf Resort – Pines Course

As part of the 36-hole experience at Seaview Golf Resort, the Pines Course is a William Flynn and Howard Toomey design that plays its way through the New Jersey woodlands and features plenty of elevation changes that you’ll find throughout your round.  It has a long and storied history as Sam Snead made a 60-foot chip here on the 16th hole to win the 1942 PGA Championship, which was his first of seven major championship victories. 

Seaview Golf Resort – Bay Course

The Bay Course at Seaview Golf Resort provides golfers with a links-style design that highlights dramatic seaside views, a multitude of devious little pot bunkers, and smaller, undulating greens that were designed by Donald Ross and Hugh Wilson to protect par on this shorter layout that plays under 6,300 yards from the back tees as a par-71 design. The Bay Course is also the site of the ShopRite LPGA Classic, which features Linnea Strom (2024), Brooke Henderson (2022), Lexi Thompson (2019), Anna Nordqvist (2015 and 2016) and Stacy Lewis (2014) amongst its winners over the past decade.

Seaview Golf Resort, The Bay Course

Ballamor Golf Club

Known for its peaceful setting amongst the dense woods of Atlantic City, golfers can look forward to a relaxing day on the course at Ballamor as it has wider fairways and larger greens.  Once you are on the putting surface, this is where your game will be tested as the expansive, undulating putting surfaces are quite fast and a deft touch is needed to score here.

Ballamor Golf Club

Shore Gate Golf Club

Consistently ranked as one of the better public courses in New Jersey, Shore Gate Golf Club is a stout test of golf that can play at more than 7,200 yards from the black tees on a par-72 layout.  The course is well protected by ample bunkering, and the fairways are aligned with golden fescue grasses and will challenge you from tee to green.  For the dollar, this place is an absolute gem. 

Twisted Dune Golf Club

If you’re looking for another fantastic links-style layout in South Jersey, then you’ve found the course for you.  Twisted Dune Golf Club was aptly named as the course features all kinds of twists and turns as you navigate your way around a course that features dramatic elevation changes, sloping fairways, and more than 100 bunkers that await you on a course that values both course management and length as this bad boy is more than 7,200 yards from the back tees.

Twisted Dune Golf Club

Brigantine Golf Links

A great value golf links-style design, Brigantine Golf Links opened in 1927 and was designed by Wayne Stiles and John Van Kleek. The team has invested over $4.5 million into renovations over the last few years, and that money is paying off as it remains one of the best deals in the area. 

Cape May National Golf Club

Cape May National has earned the nickname of “The Natural” as the course is surrounded by a 50-acre private bird sanctuary creating a distinct setting for your Atlantic City area golf vacation.  This course has no houses on it, and the setting creates a relaxing environment to enjoy a great round of golf with a ton of value.

Cape May National Golf Club

Eagle Ridge Golf Club

With 27 holes of championship golf all under one roof, Eagle Ridge Golf Club is a fantastic golf experience that was developed on an abandoned sand quarry that was used to build the Garden State Parkway many years ago.  This unique landscape created a lot of natural, rugged features and undulations that routed perfectly for a great golf experience.

McCullough’s Emerald Golf Links

A true testament to courses “across the pond” like St. Andrews, Carnoustie, Prestwick, Gleneagles, Turnberry, and more, this links-style Stephen Kay design paid homage to the legends who designed these legendary links designs.  The course includes one hole, the signature 7th, that is a tribute to Alister MacKenzie who was born in England but later emigrated to the United States. 

McCullough’s Emerald Golf Links

Blue Heron Pines Golf Club

Owned by former NFL star Ron “Jaws” Jaworski and known as the preferred golf course of the Philadelphia Flyers, this Stephen Kay design plays at just more than 6,800 yards on a par-72 design. Length certainly helps here, and accuracy off the tee to avoid finding the ample tree-lined fairways will be a key to scoring on this fun layout.

Scotland Run Golf Club

Another design in the area that was built on an old sand quarry, Scotland Run Golf Club utilizes the natural formations of the quarry combined with the elements of links golf to create a beautiful layout that is known for extensive bunkering throughout the round.

Scotland Run Golf Club

LBI National Golf & Resort

Previously known as Sea Oaks Golf Resort, the renamed LBI National Golf & Resort has been reimagined after a significant investment to enhance your golf experience.  You can enjoy a cocktail after your round at the 35,000-square-foot clubhouse that features views of the Atlantic City skyline.  Recent reviews indicate that the experience has been invigorated here after the new ownership has taken over, and we’re so glad to hear that a great layout has seen the revival that it deserved.

Harbor Pines Golf Club

A parkland style design is a friendly and affordable course in the area that features beautifully tree-lined fairways, seven sets of tees to choose from, 12 ponds and 17 acres of water that come into play throughout your round. It also has a massive footprint, as the course sits upon a 520-acre plot of land giving you the feeling that you own the place during your round.

Harbor Pines Golf Club

Vineyard National

Located at the Renault Winery & Resort, Vineyard National offers golfers a chance to play a round amongst the original vines that the founder of the winery first cultivated to create his famous American Champagne some 150 years ago. Talk about unique! The course isn’t incredibly long as it is just more than 6,600 yards, and when you combine that with the course’s ample fairways, a good player can score quite well here.  

Recommendation

As you can see, there is certainly no shortage of great golf when it comes to a trip to Atlantic City.  It can be a lot to navigate maximizing this experience for your group, so we suggest you reach out to one of the local area experts at GolfAC.com or at Golf’n Gamble to assist you with a quote today.  One thing we can tell you from sending groups this way before is that you’ll find exceptional value for the golf and accommodations in this area, and it’s one of the best destinations for golf in the northeastern United States!