The toughest course in the Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ metro area is Galloway National Golf Club, at slope 147 — ahead of Shore Gate Golf Club at slope 140 and Ballamor Golf Club at slope 136.
All 20 courses in the area with a USGA slope rating for its men’s tees are ranked below, along with 5 more lists: hardest from the tips, longest, widest tee spread, oldest, highest above sea level.
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ is a metro area as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates it — the boundary is theirs, not ours. Each list counts only the courses in the area that publish that figure, so the totals differ between them. Slope and course rating measure difficulty, not quality — nothing here ranks how good a course is.
Toughest test
— all 20 courses with a USGA slope rating for its men’s tees
| # | Course | Toughest test |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Galloway National Golf Club | slope 147 |
| 2 | Shore Gate Golf Club | slope 140 |
| 3 | Ballamor Golf Club | slope 136 |
| 3 | Cape May National Golf Club | slope 136 |
| 3 | Hidden Creek Golf Club | slope 136 |
| 3 | Union League National Golf Club Sherman Meade | slope 136 |
| 7 | Buena Vista Country Club | slope 135 |
| 8 | Atlantic City Country Club | slope 133 |
| 8 | Harbor Pines Golf Club | slope 133 |
| 10 | Vineyard National Golf Course | slope 132 |
| 11 | Mcculloughs Emerald Golf Links | slope 130 |
| 11 | Twisted Dune Golf Club | slope 130 |
| 13 | Brigantine Golf Links | slope 129 |
| 14 | Greate Bay Golf Club | slope 127 |
| 14 | Linwood Country Club | slope 127 |
| 16 | Seaview The Pines Course | slope 126 |
| 17 | Seaview The Bay Course | slope 124 |
| 18 | Pinelands Golf Club | slope 123 |
| 19 | Green Tree Golf Course | slope 112 |
| 20 | Heritage Links | slope 109 |
The highest USGA slope rating published for any of the men’s tee sets. Slope rates difficulty for a bogey golfer relative to a scratch golfer — a rated figure issued by the golf association, not an opinion about the course. Men’s ratings only, because a tee is rated separately for men and for women and the two scales do not compare; a course rated only for women is not in the running rather than converted.
Hardest from the tips
— all 19 courses with a USGA course rating for its men’s tees
| # | Course | Hardest from the tips |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Galloway National Golf Club | rating 75.5 |
| 1 | Shore Gate Golf Club | rating 75.5 |
| 3 | Twisted Dune Golf Club | rating 74.9 |
| 4 | Ballamor Golf Club | rating 74.6 |
| 4 | Buena Vista Country Club | rating 74.6 |
| 6 | Vineyard National Golf Course | rating 74.5 |
| 7 | Hidden Creek Golf Club | rating 73.9 |
| 8 | Cape May National Golf Club | rating 73.0 |
| 9 | Harbor Pines Golf Club | rating 72.9 |
| 10 | Atlantic City Country Club | rating 72.3 |
| 10 | Brigantine Golf Links | rating 72.3 |
| 10 | Union League National Golf Club Sherman Meade | rating 72.3 |
| 13 | Seaview The Pines Course | rating 72.1 |
| 14 | Greate Bay Golf Club | rating 72.0 |
| 15 | Mcculloughs Emerald Golf Links | rating 71.7 |
| 16 | Pinelands Golf Club | rating 71.1 |
| 17 | Seaview The Bay Course | rating 70.4 |
| 18 | Linwood Country Club | rating 70.2 |
| 19 | Green Tree Golf Course | rating 67.2 |
The highest USGA course rating published for any of the men’s tee sets — the score a scratch golfer is expected to shoot. Men’s ratings only, for the same reason as slope: the men’s and women’s ratings of one tee are different measurements. It measures difficulty and nothing else; it is not a quality score and never orders these pages by how good a course is.
Longest
— the top 25 of 29 courses with a published scorecard
| # | Course | Longest |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Twisted Dune Golf Club | 7,248 yds |
| 2 | Shore Gate Golf Club | 7,227 yds |
| 3 | Vineyard National Golf Course | 7,213 yds |
| 4 | Buena Vista Country Club | 7,111 yds |
| 4 | Galloway National Golf Club | 7,111 yds |
| 6 | Ballamor Golf Club | 7,098 yds |
| 7 | Hidden Creek Golf Club | 7,071 yds |
| 8 | Union League National Golf Club Sherman Meade | 6,959 yds |
| 9 | Cape May National Golf Club | 6,905 yds |
| 10 | Stone Harbor Golf Club | 6,849 yds |
| 11 | Harbor Pines Golf Club | 6,827 yds |
| 12 | Blue Heron Pines Golf Club | 6,810 yds |
| 13 | Seaview The Pines Course | 6,731 yds |
| 14 | Greate Bay Golf Club | 6,705 yds |
| 15 | Atlantic City Country Club | 6,577 yds |
| 16 | Mcculloughs Emerald Golf Links | 6,535 yds |
| 17 | Brigantine Golf Links | 6,507 yds |
| 18 | Pinelands Golf Club | 6,503 yds |
| 19 | Mays Landing Golf Club | 6,395 yds |
| 20 | Linwood Country Club | 6,349 yds |
| 21 | Seaview The Bay Course | 6,247 yds |
| 22 | Frog Rock Country Club | 6,121 yds |
| 23 | Green Tree Golf Course | 5,574 yds |
| 24 | Hamilton Trails Country Club | 3,265 yds |
| 25 | Victors Par 3 Golf Course | 2,683 yds |
The longest tee set the course publishes, in yards from the tips. Compared against every course that publishes a scorecard — length is a measurement, not a verdict on the golf.
Widest tee spread
— the top 25 of 26 courses with two or more tee sets of different lengths
| # | Course | Widest tee spread |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Twisted Dune Golf Club | 2,318 yds between tees |
| 2 | Cape May National Golf Club | 2,194 yds between tees |
| 3 | Hidden Creek Golf Club | 2,192 yds between tees |
| 4 | Stone Harbor Golf Club | 2,087 yds between tees |
| 5 | Galloway National Golf Club | 2,059 yds between tees |
| 6 | Vineyard National Golf Course | 2,037 yds between tees |
| 7 | Union League National Golf Club Sherman Meade | 2,023 yds between tees |
| 8 | Shore Gate Golf Club | 1,943 yds between tees |
| 9 | Ballamor Golf Club | 1,860 yds between tees |
| 10 | Buena Vista Country Club | 1,808 yds between tees |
| 11 | Harbor Pines Golf Club | 1,726 yds between tees |
| 12 | Blue Heron Pines Golf Club | 1,702 yds between tees |
| 13 | Linwood Country Club | 1,679 yds between tees |
| 14 | Mcculloughs Emerald Golf Links | 1,573 yds between tees |
| 15 | Pinelands Golf Club | 1,485 yds between tees |
| 16 | Seaview The Pines Course | 1,455 yds between tees |
| 17 | Brigantine Golf Links | 1,454 yds between tees |
| 18 | Frog Rock Country Club | 1,385 yds between tees |
| 19 | Greate Bay Golf Club | 1,356 yds between tees |
| 20 | Atlantic City Country Club | 1,349 yds between tees |
| 21 | Mays Landing Golf Club | 1,312 yds between tees |
| 22 | Seaview The Bay Course | 1,230 yds between tees |
| 23 | Green Tree Golf Course | 1,115 yds between tees |
| 24 | Heritage Links | 484 yds between tees |
| 25 | Hamilton Trails Country Club | 470 yds between tees |
Yards between the longest and shortest published tee sets — how far the course moves to fit a different player. Courses publishing a single tee set are not in the running, because one set is an unmeasured spread rather than a narrow one.
Oldest
— all 24 courses with an opening year
| # | Course | Oldest |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlantic City Country Club | opened 1897 |
| 2 | Seaview The Bay Course | opened 1914 |
| 3 | Linwood Country Club | opened 1921 |
| 4 | Greate Bay Golf Club | opened 1923 |
| 5 | Brigantine Golf Links | opened 1927 |
| 6 | Seaview The Pines Course | opened 1929 |
| 7 | Pomona Golf Country Club | opened 1943 |
| 8 | Buena Vista Country Club | opened 1957 |
| 9 | Pinelands Golf Club | opened 1964 |
| 10 | Victors Par 3 Golf Course | opened 1965 |
| 11 | Green Tree Golf Course | opened 1977 |
| 12 | Cape May National Golf Club | opened 1991 |
| 13 | Galloway National Golf Club | opened 1995 |
| 14 | Harbor Pines Golf Club | opened 1996 |
| 15 | Union League National Golf Club Sherman Meade | opened 1997 |
| 16 | Ballamor Golf Club | opened 2001 |
| 16 | Heritage Links | opened 2001 |
| 16 | Twisted Dune Golf Club | opened 2001 |
| 19 | Cape May Par 3 and Driving Range | opened 2002 |
| 19 | Hidden Creek Golf Club | opened 2002 |
| 19 | Mcculloughs Emerald Golf Links | opened 2002 |
| 19 | Shore Gate Golf Club | opened 2002 |
| 23 | Vineyard National Golf Course | opened 2007 |
| 24 | Laguna Oaks Golf Course | opened 2009 |
The year the course opened, as published. Ranked oldest first. An opening year is not a design credit and not a renovation date — a course that opened in 1921 and was rebuilt in 1998 still opened in 1921.
Highest above sea level
— the top 25 of 29 courses with a coordinate we could sample
| # | Course | Highest above sea level |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pinelands Golf Club | 108 ft |
| 2 | Buena Vista Country Club | 86 ft |
| 3 | Victors Par 3 Golf Course | 77 ft |
| 4 | Frog Rock Country Club | 75 ft |
| 5 | Blue Heron Pines Golf Club | 68 ft |
| 6 | Mays Landing Golf Club | 58 ft |
| 7 | Twisted Dune Golf Club | 56 ft |
| 8 | Seaview The Pines Course | 55 ft |
| 9 | Hidden Creek Golf Club | 52 ft |
| 10 | Pomona Golf Country Club | 47 ft |
| 11 | Ballamor Golf Club | 45 ft |
| 12 | Mcculloughs Emerald Golf Links | 44 ft |
| 13 | Hamilton Trails Country Club | 37 ft |
| 14 | Vineyard National Golf Course | 31 ft |
| 15 | Atlantic City Country Club | 29 ft |
| 16 | Union League National Golf Club Sherman Meade | 24 ft |
| 17 | Shore Gate Golf Club | 23 ft |
| 18 | Galloway National Golf Club | 22 ft |
| 19 | Harbor Pines Golf Club | 21 ft |
| 19 | Linwood Country Club | 21 ft |
| 21 | Greate Bay Golf Club | 20 ft |
| 22 | Cape May Par 3 and Driving Range | 17 ft |
| 23 | Cape May National Golf Club | 14 ft |
| 23 | Stone Harbor Golf Club | 14 ft |
| 25 | Laguna Oaks Golf Course | 11 ft |
Height above sea level at the course’s own published coordinate, sampled from the USGS 3DEP elevation model. THIS IS A FIGURE WE DERIVED, not one the course publishes — anybody can re-query the same public dataset at the same coordinate and get the same number, but no scorecard states it. Because every course carries a coordinate, this is the only board here whose field is nearly the whole database rather than the courses that publish a particular figure. Elevation changes how far a ball carries; it says nothing about whether a course is good.