Galloway National Golf Club is a strictly private, invitation-only Tom Fazio-designed championship course in Galloway Township, NJ, consistently ranked among the top 200 courses in America and widely regarded as the best in South Jersey outside of Pine Valley. Read on for a full breakdown of the course, membership, and everything else you need to know.
History and Background of Galloway National Golf Club
Galloway National traces its roots to the mid-1980s, when Vernon W. Hill II — the founder of Commerce Bancorp, which grew from a single Marlton, NJ branch in 1973 to roughly 470 locations before its $8.5 billion sale to TD Bank in 2008 — partnered with John Silvestri, Steve Lewis, and Ken Lowther to build a course on their own terms.
The stated motivation was straightforward: escape the five-hour rounds common at public Jersey Shore courses. Before buying a single acre, the group toured more than 80 top clubs across the U.S., Scotland, and Ireland.
In 1986, they acquired a 200-acre parcel in Galloway Township, Atlantic County, with more than 5,000 feet of frontage along Reeds Bay. The vision was deliberately narrow — a world-class private golf club with no housing, no hotels, no swimming pools, and no tennis. Just golf.
Construction didn't begin until spring 1993, when Tom Fazio broke ground on what he would later call one of his best designs. Ten holes opened in summer 1994, with the full 18 following in 1995. Golf Digest took notice immediately, naming Galloway National one of America's Best New Courses of 1994 — part of a remarkable year in which Fazio became the first architect in history to win three Golf Digest Best of Class awards simultaneously, claiming Best New Private, Best New Resort, and Best New Public in the same cycle.
The course was reported to have cost roughly $15 million to build — a figure that, combined with the founders' refusal to add revenue-generating amenities, signals exactly the kind of club they set out to create.
Course Layout, Design, and Signature Holes
Galloway National plays to a par 71 across four sets of tees, giving golfers a genuine range of options depending on ability:
| Tees | Yardage | Rating | Slope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black (Back) | ~7,111 | 75.4 | 146 |
| Blue (Middle) | 6,645 | 72.9 | 143 |
| Silver | 6,049 | 68.2 | 134 |
| Forward | 5,052 | 65.2 | 128 |
The slope of 146 from the tips isn't decorative. Even single-digit handicappers routinely struggle to break 80 from the Blacks.
The routing covers three separate land parcels stitched together across a South Jersey pine barrens landscape — tall native pines framing nearly every hole, large sandy waste bunkers throughout, internal ponds on holes 7, 8, and 11, and tidal marsh pressing directly into play on holes 2, 5, 17, and 18. Every tee complex is elevated by the founder's directive, which means no blind shots anywhere on the property. Creeping bentgrass greens run fast — around 11+ on the Stimpmeter — and feature significant internal contour that serves as the course's primary defense.
The par-3 set is what most reviewers remember longest. Five of them, getting progressively longer as the round goes on:
- 2nd (~149 yds) — All-carry over tidal marsh with Atlantic City visible in the distance; a giant green with severe back-to-front slope
- 5th (~189 yds) — Marsh in play; wind exposure increases here
- 9th (~196 yds) — Mid-round test before the turn
- 14th (~219 yds) — The round starts demanding more
- 17th (~249 yds) — The most photographed hole on the property; downhill, with the Atlantic City skyline framed through a window of pines behind the green
By the time you reach the 17th, you've already played four par 3s. The fifth one being the longest — and the most visually dramatic — is not an accident.
A few other holes worth knowing before you play:
16th (par 5, ~532–584 yds) — The fairway and bunker complex is shaped like the state of New Jersey, with a water hazard positioned where Pennsylvania would be on a map. It's the kind of design detail that sounds gimmicky until you're standing on the tee.
18th (par 4, 428–486 yds) — A dogleg right that demands an immediate forced carry over marshland off the tee, finishing at a large, undulating green guarded by a giant waste bunker. It's a demanding close on an already demanding course.
The opening hole sets the tone early — a dogleg right with a forced carry over wasteland to an elevated green, deliberately drawing comparison to Pine Valley's opener. That reference point isn't accidental; the entire design aesthetic pulls from Pine Valley and Pinehurst while remaining distinctly rooted in the South Jersey landscape it occupies.
Rankings, Reputation, and How It Stacks Up
The rankings tell a consistent story. As of 2025:
- Golf Digest: #168 in America, #9 in New Jersey
- Golf Magazine: #168 globally
- Golfweek: #68 Best Modern Courses, #8 Best Private Course in New Jersey
- Top100GolfCourses.com: #8 in New Jersey
- Google Reviews: 4.9/5 across 99 reviews
- 18Birdies: 4.9/5 across 51 reviews
It has appeared on Golf Digest's Second 100 since 2013 and ranked as high as #131 in 2021. For a course that doesn't advertise, host tour events, or court outside attention, that kind of sustained ranking consensus is notable.
The informal reputation carries just as much weight as the formal rankings. Reviewers across Golf Digest, Golfweek, Planet Golf, and Golfadelphia land on the same shorthand: the best course in South Jersey outside of Pine Valley.
Tom Doak, not known for generous assessments, described it as “an eye-catching Tom Fazio design built across a series of small wooded sand hills.” Fazio himself called it one of his best ever — a rare self-assessment from an architect with hundreds of credits.
What people praise most:
- Conditioning, consistently described as among the best in the Northeast
- The par-3 set, particularly the all-carry 2nd and the dramatic 17th
- The Atlantic City skyline views, especially from the back nine
- Bentgrass greens that are fast, fair, and visually distinctive
The most common critiques:
- The course is genuinely punishing from the Black tees for anyone below a scratch handicap
- No strong strategic short par-4 in the routing — a gap that reviewers notice
- A few long green-to-tee walks resulting from the three-parcel layout
Neither critique undermines the overall picture. The difficulty is a feature for the membership it serves, and the walk transitions are a minor inconvenience on a course that otherwise flows naturally through its landscape. What the rankings and reviews collectively confirm is that Galloway National delivers at the level its founders intended — without compromise and without much need for outside validation.
Access, Membership, and What It Costs
Galloway National is private and invitation-only. There are no public tee times, no twilight rates, and no daily-fee access of any kind. The course appears in directories like GolfNow, TeeOff, GolfPass, and 18Birdies, but those listings are informational only — every one of them directs inquiries to the club's main phone line. You cannot book a tee time through any third-party platform, and calling to ask about guest play without a member connection won't get you far.
To play here, you need a member host. There are no exceptions.
What Membership Costs
The club does not publish its fee schedule. The figures that circulate online come from third-party aggregators, not the club itself — treat them as rough benchmarks, not confirmed numbers:
- Initiation fee: Estimated at $150,000–$300,000 (one aggregator cites approximately $225,000)
- Monthly dues: Estimated at $1,500–$3,000/month
For context, comparable top private clubs in New Jersey — Hidden Creek, Trump Bedminster, Ridgewood, Plainfield — operate in a similar range. The only way to get accurate figures is to call the club directly.
What Membership Includes
- Unlimited play on the Fazio course
- Access to caddies and carts
- The full practice facility — multi-directional range, short-game area, putting green
- Locker rooms with showers and equipment storage
- A pro shop stocking equipment and 15 men's apparel lines
- Three full-time PGA professionals for instruction and club fitting
- Four-star dining in the clubhouse overlooking the 17th hole
- A conference room available for business meetings
What it doesn't include is equally deliberate. There is no pool, no tennis, no on-site lodging, and no real estate component. That was the founders' stated vision from the beginning — a pure golf club, nothing else.
How to Inquire
The club's membership process starts with a private tour. Contact Director of Golf and General Manager Jason Lamp at (609) 748-1000 ext. 2. When you call, come prepared to ask specifically about the current initiation fee, annual dues, food-and-beverage minimum, cart-trail fee structure, and guest fees. Don't rely on the third-party estimates to anchor your expectations going in.
Practice Facility, Instruction, and On-Site Amenities
Practice Facility
Galloway National's practice complex is considered one of the best in the Mid-Atlantic, and it's worth arriving 45–60 minutes early just to use it. The range has approximately 80 grass tees with accurate yardage measurements to flagged targets that include built-up greens, bunkers, and fairway cuts. What sets it apart from a standard range is its multi-directional layout — because you can hit from multiple angles toward different target areas, practice sessions feel closer to actual on-course conditions than a single-axis range ever could.
The full complex includes:
- Multi-directional grass range (~80 tees, 20,000–25,000 ball inventory)
- Dedicated short-game and chipping area with bunkers
- Large practice putting green
- Covered hitting bays
- Annual manufacturer demo and club fitting days
Instruction
Three full-time PGA professionals are on staff, collectively bringing more than 60 years of teaching experience:
- Jason Lamp, PGA — Director of Golf and General Manager
- Alex Scarlett, PGA — Head Golf Professional
- Kyle Quagliero — Assistant Golf Professional
Individual lessons, group clinics, and club fitting are all available. The previous Director of Golf, Mike Killian — a 1973 USA Walker Cup Team member who also played in the 1973 and 1974 Masters — held the role from 2001 to 2014 and remains a notable part of the club's history.
Clubhouse and Amenities
The clubhouse sits above the 17th hole with views stretching across Reeds Bay toward the Atlantic City skyline — it's a natural gathering point after a round. Dining is positioned as a core part of the member experience, with a full gourmet dining room and bar that the club describes as four-star. Private events and catered lunches and dinners are accommodated.
Beyond dining, the on-site amenities are focused and functional rather than sprawling:
- Pro shop (~810–900 sq. ft.) stocking equipment and 15 men's apparel lines
- Well-appointed men's and women's locker rooms with showers and storage
- Conference room available for business meetings
- Caddie service available daily; walking is actively encouraged
There's no pool, spa, or tennis — consistent with the founding vision. Every amenity on the property exists to support golf, not supplement it.
Tournaments Hosted and Tips for First-Time Visitors
Tournament History
Despite being strictly private, Galloway National has hosted a steady stream of high-level competitive events. The 2012 USGA Men's State Team Championship was the club's first USGA national championship, played at 6,963 yards with greens running 11–11.5 on the Stimpmeter. Other notable events include:
- U.S. Open Local Qualifiers (multiple years, including 2010)
- U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Qualifying (2025)
- NCAA Division I Men's Golf Regional Championship (2009)
- Ivy League Men's Championship (2007, 2008)
- NJSGA Mid-Amateur Championship (2001, 2002, 2005)
- USGA Senior Amateur Qualifier (2004, 2009)
- LPGA ShopRite Classic Pro-Am — co-hosted annually with neighboring Seaview
- 2021 NJSGA Four-Ball Championship (89th edition)
For competitive amateurs in the GAP/NJSGA footprint, these events represent the most realistic legitimate path to playing the course. Monitor gapgolf.org for U.S. Open Local Qualifier and U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Qualifying announcements — entry is open, and the field sizes are manageable.
Tips for First-Time Visitors
Before you arrive:
- Confirm whether you're walking or riding with your member host. Caddies are available daily and genuinely worth the fee — local knowledge on these greens is a real advantage, not a luxury.
- Wear appropriate attire from the moment you arrive, not just on the first tee. Collared shirt, tailored pants or Bermuda-length shorts, and soft-spiked golf shoes are required. Jeans, cargo pants, and athletic wear are not permitted.
- The club is closed every Tuesday. Don't plan around a Tuesday visit.
On the course:
- Choose your tees honestly. The Blacks (slope 146) are a serious test; the Blues (slope 143) play much fairer for most golfers, and the Silvers (slope 134) are appropriate for higher handicaps.
- Bring an extra club for the par 3s — they get progressively longer as the round goes on, and the marsh crossings are fully exposed to wind.
- Plan to stop on the 17th tee. It's the most photographed spot on the property, and most groups take a moment there.
- Leave the phone in your bag. Pace is brisk by club expectation — members routinely play in under four hours.
Practical notes:
- In July and August, green-headed flies along the marsh can be persistent. Light long sleeves, long socks, and DEET-based repellent help.
- Allow 45–60 minutes before your round for the practice facility — it's one of the genuine highlights of the visit.
If You Can't Get On
For non-members in the area, the most worthwhile public alternatives nearby include:
- Seaview Bay Course (Donald Ross design, ~5 minutes away)
- Atlantic City Country Club
- Twisted Dune Golf Club
- Blue Heron Pines
Seaview Resort is also the most logical lodging base if you're making a golf trip of it — it sits roughly five minutes from Galloway National and hosts the annual LPGA ShopRite Classic.
Conclusion
Galloway National is a straightforward proposition: one of the best-conditioned, most thoughtfully designed private courses in the country, built by people who wanted nothing more than a great place to play golf.
Getting on requires a member connection, and membership requires a serious financial commitment — but the course consistently delivers at that level. If you ever get the invite, take it.
