May 2026 – Just played Plainfield Country Club as part of a “Random Golf Club” outing and played on a 98-degree day, continued to play like crap here, and it was so hot and I sweated so much I got sunscreen in my eyes and could barely see the course. Plus it was a shotgun and we started on 15 and my cousin and brother bailed on me and that added to a wildly expensive round (I am on a fixed income you know). I also played with two Patriots fans. All that said and with all those negatively competing factors, I score Plainfield an A+ rating and solidly in my top 100.
OK, a couple of things I want to unpack here. First the Patriots fans. If you’ve seen from my other reviews, I have a serious and embarrassing affliction: Patriots fans in the family. I hate the Cheatriots! Full stop. Somehow over the past 20 or so years, my loathing of the Patriots has lapped my loathing of the Cowboys, Giants, and soccer. Very unfortunately for me and Eagles and AFC East fans everywhere, they snuck back into the Super Bowl last season and just when I thought it was safe, my family from Mass started chirping again. Ugh. My early 2026 NFL prediction? The Pats with a first place schedule and a league that will catch up with a mediocre to slightly above mediocre quarterback will get exposed. They will get a great season from AJ Brown (whose trade from the Eagles seems like a fait accompli) this year then will deal with his sulking and crying until he forces his way out of New England. All that said, the guys we played with (good to very good golfers) were awesome and were patient with my golf course buffoonery. Will have them down to my club (and our caddy Dylan who WAS an Eagles fan) and look forward to it.
Second unpacking: My f*cking golf game. Even though I drove the ball well (well for me but short and getting shorter as each year passes by), at Plainfield, I suffered from more doubles than Pete Rose enjoyed in his career (second most all time behind Tris Speaker). I just don’t know how to fix it right now and am lost. And now that I am old, I am in pain. Fell out of bed before my Trout round, wrenched my neck and I still hurt from that three weeks later. My lower back hurts. My knees hurt. And after pretty much any round anymore, my pride hurts. Do I just accept my suck and be happy with rounds in the 90’s or do I do something?
Third unpacking: NJ golf. NJ has some of the best courses in the country. Sure you have some great courses on Long Island, around Atlanta, California, on the main line in Philly, et al, but NJ is no slouch. Here, Somerset, the Baltusrol courses and of course Pine Valley, the number one course in the world. Some rankings also include Liberty National, Bayonne, AC Country Club, not to mention a newer course like Trout and others. The sandy soil and varied topography help push the NJ courses up high in the golf mag rankings and Plainfield is a perfect example.
Final unpacking. Top 100 courses as part of my 1,000 course journey. I only recently set the goal to play 1,000 golf courses before I turn 70 (Plainfield was #738). I never had the goal to play the top 100. While I would love to play them all, I think the scramble to try and get on them all would actually take away from the enjoyment of the rounds. Even with the 1,000 course goal, I find myself too often worrying about a number instead of really soaking in the course and environment. I think that’s part of my struggles as I play my own course much better than my travel rounds – especially those that are in the top 100 on some ranking or the other. Then of course, it’s what list? Golf Digest is probably the definitive list, but would my goal be the top 100 US courses? Outside the US? Golf Magazine’s combined US & World? Then there is the Golfweek list which is actually 100 classic and 100 modern courses and actually includes the top 200 in each category. Do I play the classics? The moderns?
Finally what year do you use for the goal? So you set the goal to play the Golf Digest top 100 US courses and in two years, about ten courses replace ten of the courses you’ve played. How about re-do’s? Pinehurst #4 when I played in 2017 wasn’t ranked but the recent Hanse re-do has pushed it back into the top 100 on a couple of the lists. Would I have to play it again?
So I track which courses I’ve played that are or have been in the top 100. I use all of Golf Digest (US and outside the US), Golf magazine’s world + US, and the top 100 in each Golfweek’s classic and modern ranking. Whatever year. Planet Golf is a pretty good site for the earlier years. Using that, you probably have about 300-350 courses in any new ranking year that qualify with 15-20 new courses popping up every ranking. I currently have 100 courses that then qualify. Maybe I will update my top 200 ranking with an asterisk and come back and link it when I do but keep in mind there are a handful of courses that meet this qualification that don’t rank in my top 200.
All of that nonsense is to say, Plainfield CC is indeed a top 100 US course. In the latest rankings for each, Plainfield is #90 on Golf Digest’s Top US, #64 on Golf magazine – US (though not ranked on their combined world list), and tied for 32nd in Golfweek’s classic course ranking. I agree with all that. This is a great Donald Ross design and deserving of such a lofty perch. So when I saw Plainfield come up as a course on the Random Club’s offerings, I jumped on it. Pricey yes, but it’s a great way to mark off some top 100’s in a less pressurized way (unless your playing partner backs out at the last second and you play with some randoms – see what I did there). To the course.
We played a shotgun and started on 15. We walked with caddies and again it was a million degrees out. Overall what jumps out at you here are the Ross greens of course but it’s just a nice course. Unique golf holes. Gentle elevation changes. Strategic bunkering. Awesome conditioning. Booze was included in the price and access was great. Neat clubhouse that we had access to unlike other tourneys. Played right after the PGA Championship at Aronimink which is another top 100 Ross course and a lot of similarities between the two. I know they had the Barclay’s here in 2015. By all means get on here if you can.
Above top is the back of the clubhouse overlooking the 9th and 18th greens. In particular the 9th green is right off the chairs and grassy walk area and an intimidating shot that, as such, most people leave short. The bottom picture is the pro shop behind the first green.
The clubhouse is of the classic American private club ilk ala Oakland Hills and while I didn’t explore the entire clubhouse, the men’s locker room (two stories) seems to have a men’s grill attached and a coed area beyond that. We had a lunch and dinner on the back veranda shown in the top photo and there is a great drink window that is super convenient at the turn for reloads. In all, gave off a real clubby vibe that fits in well with the entire golf experience here.
Hole 1 (421 yards/#9 handicap/par four): We played the Ross tees (6,356 yards/71.3 rating/131 slope) and all measurements are from there. You see the clubhouse to the left. Blind drive that you need to crest the hill to get a good look at the green. Ryan (a two handicap) that carries the ball 270+ yards on his drive, easily crested the hill which gave him extra roll and had a wedge or even less in.
Hole 2 (425 yards/#3 handicap/par four): Ross starts you off with two good length par fours. Green is really well protected. Another blind drive. There were a bunch of blind drives needing to outdrive the hill top to get a good view of the green.
Number two up about 20 yards from the tees. Not sure why I took this shot but here you go.
I must’ve really liked #2. Here is the close in approach. Note the bunkering. What you don’t see and what I am not sure I captured any of it, but the fall off if you go too long on a lot of the greens is like a 90-degree hill off the back.
Hole 3 (164 yards/#15 handicap/par three): Right is water. Left is a severe trap. Tough hole. I ended up in my pocket after putting it in the sand and getting it out then right back in. The only good thing about my round is I finished with the same ball I started with.
Hole 4 (268 yards/#13 handicap/par four): Looking back down the fairway from this short par four. We all ended up left here off the tee. Don’t do that.
Hole 5 (509 yards/#5 handicap/par five): Left is OB. That forces you to go right. I actually hit this drive, the long second and approach really well and ended up with my only birdie of the round.
The long approach shot on five.
Hole 6 (141 yards/#17 handicap/par three): Kind of redan-style par three. Would I get the dreaded PBFU? Yes of course. Sand. Nice out but a three putt.
Hole 7 (390 yards/#1 handicap/par four): This is 471 yards from the tips. Ouch! As is from where we were, the bunkers in front of you don’t really come into play but there is a ton of sand off the fairway where your drive does want to land.
This is what the big hitters would look at from their approach. It was my second though I would put it on the green and a two putt bogey..
Hole 8 (456 yards/#7 handicap/par five): A short par five from the Ross tees. Here’s from my drive. You see the cant of the fairway. There are a lot of left or right sloping fairways here. I would par here and that would be the last par or birdie I would get for the round.
Hole 9 (356 yards/#11 handicap/par four): So pissed I didn’t get a shot of the 9th hole, so I borrowed this one from Golfadelphia’s site. He does a great job with photos and course descriptions so go there for really good analysis and less nonsense than what you get here.
Hole 10 (353 yards/#16 handicap/par four): Great little hole. You need to keep the ball left if you’re hitting driver. Unless you are old and can’t carry a ball 200 yards like me. Great uphill and slippery green.
From drive on ten. You see the creek of whence I spoke.
Hole 11 (136 yards/#18 handicap/par three): You have heard of a false front, right? Well this is more false than any I have ever seen. Then the back drops straight off. I played see saw here. Trap left. Barely got it out. Over the green. Up and down from there though. It was like whipped cream on dog shit.
Hole 12 (555 yards/#6 handicap/par five): A long hole straight and tough par five. At least I didn’t lose a ball.
From my drive on twelve. Still, a long, long way from home.
Remember Foreigner? Some bands from the 70’s/80’s aged really well. Not Foreigner – seems so hokey and bland now but when I first saw them in 1981, they were awesome to a young and still spunky me.
Still twelve. From a bigger hitter’s second but from my third. Again this is just a long and tough golf hole but the oasis to the left is the halfway house. I could smell the Miller Lites from here.
Hole 13 (380 yards/#2 handicap/par four): I was all discombobulated this hole. The caddy dropped one of the guy’s head covers and in bending over to grab it I dropped my full Miller Lite. Plus was carrying my driver AND this was the second to the last hole of our round that was already nearly five hours long. Plus did I mention it was a million degrees out?
Hole 14 (163 yards/#12 handicap/par three): A par three that we closed up on. I took my first questionable gimme of the day because I was half-past caring.
Hole 15 (357 yards/#14 handicap/par four): Here is 15 from where my distance-challenged drive landed. We started here.
Nothing like kicking off the round with a long bunker shot. I would clip it clean and sail all the way through the green and in the dry creek bed behind the green. At least I stopped at the halfway hut for a Surfside lemonade and vodka – a new thing for me.
Hole 16 (517 yards/#8 handicap/par five): Here from my second shot. Right is OB.
Hole 17 (409 yards/#4 handicap/par four): I tried to photoshop out some carts but got a big blob instead so left the guy at the fountain. A dogleg right with OB all along the edge. I almost hit my approach out but got a favorable kick. Bad, bad, bad.
The approach on 17.
Hole 18 (356 yards/#10 handicap/par four): The play for the big boys is to take it over the traps. I pushed it right but that ended up a good solid play as the hole is not very long.
And here’s where my drive put me with the clubhouse in the distance. I think I blathered on enough about Plainfield so won’t add anymore here. I rank it #83 in my little golf courses played universe, right behind Aronimink but in front of Valhalla. Solidly top 100 golf course.
Golf Scrapbook 