TPC Jasna Polana
Played Jasna Polana in 2012 with my cousin Mark and his brother-in-law Nick. TPCJP is a private club located about a nine-iron from the Princeton campus. In all I’ve played 12 TPC courses counting Dorado in Puerto Rico and Harding Park which were not TPC courses when I played them and Old White at the Greenbrier which was a TPC when I played it but don’t think it is anymore. I don’t include any courses that were formerly TPC’s but were before I played it. Eagle Trace outside FLL comes to mind. This hasn’t aged well post-TPC so I don’t recommend you play.
I’m surprised that TPCJP doesn’t get Golf Digest love. It really is a great course. Awesome esthetics. Neat design. Top conditioning. However it is not even among Golf Digest’s best in state for NJ. A couple they include are well below TPCJP in my way of ranking.
Of the TPC’s, I think TPCJP ranks only below Sawgrass, Scottsdale’s Stadium Course, and Old White. It is a little better IMO than TPC Potomac, TPC Colorado and the Scottsdale Champion’s Course. The conditioning here was great, the staff super friendly and the clubhouse is one of (if not the top) ones in the world (IMO). In fact, the clubhouse is the former estate of the original J. Seward Johnson of Johnson & Johnson Band-Aid fame and fortune and the course is built on its grounds. There is a rumor that Jasna Polana was the name of Johnson’s Polish mistress, but further investigation reveals it means “bright glade” in Polish and was the name of Leo Tolstoy’s estate in Russia.
TPCJP was designed by Gary Player and when I met him and Jack Nicklaus at the Bear’s Club we discussed his designs. While Nicklaus wouldn’t give a favorite of his designs, Mr. Player (while really loving TPCJP) said his favorite design was the Links at Fancourt in South Africa. BTW, ever since I’ve met Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus at The Bear’s Club and got to play with Mr. Player, I’ve been mentioning that all over my later reviews. I guess I’m a little like Cliff Claven after he went to Florida.
I found the card and didn’t play well here. While I birdied 17, there were a lot of doubles on the card. I don’t remember it being outrageously hard and looking at the card (assuming we played the 6,300+ blended tees) it’s a 136 so I guess it’s no pushover.
I don’t really remember much about the course other than the clubhouse and conditioning. The par threes stuck out and the 18th was either a pretty tough par five or I just really sucked and took an eight. There is some water on the course but it was not overwhelming. I remember playing around a house/something on the front which if was a cart barn or maintenance building it was awesome or if it was someone’s home it was inaccessible by road. Sorry can’t remember much more as it was ten years ago since I’ve played it.
So Princeton is not wildly far from where I live (maybe about an hour) but I have not spent a huge amount of time here. There aren’t many nice public golf options here. Don’t remember how I got on here but I do know a few friends have said they could get me back on if I ever wanted so like most private TPC’s it is playable. I was up there recently and ate at a nice Italian restaurant called Eno Terra which was really quaint. I ate at Pure once – a nice sushi place – but it is now closed. For an interesting dining experience try Rat’s on the Ground for Sculpture in nearby Hamilton. Good food. Great setting. Horrible name. I guess if you’re up there in the Fall you should go to a Harvard vs. Princeton football game but history aside, I would rather watch vultures feasting on a cow carcass than watch Ivy League football.
UPDATE: Have been back up to Princeton a couple times since writing this review. Two more restaurants to try if you’re up there would be the Witherspoon Grill and Mistral. Both are right in Princeton proper. Witherspoon is a nice steak house and Mistral is across Witherspoon Street and is an American restaurant (whatever that is) but had a really good menu.
Golf Scrapbook 