REVIEW PART ONE OF FIVE – WEEKEND GETAWAYS – CRYSTAL SPRINGS RESORT – 81 holes in 2 days  - Black Bear

Multiple, well respected business and finance magazines have concluded that in the current state of the economy most American families are taking vacations for a shorter period of time and are taking that vacation much closer to home than usual. With this in mind THE HC NEWS review team took off to the Crystal Springs Resort to see if this location might be an ideal family/golf/weekend getaway for Hunterdon residents, and we are happy to report that it has a number of unique qualities that  make it an ideal place to rejuvenate a hard worked soul.

Right off the bat we must mention that our contact person, Natasha Wright – director of marketing - was an absolute joy to deal with. She set up a flawless schedule of golf, arranged for a wonderful suite, made sure we ate in comfort and was available 24/7 for any questions we had. Our interaction with her made the weekend that much more enjoyable than we would have imagined.

Crystal Springs Resort - http://www.crystalgolfresort.com  is located exactly 52.8 miles from the bridge on Main Street in Clinton. If you travel up route 206 to route 94 during non rush hours it will take you an hour and five minutes to arrive at the grand Cascade Lodge - http://www.crystalgolfresort.com/content/category.aspx?SID=13&CID=169 

From that location high upon the hill there are 7 golf courses under the crystal umbrella.

At 6 a.m. Saturday we ventured to Black Bear, which is a ten minute ride from the resort, off of route 23. It was fairly dark when we began and the morning dew was still burning off the tops of the blades of grass. The course plays 6673 from the tips with a rating of 72.2 and a slope of 130. It is also home to a golf academy if lessons are something you seek.

The course was in good shape, fairways tight, greens medium speed. Pace of play – we were the third folks off the tee – was obviously ok because of the time slot, but it still took over four hours to play because carts are allowed to drive to the ball on only 6 of the 18 holes which made the play slower and a bit laborious as many of the holes required a shot that was far away from the path. Another observation is that you cannot walk this course as many of the tee boxes are an eighth of a mile from the previous green, an unfortunate habit of designers from the 1990’s. The staff here was the least helpful out of all of the courses we played. The starter was grumpy and the on staff marshalls were everywhere and they for god knows what reason seemed to park at least half a dozen times alongside the fairways when we were trying to tee off and all golfers know that that is an incredible distraction. Leaving they did not allow you to take the cart to the car to unload the clubs, house policy we were told, and there was no one there to clean the clubs or take them to the car if that is important to you, all of the other courses provided this service and while it’s not a big deal, it’s one of those overall package things that you notice as there is a trend and a vibe to a place. A short two hours later we entered the Ballyowen Club and found from the get go a completely different experience as the staff there could not do enough to make your experience perfect. Another strange thing was tee signs, they were made of out plywood and almost looked as if they had been painted by a school child, they didn't have any type of map on them and they simple made it seem like the place was of a lower standard than others in the area. 

An interesting observation from the high handicapper, of the group, who shot 122, was that the place was easy. This was an interesting remark from someone getting their fair share of swings in, but she explained that the course just seemed to have little trouble, short rough and wide fairways. Without practice putting or hitting balls off the driving range I put up a 77, which did indicate that the course was playing a bit soft as that is a few strokes below my handicap and weekend average.

I didn’t remember any holes during the day that I thought were remarkable, and yet the course did have a flow to it that many would probably enjoy – let’s take a look. 

Hole one is a nice starter. Hit at the 150 stick off the tee.

Shot two is uphill, guarded by bunkers, it ahs two tiers on the green so take an extra club for the front and two for the back.

Here is a shot of the tiered green while the morning fog burned off.

Blind green off the tee. Your distance on shot one will determine how you play this hole. Bang it far enough and you may be tempted to go in 2, but beware, the water is looming. 

The pond in front protects eagle tries. but if you lay up properly with a second shot you can have a good bid at sticking it tight.

Tee shot is critical, play off the right side and let it drift back down to the fairway.

A nice view of the slope up to the green

Grip and rip, there is no trouble here.

You can run the ball onto the green on the right, but beware, those bunkers are there for a reason, make sure you don't have a lie with the ball above your feet or you will be inclined to pull it over there.

they run a daily contest to see who hits the best shot of the day.

A nice smooth swing is all you need.

Stay way from the left - its dead. You can take your drive off of the right hillside and it will bound down to the fairway.

From atop the right hill, still leaves you a good shot to lay up in front of the bunkers.

Shot three, take dead aim.

Water water everywhere. Do not be tempted by the sucker pins, take it out right, two putt and be happy.

A view from alongside the green.

Memorial Rock.

Blind shot off the tee - short hole, if your driver is wavering think 3 wood here.

A downhill shot to the green, beware the bunker in front.

Downhill to the clubhouse.

Beware the left side

As you will be left with this.

A shot down the right leaves you a wide open green that you can fly it to if you wish, the smarter play, as this green slopes front to back is hit it short about ten yards and let it bounce on toward the cup.