REVIEW PART TWO OF FIVE – WEEKEND GETAWAYS – CRYSTAL SPRINGS RESORT – 81 holes in 2 days  - BALLYOWEN – a great golf experience

ARTICLE

HUNTERDON COUNTY 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.

On Saturday afternoon we ventured out to Ballyowen golf links. The statement in life that you never get a second chance to make a firsts impression runs true here for this Scottish style course. Right from the start the staff was polite, upbeat, in a fantastic mood and they showed it to you in every manner they possibly could from the guys taking the clubs out of the car and cleaning them before we started, to the starter who instead of telling us to do this or that, asked us if we would play the ninety degree rule and fix our ball marks and divots, to the girl in the beverage cart who made it a point on a 95 plus degree day to loop around to us every third hole as requested to we could stay hydrated. We cannot say enough great things about how we were treated, bravo to all.

The course was in fantastic condition, the fairways gave you great lies, the greens ran true and the rough, though penal, was fair. The high rye grass was a killer but the fairways were wide enough that you had to be wayward to hit it in there, or greedy over some carries. The pictures below should speak for themselves. If you are going to play 36 holes here in a day there is no question that you should make the Big B one of your loops. This gets the highest HC NEWS rating.

Lets go to the course.

right from the start you knew you were somewhere special

Into the clubhouse

The fine lads who cared for our clubs

the starter with a smile

First hole, nice starter, downhill tee shot allows you to swing easy - keep it well right, those left bunkers will gobble.

The view from behind the green , note the multi levels on the putting surface

Tee Shot is all carry, is you see where the cart is, that is a fair target that isn't to greedy. Biting off to much is a bad risk, you wont have a long shot in playing conservative.

Some may want to go for the green from the tee - all we say is good luck, you are hitting 3 from the tee.

Hit the tee ball right if you can it will give you a better angle for the second.

this is he view from 100 in looking back around the corner.

To the green its an uphill carry over bunkers, take an extra club.

Aim for the middle on this par 3, they will try to sucker you like here with it tucked into the left. beside that front bunker there is little trouble.

This is a great golf hole. The water on the right really isn't in play unless you wind up and slice like mad. Take out the 3 wood and bang away on your second.

This green is a little deeper than it appears, its worth taking more than less.

Ohhh baby - this is a toughie. Carrie over water to a thin strip of a green is no picnic. Have faith and pray, the coy in the pond have gobbled more than one Titleist.

This hole requires two good shots. right is dead, bail out left makes the second, with water in play on the right, a lot tougher.

Another tough hole - a long drive is paramount of you will have a very difficult second.

Having 200 in is not an easy chore.

Dog leg right, easy downhill drive leaves you an uphill approach, take a stronger club than you think.