By Allison Perrine | aperrine@tworivertimes.com
ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS – Beacon Hill Country Club will complete a $2 million-plus golf course improvement project this year, bringing new bunkers, reshaped fairways, renovated greens and more to its members.
Administrators at the elegant 40,000-square-foot clubhouse started work on its golf course at the end of 2018. Weather permitting, the second phase of work should be completed by mid-April and club members will have their course back before Memorial Day weekend. The last phase will resume in mid-August and will be completed by December.
“The bunkers themselves are a complete enhancement,” said Alexander Mueller, general manager of the country club, referring to the sand traps. “In heavy rainstorms, it would take the crew a day or two to get the bunkers back into playing conditions. After the first course renovation, the bunkers that were redone – you could play them in an hour.”
Beacon Hill is a private country club that sits on a 90-acre property on the hills of Atlantic Highlands, providing views of the New York City skyline and the bay. “The view is what everybody really likes,” said Mueller. “You get spoiled with that.”
The club has upward of 380 members and strives to be a premiere Monmouth County, family-oriented country club. The goal, they says, is to delight visitors with a unique, unpretentious environment and to meet those expectations in a fiscally responsible manner.
It was established in 1899 and has been open continuously. Aside from its 18-hole golf course, Beacon Hill includes an Olympic-sized swimming pool, outdoor patio, grille room, cocktail lounge, fitness studio and more. It has private events for club members throughout the year and offers programs for adults and children. Staff members recently hired a new executive chef, Scott Howlett, to elevate the fine dining for club members. They also recently hired a new golf professional James McDonald. “It’s a lot of new activity for Beacon Hill,” said Mueller.
Additionally, the club purchased a home across from its entranceway on Beacon Hill Road that will likely be torn down for a new use for club members, said Mueller. Though they’re an estimated three months away from determining exactly what that use may be, some ideas have been tossed around like a pickleball court, paddleball, additional indoor hitting bays or a fitness center. They are trying to determine what their members want and if there are cost-effective ways to make it happen.
But its amenities and views aside, Mueller said its members are what set Beacon Hill apart from other country clubs in the area. It takes pride in its junior programs and the camaraderie that exists amongst club members and staff. The club’s junior golf and swim team programs are popular and the club takes pride in prioritizing groups. Typically, there are 80 to 100 children in the programs in any given year.
“We look at them as our future,” said Mueller.
The article originally appeared in the March 5-11, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
