
Watchung Valley Golf Club traces its origins to the Park Club of Plainfield, founded in 1889, whose members formed a golfing group in 1892. In 1895 they began laying out a course on land owned by Park Club member Louis K. Hyde near the base of the First Watchung Mountain in North Plainfield.
Incorporated as the Park Golf Club in 1898, the club engaged Tom Bendelow to lay out nine holes. Bendelow designed more than 600 courses across the country, and this one was a straightforward affair without bunkers when it opened for play on Election Day in 1898. Golf and tennis were both offered, and a small clubhouse set on the hillside overlooked the grounds. In 1915 the membership renamed the club Hydewood Country Club, both to avoid confusion with the Park Club and to honor Hyde.
In the early 1920s the State of New Jersey condemned part of the property for the road that became US-22, prompting the members to relocate to a site on the other side of the ridgeline.
| Tee | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Out | In | Total | Par | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 36 | 35 | 71 | ||
| Handicap | 5 | 1 | 9 | 17 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 15 | 12 | 14 | 4 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 2 | 10 | 6 | |||||
| Championship | 434 | 476 | 493 | 137 | 515 | 356 | 430 | 365 | 202 | 353 | 203 | 465 | 166 | 463 | 337 | 483 | 380 | 571 | 3408 | 3421 | 6,829 | 71 | 73.7/146 |
| Blue | 423 | 445 | 464 | 132 | 512 | 345 | 401 | 355 | 198 | 343 | 190 | 434 | 155 | 451 | 320 | 458 | 371 | 537 | 3275 | 3259 | 6,534 | 72 | 72.3/141 |
| Green | 335 | 436 | 439 | 124 | 507 | 321 | 397 | 335 | 188 | 335 | 167 | 405 | 136 | 437 | 308 | 450 | 361 | 518 | 3082 | 3117 | 6,199 | 72 | 71.0/136 |
| White | 320 | 411 | 432 | 121 | 489 | 286 | 382 | 318 | 157 | 328 | 154 | 376 | 128 | 417 | 295 | 424 | 354 | 503 | 2916 | 2979 | 5,895 | 72 | 69.4/132 |
Tee and scorecard data retrieved from the USGA GHIN course database
How many strokes you get from each tee, by handicap index.
| Tee | Rating | Slope | 0 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 36 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | 73.7 | 146 | 3 | 9 | 16 | 22 | 29 | 35 | 41 | 49 |
| Blue | 72.3 | 141 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 19 | 25 | 31 | 38 | 45 |
| Green | 71.0 | 136 | -1 | 5 | 11 | 17 | 23 | 29 | 35 | 42 |
| White | 69.4 | 132 | -3 | 3 | 9 | 15 | 21 | 27 | 32 | 39 |
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