Rock Spring Golf Club at West Orange

My first experience with Rock Spring couldn't have been any better. It's a beautiful course from start to finish, meticulously maintained, with challenging but fun holes and greens. My group included two seniors, a player struggling with his game and a more-advance golfer and we all agreed it was a special place to play. Check-in at the clubhouse was quick and easy, the starter was super helpful explaining the ins and outs of the course and once I got out on the course I was taken by the gorgeous scenery. Next time, I'll be taking some photos. And there will be many next times.

Appreciate the staff for taking their job seriously and working with such passion. However, for $130 on a weekday, you'd expect the course conditions to be much much better. The greens were terribly slow and some tee boxes were in rough shape.

The course is beautiful, but the service is terrible. After booking a court online, I wanted to cancel, but I couldn't get through on the phone all day. No one answered the phone all day, so I left a voicemail to cancel my scheduled tee time. Yet, at 10:00 PM, I received an email from the course showing that the booking hadn't been cancelled after all. What were the staff doing all day instead of answering the phone?

Rock Spring is a true gem, and I’m so glad it’s now open to the public. Seth Raynor’s design rewards precision and punishes mistakes in all the right ways. The tee boxes are among the best in the area—flat, clean, and thoughtfully placed. The bunkers are deep and fluffy, demanding a plan and solid execution if you find them. New Jersey is lucky to have a classic design like this open to everyone.

Avoid this course if you’re visiting. I’ve played golf across three continents at courses ranging from budget public tracks to premium resorts, and this was by far the worst customer service experience I’ve had, especially considering we paid well over $250 USD per person, including club hire. The rental clubs were well below the standard I’d expect for the price. The rental set didn’t include any specialty wedges, so before the round we asked if a 58° or 60° wedge could be added to the bag, or if we could borrow a demo wedge instead. The answer was a flat no because “that’s the rental set.” There was absolutely no flexibility despite charging over $50 USD per bag for club hire. To make matters worse, I had specifically requested stiff flex clubs but was given regular flex instead. What made this particularly frustrating was that every request and interactions was met with a rude and condescending response. We were also surprised that no balls or tees were included and were told we had to purchase them separately from the pro shop. Again, for the premium price being charged, this felt like poor value. After the round, we waited around 10 minutes upstairs before anyone came to serve us for refreshments. While that wasn’t ideal, the real issue was the experience before the round. The customer service was consistently unfriendly, dismissive, and inflexible, leaving us feeling like our business simply wasn’t valued. The course itself was okay and in decent condition, although it was quite short with slow greens. Nothing specially, but unfortunately, the quality of the course couldn’t make up for the disappointing service. For the price, I expected a premium experience. Instead, it was one of the most disappointing golfing experiences I’ve had. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone visiting the area and would actively advise people to avoid this course. Save your money, go elsewhere. Especially at $250 usd + for a round pp