Preakness Hills Country Club

Preakness Hills Country Club carries one of the more evocative names in New Jersey golf — a nod to the same Preakness Valley that lent its name to the famous leg of horse racing's Triple Crown, rooting this club firmly in the patrician sporting culture of Passaic County. The club has been a fixture of the private golf scene in northern New Jersey for decades, drawing members from the suburban communities that spread across Wayne and its neighboring towns in the shadow of the Watchung Mountains.

The terrain here is characteristically northern Jersey — rolling, wooded, and defined by the kind of mature tree cover and topographical variety that rewards local knowledge. A par 72 layout in this landscape tends to offer a genuine mix of open and tightly framed holes, where positioning off the tee matters as much as distance.

Wayne sits in a region with serious golf infrastructure, surrounded by a constellation of strong private clubs. Preakness Hills competes comfortably in that company, offering members a course that feels rooted in its landscape rather than imposed upon it.