Essex Fells Country Club

Few places in New Jersey carry the quiet, old-money permanence of Essex Fells — a small, incorporated borough in Essex County that has resisted suburban sprawl with notable stubbornness. The country club here reflects that same character: a private members' club woven into one of the more affluent and architecturally preserved communities in the greater Newark metropolitan area, where the streets are lined with early 20th-century homes and the pace of life runs deliberately slower than the surrounding region.

The course plays to a par 70, which signals a layout that rewards precision and course management over raw power. Shorter par configurations of this kind tend to favor players who think their way around rather than overpower it — expect the interest to come from angles, green complexes, and shot-shaping demands rather than sheer length.

Essex County has a rich golf history, sitting within easy reach of several storied clubs, and Essex Fells fits naturally into that tradition of understated, well-maintained private golf that defines the better corners of New Jersey's club scene.