Liberty National Golf Club

Liberty National is a country club in Jersey City, New Jersey adjacent to Liberty State Park on the Upper New York Bay. Its clubhouse, guest villas, teaching center, and "Cafe 12" halfway house were designed by Lindsay Newman Architecture and Design and the course was designed by Robert E. Cupp and Tom Kite.[5]

Liberty National
Clubhouse in February 2012
Club information
Liberty National Golf Club is located in the United States
Liberty National Golf Club
Location in the United States
Liberty National Golf Club is located in New Jersey
Liberty National Golf Club
Liberty National Golf Club (New Jersey)
Coordinates40°41′49″N 74°04′05″W / 40.697°N 74.068°W / 40.697; -74.068
LocationJersey City, New Jersey
Established2006
TypePrivate non-equity
Owned byPaul Fireman
Total holes18
Events hostedThe Barclays
(2009, 2013)
GreensBentgrass - A4
FairwaysBentgrass - L93[1][2][3]
Websitelibertynationalgc.com
Designed byLindsay Newman
Architecture & Design,
Robert Cupp &
Tom Kite
Par72
Length7,387 yards (6,755 m)
Course rating77.7
Slope rating155[4]
Course record60 Cameron Smith (2021)

The club cost over $250 million to build, making it one of the most expensive golf courses in history.[6] Club designers added amenities such as an on-site helistop, yacht services, spa, and restaurant.[6]

Tournaments hosted edit

Liberty National hosted The Northern Trust (formerly The Barclays and the Westchester Classic), in 2009, 2013, 2019, and 2021. In 2009, Heath Slocum won with a score of 275 (–9), one stroke ahead of four runners-up.[5][7] In August 2013,[8] Australian Adam Scott won by one stroke over four runners-up.[9] Due to negative feedback from many players in 2009, the course underwent many changes prior to the 2013 playing.[10]

In 2019, The Northern Trust – the first of three events of the PGA TOUR's FedEx Cup Playoffs – was played at Liberty National from August 8–11. It was won by Patrick Reed, with a score of 268 (–16). In 2021, it was again the first event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs and was won by Tony Finau with a score of 264 (–20).

 
Practice Range

On June 1-4, 2023, it hosted its first LPGA event, the Mizuho Americas Open, overlooking the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline.[11]

Presidents Cup edit

Liberty National hosted the Presidents Cup in 2017.

Caven Point controversy edit

Caven Point is a 22-acre (8.9 ha) bird sanctuary in Liberty State Park along the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway adjacent to the golf course. The owners of the course would like to lease the land to expand the course with additional holes.[12] The proposal would require privatization of publicly-owned land and disruption of the fragile ecosystem.[13] Proposals to protect the land have been made in the New Jersey Legislature to specifically protect the park from commercial development without a severe vetting process and public scrutiny.[14][15]

Scorecard edit

Liberty National Golf Club[16]
Tee Rating/Slope 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Out 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 In Total
Tournament 77.7 / 155 398 219 395 193 427 538 484 611 474 3739 513 250 431 563 150 481 325 445 490 3648 7387
Medal 74.2 / 142 365 196 365 163 401 523 445 565 360 3383 496 225 363 521 146 444 285 428 471 3379 6762
Liberty 72.9 / 141 365 171 365 153 401 498 413 537 360 3263 496 193 363 489 146 423 285 428 414 3237 6500
Member 72.2 / 134 339 171 345 153 386 498 413 537 347 3189 453 193 324 489 131 423 261 387 414 3075 6264
Regular 69.6 / 120 319 142 322 136 344 465 381 485 330 2924 424 153 301 446 114 401 248 348 389 2824 5748
SI 15 17 11 13 5 9 3 1 7 12 8 14 10 18 4 16 6 2
Par 4 3 4 3 4 5 4 5 4 36 5 3 4 5 3 4 4 4 4 36 72
Forward 72.4 / 135 293 137 277 107 304 438 353 453 269 2631 374 113 262 414 98 366 224 297 325 2473 5104

Notable members edit

Liberty National has notable members such as:

References edit

  1. ^ "Fact Sheet : The Barclays". GCSAA. 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  2. ^ "The Barclays: Course". PGA Tour. 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  3. ^ "The Presidents Cup" (PDF). GCSAA. Tournament fact sheets. September 2017. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  4. ^ "Course Rating and Slope Database: Liberty National Golf Club". USGA. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d Hack, Damon (May 16, 2007). "PGA Tournament With a View of the New York City Skyline". The New York Times. Retrieved August 19, 2008.
  6. ^ a b "$129-million Liberty National Golf Course Opens in Jersey City". New Jersey Business. 54 (8). August 2006. Archived from the original on March 11, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2013.
  7. ^ "Barclays tournament to Liberty National in 2009". USA Today. May 16, 2007. Retrieved August 19, 2008.
  8. ^ "This Week in Golf - August 21st through August 24th". August 18, 2008. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2008.
  9. ^ "Adam Scott wins PGA Tour's Barclays event in New Jersey". BBC Sport. 2013-08-25. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
  10. ^ "Liberty National's hole-by-hole changes". PGA Tour. August 20, 2013. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  11. ^ "Mizuho Americas Open". mizuho. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  12. ^ Journal, Ron Zeitlinger | The Jersey (July 12, 2020). "Ultra-exclusive Liberty National Golf Club received up to $1 million PPP loan". nj.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ Tully, Tracey (January 9, 2020). "Golf Club for the 1 Percent Wants to Seize a Migratory Bird Habitat (Published 2020)" – via NYTimes.com.
  14. ^ "S3357". www.njleg.state.nj.us.
  15. ^ "A4903". www.njleg.state.nj.us.
  16. ^ "Scorecard" (PDF). www.libertynationalgc.com. Retrieved 2021-02-05.

External links edit