| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Kenilworth, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Established | 1928 |
| Type | Public |
| Total holes | 18 |
| Website | gallopinghillgolfcourse |
| Designed by | Willard G. Wilkinson |
Galloping Hill Golf Course is a golf course in Kenilworth, New Jersey, with part of the course located in Union Township, New Jersey. It was designed by Willard G. Wilkinson in 1928, who had previously worked for A. W. Tillinghast's firm, and was subsequently renovated by Robert Trent Jones in 1949; Alfred Tull in 1953; Stephen Kay in 1998 and Rees Jones in 2013.[1] A new bar, restaurant, reception facilities, and clubhouse were built as part of an extensive remodeling to the course in 2013.[2]
The New Jersey State Golf Association moved its headquarters to the club in recent years.[3]
In 2016, it became the first New Jersey State Open held on a public course in 95 years.[4] It offers golf lessons and various year-round state-of-the-art golf training facilities including a 9 hole practice course, 52 driving stalls (20 with heat and protection from elements), 46,000 square feet of chipping/putting practice areas, and practice bunkers.[5]
According to the Federal Writers' Project's WPA Guide (1939), "the club occupies the low, rounded peak of Galloping Hill, so named because of the British military dispatch riders who galloped on the road here [during the American Revolutionary War, which was] an unusual sight for farmers who walked their horses on the steep hill."
The ghost of a headless Hessian horseman is said to roam the links.[6][7] At least one ghosthunter has suggested that stories of the Galloping Hill Headless Horseman may have inspired Washington Irving to write The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1820).[8]
- ^ "At Galloping Hill, a Promise Fulfilled". New Jersey Monthly. 2016-07-13. Retrieved 2016-12-23.
- ^ "Red Knot at Galloping Hill Golf Course in Kenilworth opens in May". NJ.com. 2013-04-07. Retrieved 2016-12-23.
- ^ Haydon, Tom (2013-12-08). "Kenilworth collects property tax for new county golf clubhouse; county filing appeal". NJ.com. Retrieved 2016-12-23.
- ^ Id.
- ^ "Union County Invested $17.6 Million To Turn Galloping Hill Into A State-of-the-Art Facility". New Jersey Monthly. 2013-06-10. Retrieved 2016-12-23.
- ^ James, George (1997-10-26). "No Rest for the Eerie". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-12-23.
- ^ Hauck, Dennis William (2002). Haunted Places: The National Directory: Ghostly Abodes, Sacred Sites, UFO Landings and Other Supernatural Locations (2nd Revised ed.). New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0142002346.
- ^ Id.