Even if it weren’t the playoffs, and there wasn’t $10 million on the line, a PGA Tour event at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J., still would be one most pros circle on the calendar.
That is because the 1929 A.W. Tillinghast design is a treat, a throwback to the Golden Age of golf-course architecture.
When The Barclays tournament kicks off the first of the four-tournament FedEx Cup playoffs on Thursday, the pros will get to revisit the big and sprawling bunkers and the greens that carry a subtle amount of undulation.
Large oaks and maples frame the fairways, and it all leads back to the beautiful Tudor-style clubhouse, designed by Clifford Wendehack.
Yet the course they are playing is not the same one laid out for the members, as there are 27 holes on the property, and for the tournament, the toughest 18 are chosen from all three nines.
“Such courses are often overlooked in ranking of the great ones,” wrote famed architect Tom Doak in his infamous course-criticism book, “The Confidential Guide.” “Fortunately, the rankings have finally caught up with this, one of Tillinghast’s finest efforts.”
Ridgewood was ranked the seventh-best course in New Jersey by Golf Digest last year, and got its first taste of the FedEx Cup playoffs in 2010.
That’s when Matt Kuchar hit a spectacular 7-iron from the rough of the 18th hole, his ball rolling back to 30 inches and giving him a win over Scotsman Martin Laird on their first playoff hole.
The Barclays has rotated between four courses since 2008, after being rebranded from the old Westchester Classic that was played at Westchester Country Club since 1967. This will be the third time Ridgewood has held the event, following turns at Plainfield Country Club, Bethpage Black, and Liberty National.
The top 100 on the FedEx Cup points list after The Barclays will advance to the next tournament, the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston.
The field will be cut to 70 from there for the third leg of the playoffs at Cherry Hills Country Club in Colorado, then to just 30 players for the Tour Championship at East Lake outside of Atlanta.
Whoever comes out on top of the points standings at the end will take home the cool $10 million.
The long and storied history of Ridgewood goes back to 1890, before Tillinghast came and designed his 27 holes. In 1935, Byron Nelson was hired as an assistant professional, and he won many tournaments while representing the club — all in the day before touring professionals could afford to just play golf, and they had to hold down club jobs to make enough money.
The history of great competitions at Ridgewood is also ripe, highlighted best by the 1935 Ryder Cup.
That’s when Walter Hagen led the Americans to a 9-3 win over Great Britain and Ireland (before it was all over Europe) in just the fifth Ryder Cup in history.
Soon after this tournament, the best Americans will head over to Scotland to play in the 40th Ryder Cup at the Gleneagles resort. And Ridgewood certainly should be a good tune-up for those who qualified.