COLTS NECK, N.J. — Humble beginnings are rare in golf, and the Hominy Hill Golf Course is no exception.
The location, tucked away alongside farms and thick woods along Route 537 in western Monmouth County, exudes an unpretentious calm. The course’s meticulously manicured greens are lined with trees that loom like albatrosses, crowning the namesake hill and welcoming a refreshing breeze even on the hottest of days.
The features could make one believe the course possesses an athletic purity reminiscent of the Field of Dreams. Its status as a public course overseen by the Monmouth County Park System is a result of philanthropy from the original builder and owner, Henry Dickson Mercer Sr.
The genesis of the course is believed to be that Mercer, a member of numerous golf clubs including Augusta National, was discontent with the limitations of private country clubs refusing service to several racial demographics. This was not a purely altruistic act by the astute businessman, who was an executive at Chase Bank and Republic Steel and retired as chairman and president of States Marine Corp.; it was also logical sense.
Mercer, who died in 1978 at age 84, needed to entertain a diverse range of clients from across the world and he needed a course that would welcome them. So he built one in 1965, and it quickly became one of the most exclusive golf clubs in New Jersey as he was the sole arbiter to determine who gained entry.
Mercer commissioned Robert Trent Jones, one of the most renowned and iconic golf course designers in history, to create the pristine 18 holes. Jones’s prestige was such that he even coined a self-aggrandizing phrase that has lived on 24 years after his death: “The sun never sets on a Robert Trent Jones course.”
Hominy Hill’s inception was not born out of humble beginnings, but Mercer ensured the course’s legacy would be philanthropic. Henry and his son Dick sold the course to the county at a below-market $2.4 million in 1975, spurning more lucrative offers from developers.
For all the luxury, exclusivity and hubris associated with the course’s genesis, there is at least one constant virtue that has defined the course: it was never about the money.
Monmouth County purchased the Hominy Hill Golf Course in 1976 and has run it as part of its park system since. The scenic nature of the historic course is well-known to local golfers.
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