NEW JERSEY’S TINTON FALLS — With a little help from the Hollywood Golf Club, the Monmouth Regional High School golf team is back on the course.
After the school was denied a return invitation to Suneagles Golf Course, putting the team’s season in peril, Hollywood Golf Club in Ocean Township, New Jersey, reached out and offered the team its course.
Tony DeOrio, the school’s athletic director, confirmed that Hollywood will be used this season. DeOrio stated that they are “very grateful” for the invitation.
Since 1906, the Hollywood Golf Club has staged national tournaments, including the U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur Title and the Metropolitan Open, the country’s third oldest Open championship.
The course is currently used by the Monmouth University Women’s team and the Ocean Township High School golf team. The club has created place for the Falcons this spring with a little juggling.
“There is no other sport that contributes as much to young programs and charity as golf does. The growth of our sport and assisting young men and women achieve a lifetime appreciation for all that golf has to offer is an obligation we take seriously as stewards of the game,” said Rob Wolf, the club’s Green Committee Chairman.
“There was no doubt in our minds, from our club president, Steven Schultz, to our board of trustees and professional staff, that we would provide a home for the Monmouth Regional Falcons golf team this season.”
For usage of the course, the club does not charge the school any fees.
The Falcons’ golf team has 12 members on the varsity level, and their first home match of the season is set for April 7. Early May marks the end of the season.
Last Monday, head coach Andrew Wardell contacted the Asbury Park Press to say that Suneagles had informed them that they would not have a home course for practice and matches.
Suneagles, which is located in Eatontown on the former Fort Monmouth grounds, is reportedly no longer hosting high school golf teams, according to its administration.
Monmouth Regional had been using the course since the 1970s, when it was owned by the US Army, according to Wardell. The course was built in 1926 and was designed by renowned architect A.W. Tillinghast. The fort was deactivated in 2011, and its properties have been sold to private individuals.
Sal Martelli and his business partners bought Suneagles in 2017.
