Club Reviews

A blustery March morning doesn’t necessarily provide the best perspective for a visit to Canoe Brook Country Club in Summit, NJ. But it isn’t hard to visualize what matters to the fortunate members of this august institution, which features 36 holes of championship golf. At the front door the visitor steps across a stone marker noting the Club’s founding in 1901. After clearing the vestibule, the Pro Shop can be found immediately to the left. Turn a quick corner to the right and you see before you the beautifully burnished 1901 Tavern bar, with a handsome dark wooden wine cabinet against the wall showcasing hundreds of bottles. No more than 30 seconds or so to immerse yourself in golf and wine. Welcome to Swig Coach heaven.

Manasquan River Golf Club in Brielle, NJ deserves Top 10 consideration for any list of the best club wine programs not just in NJ but nationally. Featuring a list with more than 500 unique labels, the Club has something to delight and inspire members on every visit. And it just keeps getting better…

You don’t need us to praise Baltusrol’s two championship golf courses. You can find far more qualified people to do that, or just assume it from the 17 majors (including 9 Opens and 2 PGA’s) they’ve hosted in the past 125 years. I’m here to praise Baltusrol’s wine program, because it’s every bit as great as the golf courses themselves. We subjected Baltusrol to the rigorous Swig Coach analytic framework and it clearly emerged as a true champion.

You can look at Golf Digest or Golf to see an annual list of the best golf courses in the world, whether you can play them or not. For the first time, SwigCoach will undertake a similar rating for golf club-associated wine programs. The admittedly ambitious goal is to rate the best club wine experiences in every state in the US, not as determined by a professional wine critic, but from the perspective of a golfing member or guest with a little bit of expertise.