Apple Mountain Golf Course
Played golf there and had a blast with my son and friends. What a shame how it is not taken care of, some of the cart paths are actually unsafe. I found out itnisnthe same owner as Harkers Hollow which is a cow pasture. Does anyone have any insight?
Me Happy They were having some trouble a few years ago paying taxes at both and Harkers is up for sale.
http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/19630713/950-Uniontown-Rd-Phillipsburg-NJ/
Penwellrd I was there on Friday and thought the same thing.about the cart paths. Absolutely terrible.
Buddy19 from what i heard the former owner passed away a few years back and his son inherited the courses, and he obviously wants little to nothing to do with the upkeep of the courses. It's a shame too because both have potential, especially Harkers.
townie148 Andrew and Janet Kiszonak were the owners of Apple Mountain. Drew passed away in 2013 and now his wife owns both properties. She runs them with her son Drew Jr. As far as I know, both properties are for sale.
Calico696 
The Man "Only Harkers is listed for sale"
Yes, but the Kiszonaks have made it known, to the regular crowd there, that they would be interested in selling both.
It's been very wet lately. There are many swampy areas on the course. ( Apple Mtn) Hopefully it will get better when things dry out. Last year it was in great shape.
Indie Harkers is coming up for auction soon anyway but in the meantime If I had wanted to sell both I would list both, It's easier to sell property that is listed. In my opinion they are not golf course owner material. They took Harkers which was a premier club in NJ and turned it into a cow pasture. I do personally know the family. They are nice people as was Drew. Just the mom and son should not be in the golf course business. At one point it was mentioned to them to hire a management company. Anyway. I wish them well.
Harkers became a dog track long before Apple Mountain bought it. They brought it back to life briefly but weren't up to the task of maintaining it. There's nothing more embarrassing than a sand trap that is full of weeds...
ianimal The biggest problem at Apple Mountain (golf course and restaurant) is the turnover of staff. It's insane.
Apple Mountain is in the same league as Mine Brook. Any serious golfer plays there as a last resort and views it as a hackers playground. Think sneakers, denim shorts and dodging tee shots from parallel fairways. We are surrounded by excellent public courses including High Bridge, Farmstead, Architects and the Crystal Springs courses.
Yankeefan Just for the record, I would not lump Minebrook into the same category as Apple Mountain. The improvements made over the past several years, including rebuilding tee boxes, fixing and filling sand traps, and clearing some trees to allow grass to grow have paid off. The staff at Minebrook is running fun, special events for the public on a regular basis. Finally, Minebrook has priced itself more appropriately in comparison to the other public courses mentioned above, which can only help in increasing the golfer traffic through the course.
b1rd1e 
Erin 
maja2 
Denis Can you walk on and carry your bag around for a loop? I doubt anyone would notice any difference in course maintenance...
Harker's Hollow will be reopening for golf next month. They will also be reopening their restaurant at full capacity. Last fall the restaurant was being operated by a caterer from Alpha and only serving food on the weekend.
Thanks for the info Calico696. I'm sad :-( But I'll check out Harker's Hollow. I like Minebrook but like to expand options.
I got a mailer the other day that Harkers is offering golf memberships at 96% off. $49 per year for 3 years and you get unlimited golf privileges until July 1, 2022. It'll still cost you $18 per rider per round for the cart, but that's not out of line with other places.
I don't know if they'll turn the place around... but if I get 10 rounds in before they go belly up, it will be well worth it.
If anyone else is interested, call them at 908-454-1884
I think I'll bite. I've spent as much on clothes I wind up never wearing. Anyone else?
Sad to see apple mountain closed down
The staff was nice
The views were amazing
The food was good
The beer was cold
We will miss golfing there
Steve l While very basic in terms of greens keeping, I loved it there and will miss it. Very sad they are closed.
CSSPIs Apple Mountain for sale. Who actually owns Apple Mountain does the bank or the Township for lack of taxes does anyone know? Would like to see it come back
Mickey I really miss Apple Mtn - used to play it at least once a week for the last few years - was the best course on my way home from work along the I80 corridor. Shot my best round there (79). I will miss the 8th hole - nice open downhill par 4, will not miss that tough uphill par 4 #2. Just wanted everyone involved to know I really enjoyed AM - it was/is a fantastic course. I really wish the ownership would update the web site so that their loyal customers could at least be informed on what happened - just to pull the plug and leave no information whatsoever is frustrating ...
John S What do you mean? I disagree that businesses have to give a reason for closing. If a business is no long profitable, it closes. The end.
I think he simply means update website to say the course is closed. The site currently looks like course is still open
I will also miss it. I haven’t played it in several years, but I grew up learning golf on the course and playing for many years. I could describe every hole. Yes, 2 (and 3) were brutal. 15 and 17 were my favorites.
@CSSP, I have a lot of balls in the pond on 2. Such a peaceful place to play. It's missed.
I too enjoyed playing there. yes, the course could have been maintained better. But the views were great. 8 was my favorite as well. I stopped by there the other day and the place looks like a ghost town. oddly enough the tee boxes did not look over grown. But the rest looked pretty rough. I was going to drive into the course a bit but thought better of it.
Tim R We enjoyed playing there also even though it wasn’t always in the best of shape. The prices were good and the lunch ticket was a great bargain. I have heard that Drew is keeping the greens cut so if a buyer comes along they will still be playable. Probably in the banks best interest to have him do that. Hopefully a buyer will come along so we can play it again.
Great Meadows Calico, The hub and I don't golf either, but we enjoyed meeting friends and enjoying dinner at Apple Mt. We also enjoyed going there for breakfast going back a few years.
Mrs. Pipes```` Will miss the course - my Brother and I would play there & enjoyed it.
Would enjoy a nice lunch afterwards
Hope it can come back at some point, time will tell
Doug Brown I have a gift card that has value for the course. Would be nice to have a way to redeem it. They have the money....
Huh? 
George Lee 
Here's my favorite tee shot on Apple Mtn - lets see if anybody can name the hole ...
John Snyder It's the Par 3 where there was usually a guy hawking sleeves of golf balls to get on the green. Definitely Back 9... I'm gonna say the 15th?
"Here's my favorite tee shot on Apple Mtn - lets see if anybody can name the hole ..."
butt?
Whip It's #7 - the downhill short par 4 - loved that tee shot (almost as much as the following hole #8 - another super nice downhill par 4 tee shot ... that one was my fave - made it to the fringe one time in the summer when the fairways were hard & running fast). Also liked #18 - in the summer, it was like a gallery hole - always people out on the deck eating & watching the golfers either stick one or crash and burn on the last hole...
yep - #15 was that nice downhill par 3, right ? That was a fun risk & reward - go for it & could knock it stiff, or blade it long, down that hill behind the green into the trees & gone forever.
I really do miss this golf course ... alot
:-(
Since the golf season is now over (at least for me), does anyone have any info on whether or not Apple Mountain is for sale, sold, will open next season with new owners?
Wish I knew what was going on. No information online that I can find. Anyone local know if they at least mowed it last year or have they just let it grow over & die ? If they don't at least maintain the greens to some degree, it'll never re-open.
Would love to hear from somebody that may have driven past it in 2019 ... thx.
My favorite holes:
15 will always be my #1.
8 - loved that elevated tee box looking straight down the fairway.
9 - I actually can't remember if it was the "old" 9 or the new - the one that was right in front of the clubhouse. Who didn't feel like a pro standing up at that tee box, hitting to the green right in front of anyone looking from the restaurant?
17 - Loved that roll!
Hated:
2 - God that pond and that miserable green!
16 - That uphill was brutal.
Love/hate holes:
3 - loved the tee shot. Hated the dogleg and the ponds!
Best scores: I once had a 39 on the front. I think my best round was 82 or 84.
I loved that course, crappy grass and all :-)
Drive past it 5 days a week. From what I can see from the road they did mow the greens to some degree but everything else was left to grow over.
younggen The hub and I are non-golfers. But, we always enjoyed the Restaurant for dinners, breakfasts and some Christmas/New Years/Thanksgiving times of the year. We do miss that place. I wonder if the current owner/s read or are aware of how much the place is missed?
It would be great to see the County or White Twp. preserve that property as open space if it does not get re-opened as a golf course.
2cents - Although it's a nice thought, I doubt the people of White Twp. would appreciate losing the nearly $60,000/year in property taxes.
It's already in the Highlands Preservation Area... it's not like some developer can roll up and put 500 townhouses on the property.
4of4 - agree with your assessment of love/hate holes. I rarely hit the green on that tough downhill #15, but it was fun trying. #17 I will always remember as it was the first really spectacular 3 wood approach shot I ever hit when I first started playing and made GIR. I always had a hard time with #1 - it was tough to hit that super tight tee shot stone cold right out of the parking lot ... I tried everything over the years, and settled on a hybrid for that tee shot. Avoiding the ponds on the 2nd shot into the uphill #3 was like target golf. I can't think of a tougher green I've ever played than #2 - crazy slope - actually, can't think of a tougher hole ... not may par 4's I can think of that I would play for bogie every time (probably only par'd it once in all those years). I still like #8 best though - one summer when the fairways were hard, I ran a drive from that elevated tee box all the way to the base of the green. Really do miss Apple Mtn - hope somebody brings it back before it's too late...
I remember a round about a half-dozen years ago where I birdied #1 and hit two solid shots to get on the second green in regulation... I then proceeded to 6-putt for the snowman, lol.
Property must be owned by a bank at this point.
I am not sure anyone would put the money back in it for golf...perhaps the restaurant and bar if the price was right.
Perhaps County could buy with open space and Green Acres funds. Most public courses are run by management companies and are lucky to break even....look up the financial condition of Bethlehem Municipal.
I forgot about that downhill dogleg hole - I think it was a par 5. Seemed like if you could hit a fade on the tee shot ... could get it close to the green with a long approach shot. Loved all those downhill tee shots - so much fun...
Look what I found as I was cleaning my clubs this morning... my old course guidebook
Such a shame ... so many golf courses lost in recent years ...
- Apple Mtn
- Cherry Valley, PA side
- Rolling Greens
- Delaware Water Gap CC, PA side
- Mountain Manor, PA side
- Pocono Manor West, PA side
- Mahoning Valley GC, PA side
Common denominator ... its always the more affordable courses that seem to go under. People must be willing to pay 2 or 3x what these failed courses cost to play.
It’s a shame the same with bear brook up in newton. Golf is sadly a dying game I think
Drew Golf isn't dying, but it is and always will be a rich man's game. The courses take so much cash to keep nice, thus high greens fees. Look at Minebrook such a waste to have a local course but the owners each time a new one tries to remedy that course but they don't have the cash to do what's necessary to improve it. Not the case with the courses in Sussex county, Black Bear, Turkey Brook, Ballyowen etc. Apple Mountain was always a budget course that offered very little in aesthetics and challenge.
steve Sad. I always enjoyed their Halloween party, and a friendly, uncrowded place to meet friends for a drink. Golfing uphill was never fun lol!
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