_July/whendreamscometrue.jpg "When Dreams Come True")
By Kyle Darbyson
The inspiration for The Ridge at Back Brook came to Joel Moore while he was sleeping, but he's turned that fantasy into reality
When most people speak of their success as a dream come true, they’re talking metaphorically. But for Joel Moore, it’s the literal truth.
The successful businessman from Princeton, New Jersey, had been a member at a number of clubs across the country and even dabbled in club management, but never seriously considered ownership. Then one day he woke from a vivid dream, turned to his wife and announced, “I’m going to build a golf course designed by Tom Fazio.” True to his words, after years of searching, negotiating and planning, Moore opened The Ridge at Back Brook in 2002.
It wasn’t just a sleepy fantasy. Moore was a smart, savvy businessman. “I knew there was a need for a very private, very exclusive golf club in central New Jersey.”
Moore was a member at another course near Princeton for years, but left with 100 other members after residential lots were added. “We thought it was time for the voices of the homeowners to be heard, “ he explains. “They have different needs and a different agenda from what we needed.”
The group scattered to different private courses, but stayed in touch. “I just kept hearing that golf wasn’t enough of a focus at their new clubs,” Moore says.
This sense of something missing, coupled with his dream, spurred Moore into action. It took months of searching to find a piece of land that matched his grand vision. “I was growing frustrated because all I could find was kind of flat and uninspiring.”
Finally, after surveying countless tracts of land, Moore came across a 300-acre wooded parcel that he instantly knew could be the canvas for his masterpiece. “I loved all the elevation changes, but as soon as I saw the rock outcropping, I was sold.”
That outcropping became the eponymous “Ridge” in the development’s name, and formed a crucial part of Tom Fazio’s design. “I never even considered anyone else,” admits Moore of his desire to work with Fazio. He used connections from the golf industry to reach out to Fazio Design and hosted key stakeholders for a weekend to scout the property. Duly impressed, Fazio signed up for the project in 1999.
The process was protracted, but Moore describes working with Fazio as “spectacular.” He estimates he and the team went through close to 25 different layout designs during the process. “Every round, I’d say to myself, ‘There’s no way this could ever get any better,’” Moore notes.
It obviously did, as the course opened in 2002 to rave reviews. Golf Digest named it the No. 2 best new private course east of the Mississippi, while the readers of Golf World went as far as calling it the No. 6 best private club in America, ahead of notable tracks like Firestone and Merion.
Moore admits that forgoing residential development left a lot of potential money on the table, but keeping The Ridge pure was essential to his vision. “I said right from the beginning: no pool, no tennis, let’s just focus on golf.”
His years as a tax and finance expert have given Moore know-how that puts him in a far better position than many other owners. Developing the residential areas wouldn’t have just tainted the purity of the golf experience, Moore says it would have also stretched his capital thin and exposed him to a lot of risk. “So many people come into this game undercapitalized, and as soon as anything goes wrong, they’re already fighting an uphill battle.”
Moore’s hunch that there was pent-up demand for a golf-only private course was correct. Traditionalists quickly snatched up 272 full-time memberships. “Out of those, I’d say we have about 225 active players,” he adds. The club does very little advertising because Moore is confident word of mouth will fill the 20 to 25 spots still available.
In terms of membership, The Ridge’s roster is comprised of far more women than you’d expect at a challenging, golf-focused private club, but that’s no accident. “We knew from the beginning we wanted a gender-friendly golf club,” Moore says. “It was one of our top priorities.”
Member equality is a cornerstone of the club’s operating philosophy. As a member at many other clubs, Moore has seen firsthand the troubles that can arise when cliques begin forming and certain groups start to expect special treatment. “Here, it doesn’t matter if you’re a scratch player or a beginner, you get equal access to tee times,” he says. That type of progressive approach prompted the New Jersey Golf Course Owners Association to name The Ridge its 2013 Course of the Year.
Still, for all the accolades and impressive membership growth, The Ridge remains relatively unknown. Of course, the ambitious owner isn’t going to wait for that to change. “We’ve already had preliminary discussions with the PGA Tour about bringing an event here.” Right now, the only thing holding that marquee event back is the lack of a title sponsor. On that end, the club has a few companies working to secure a partner.
Even if the PGA Tour never comes to The Ridge, Moore can still sleep very soundly at night. “Our mandate to our members is to provide them with tournament-ready conditions every single day, and I suggest that’s exactly what we do.”
Sweat dreams, indeed.
Kyle Darbyson is a Vancouver-based freelance writer.