A must visit for all golfers of all ages. It's a first class representation of golf history! It has separate rooms (wow, so many trophies, awards, and special items displayed), Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Mickey Wright, and a brand new addition for Jack Nicklaus! Many, many photos, awards, personal information, and exhibits are displayed for each of these gifted golfers. Each gallery has video about the golfers. I guarantee you'll learn something you didn't know before your visit. Jack 's room even has an interactive display about golf course design. You get to choose where to put the green and Jack tells you the pros and cons of your placement.
There's info and displays and video for the older golfers too, including Francis Ouimet and Babe Didrikson Zaharias. Lots of interactive displays and videos in all the rooms. Many, many golf clubs (including the real Moon golf club) actually used by the pros and amateurs, golf balls, and other golf memorabilia and artifacts on display. Allow at least 2 hours to tour, but 3 hours or more is much better.
USGA members get a $5 discount on the tour fee ($10 for adults and $7 for seniors). You get a nice map to help you with your leisurely self guided tour. In the lobby you can purchase various golf related items, including souvenirs, hats, balls, post cards, books, or videos. If you are a USGA member (and EVERY serious golfer should be), they have an assortment of free golf "newspapers", books, a special DVD of golf etiquette, Arnie's latest magazine, USGA pins, and even a program for this year's US Open.
In the Hall of Champions oval rotunda trophy room, you'll see the actual engraved trophy that Dustin Johnson won at this year's US Open. In fact ALL the actual trophies for USGA tournaments (pro and amateur) are displayed in three large trophy cases. On the walls are huge bronze panels showing the winners of the many USGA tournaments going back to the 1800's up to this year 2016.
If you have time, you can (for a modest $5 fee) try out the 9 hole putting course using old timey putters and balls. And you can keep the ball.
My husband and I have visited the USGA Golf House in Far Hills, NJ many times on our trips north from North Carolina. Each trip, we see something we missed on our past visits. The Far Hills area is very pretty and has many nice homes and horse farms. The green grass and white fences remind me of Kentucky. Take time on your visit to stop in Far Hills for breakfast, lunch, or dinner at the many restaurant choices available. On our last trip we ate at The Butlers Pantry Trackside in the original Far Hills train station and were pleased with our lunch selections. A quaint restaurant. The train still stops for travelers to and from places like Hoboken and NYC, but you have to get your ticket from a vending machine instead of a live ticket agent.
The USGA museum is off Interstate 287 using exit 26 Mt Airy Road or exit 22 (further south). It's easy to miss! Then you have to navigate to Liberty Corner Road and the museum is at the end. Hopefully, you have a GPS, since it's a little hard to find. There are small brown signs for the USGA Museum, but they are too few and easy to miss.
Hope you get to visit the golf house while in New Jersey. As you can tell, to me, it's well worth a side trip while on vacation or even a destination. You will definitely be impressed by the quality and quantity of golfing...
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