Blue Heron Pines Golf Club — Attraction in Galloway Township

Blue Heron Pines – A Disappointing Decline After Years of Loyalty

As a member of Blue Heron Pines for over a decade, it’s incredibly frustrating—and frankly disheartening—to see how far this course has fallen. I’ve always been proud to call this place my home course. I’ve built relationships with the staff, spent thousands of dollars annually in memberships, outings, and league play, and have supported this club through both good seasons and bad.

But this year has been by far the worst in terms of course conditions. The greens are completely unplayable—burnt out, bumpy, and inconsistent. When I voiced my concern, I was told to simply “forget about the greens” and that we’ll have to wait until fall for better conditions. That kind of response is unacceptable.

Being told to just “hang in there” while paying top dollar for what currently resembles desert golf is poor customer service and bad business. It’s lip service and empty promises by management. I understand the director of backyard golf is in a tough position to defend the course but pathetic. The lack of any real adjustment, refunds or accountability—other than vague promises for next season—adds insult to injury. You patiently wait all year for the best weather to play and these are the conditions we get. It’s simply unacceptable by the superintendent and the newly promoted GM. Other nearby courses have managed to maintain playable conditions despite weather challenges, so this isn’t just a weather and turf problem—it’s a management problem. We’ve had our fair share of issues in the past but the previous superintendent never let this happen. Ramblewood is in excellent condition right now and has always been know to be an inferior course. Conditions are trending below valley brook levels. The upcoming Hanson Outing should shock previous owner when he returns to his old course. What used to be a gem is now a crab grass and poa annua infested disaster.

I say this not out of anger, but disappointment. I care about this course, its legacy, and the community it’s built. But expecting loyal members to keep paying for substandard conditions with no resolution isn’t sustainable. We deserve better.

In reply to the owners comment: I have reached out to the GM. Voiced these concerns but as of late he’s been on vacation and worrying more about selling real estate properties. Once again this is lip service and not actionable things for the members to see. We’d love to receive emails acknowledging the conditions and learn how the course is...

As a homeowner on the course and a long-time member, it pains me to say this is by far the worst shape Blue Heron Pines has ever been in. My group and I each pay over $4,500 annually for our membership, and the product we’re getting this year is awful.

All 18 greens have patchy dead grass—nothing but dirt and dust. The superintendent, who is rarely seen and comes off as miserable when he is, lost every green on the course, and there’s been zero accountability from anyone in management. The excuse? “The weather.” Meanwhile, other local courses are in spectacular condition, which completely disproves that excuse. Our entire group who typically plays every morning has been forced to play elsewhere just to enjoy the game again. We get on these greens and just laugh at what they’ve become. We’ve had great weather and can’t enjoy the game we love.

It’s frustrating and sad to see the decline of what was once a top-tier public course. The lack of transparency and ownership from management is shocking, and they seem more interested in brushing off concerns than fixing the problem. Members who have supported this club for years just want a better product. Until serious changes are made, I can’t recommend this course to anyone especially for the prices they are charging.

I’m not sure how I can confidently pay another $5000 to join back to only have the same results. This is the first time ever my group is considering jumping ship, we have no confidence in the team as we can’t get answers from the GM or owner.

Also our driving range grass is never opened. We have ample grass but we’re never allowed to use it. I can’t recall a recent time where the grass was used and it’s frustrating. More importantly what grass is left is dead and similar to some fairway conditions. Images attached.

We are pleading for help. Please please please fix this.

To the owner: Fire the superintendent. Move him to another course, he’s a miserable human and the course is reflective of his awful personality. The previous one was a blessing, bring him back from running deer. I watch the current super drink more beers on 18 at his house than actually do work and fix the course. It’s a disgrace and I guess I’m the idiot for paying every year and expecting something better. Can’t wait for JAWS to jerk me around at the holiday party and...

Played on Sunday after booking five tee times the Monday before. We were told that they had aerated a couple of weeks before. Upon arrival we found the practice putting green to be a pockmarked mess. I asked an employee if the greens on the course were similar and he said yes. He had worked there the previous Sunday and told us that is when they had aerated some of the greens. While in the bar after our round, I struck up a conversation with a guy who said he lived on the course and that he had seen them aerating during the week. So, apparently, we had been misled by the guy who took our tee-time reservation. Most of us were from the Delaware County area, so the ride was at least an hour to get there. While waiting to tee off, the starter informed us that they had slipped in a foursome among our five groups. And they happened to be walking the course on a Sunday around 10am. Despite raising an objection, the starter said there was nothing he could do. Our foursome behind the interlopers waited on every shot. Course was in poor shape, with very thin, spotty grass on fairways, chunky, choppy rough, uneven bunkers that looked like they had dropped the aerated plug marks in many of them and, of course, greens that were nothing but a bumpy rug. And to make matters worse, our buddy who booked our tee times found out the next day that his credit card had a charge on it for an additional foursome. Upon calling the course to question why, he was told that one of our group had not paid. Why he got banged for a whole foursome I do not know. They gave him a rash of excrement when he tried to get them to cancel the charge before finally doing so. Our group does not try to sneak on golf courses, so I believe they would have discovered the error (if there really was one) as we teed off had the starter checked our receipts. I was in our fourth group and had asked the starter if he needed to see my receipt and he had said it wasn't necessary. Perhaps they should change that policy. Suffice it to say, Mr. Jaworski will not be seeing us spending our dough for green fees at his course, nor in the pro shop, halfway-house or...