A Meeting Of Classics
Seaview Hotel and Golf Club
There’s no other way to describe Seaview Hotel and Golf Club than “an American classic.”
Situated on 670 scenic, wooded acres overlooking Reed’s Bay in Galloway Township, New Jersey, the hotel opened its doors in 1914 as a waterfront retreat for the business and social elite of Philadelphia and the Eastern Seaboard. It has been a preferred getaway ever since.
Seaview’s founder, Clarence H. Geist, was an avid golfer, so it is no surprise that the first 18-hole golf course was opened for play soon after the 300-room resort, with nine holes designed by Hugh Wilson and nine by the era’s leading designer, Donald Ross.
Not that Seaview rests on its considerable laurels. A recent renovation of The Bay Course, host of the ShopRite LPGA Classic (won this past June by Brooke Henderson) restored all greenside bunkers, improved both seashell and concrete cart paths, and improved conditions throughout.
“We received very positive feedback on the course from the players and the LPGA,” said Alex McGann, PGA Director of Golf at Seaview. “We had some heavy rainfall before the tournament this year, but the course really held up well.”
A popular destination for corporate events throughout the year — Seaview Hotel boasts 34,500 square feet of flexible space among 21 meeting rooms — McGann said the course renovations will serve as a boon to all the many tournaments they host.
The Bay Course is popular because of its rich tournament history. A composite course using the front nine of the Bay Course and nine holes on the Pines Course was used during the 1942 PGA. Snead technically won after chipping in on the next to last hole on the Pines Course. Featuring exciting views of Atlantic City across Reed’s Bay, it is open to the elements. And with deep pot bunkers, fescue mounds, and crowned, undulating greens that fall away on the sides —all signature Donald Ross design elements — the Bay favors accuracy over distance. But at just over 6,300 yards, it is a real treat for all golfers.
A second championship-caliber course called The Pines is also available for play. “We recommend golfers play both courses,” McGann said, “because they are so different from each other.”
The Pines is a Northeast parkland–style course running through an inland pine forest on the west side of the property. At 6,700 yards, length is a greater factor here, although with numerous doglegs and fairways lined by mature trees, skilled shot-making is helpful in posting a good score.
Many luminaries have enjoyed the exclusive ambience of Seaview over the years, and a delightful photo wall in the hotel documents the resort’s popularity among golfing presidents — Warren G. Harding, Dwight D. Eisenhower; rock stars — Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, and Bob Dylan (who is said to have stayed under the pseudonym Justin Case); and then future royalty — Grace Kelly, aka Princess Grace of Monaco.
A perfect destination for executive meetings, weddings, and golf getaways, Seaview is simply classic. There’s no other way to describe it. ▪
