After our round at Winged Foot East, we loaded up our rented minivan and headed north then east towards the expansive farm lands of New Jersey. Most people don’t realize, after perhaps flying into Newark or driving past Perth Amboy, that New Jersey is called The Garden State for a reason. It is not only in the conversation for the most horse farms in the country, it is also my birth state.

We stopped halfway to our destination in Parsippany. For the most part, we have been gobbling pizza and Chick-fil-A, but after our exceptional spin through New York, I figured we deserved a proper sit down meal. We found a Capital Grille, which I have frequented in the past with my employer, Pacesetter Technology. Our CEO George loves to wine and dine his clients at the highest levels, so I knew if it was good enough for him, it was good enough for us. What I didn’t know was that I was going to get cooked by my sons for the way I like my steak cooked.

After dinner, we found a hotel online for rooms at $67 per night, but with 5 star ratings. It turned out it was a renovated office building owned by Wyndham. They had just opened and were trying to get some heads in beds. After peeling off plenty of C-notes to our caddies each day, it was nice to imagine a few hundys finding their way back into my pocket in value.

In the morning we started the 45 minute drive to The Ridge at Back Brook, which is built on 300 plus acres of farmland. It is a “golf only” club, meaning no tennis, pickleball, pool, or fitness. It also means their General Manager has a dream job because he only has to wear one hat.

Today, we would be joining my good friend, Scott, who was also a member at Tehama Golf Club. He splits his time between New Jersey and Florida now, where he is a member at Ocean Reef Club. Scott is a solid stick, very fit, and well-preserved for almost 70 years old. On more than one occasion, I would see his ball past mine off the tee, which I have grown used to on this trip. But I was back to hitting my patented lollypop fade off the tee and starting to compress the irons a little bit better. We had noticed a little more cushion under the ball at the range, which was a welcomed surprise.

The Ridge at Back Brook is a Fazio design that is what I would call a 2nd shot golf course. The fairways are generous but sloped, and approach shots rely on the proper angle to access the hole locations. Fazio tries to lure you into cutting corners to shorten holes, but that’s where the trouble awaits. The layout reminded me a bit of The Preserve in the Santa Lucia mountains of Carmel, California. At the risk of sounding sacrilegious, I think The Ridge at Back Brook is the best Fazio course I’ve ever played. It has several eye popping water features, stunning red rock outcroppings, massive tree stands, and 360 degree views to the horizon of emerald green farmland. The greens were rolling 12 on the stimpmeter, which felt very familiar to my last club job in Carmel. Plus, I had the added advantage of playing the blue/gold combo tees which were a manageable 6500 yards. Ideal for a 58 year old on his 18th round in 20 days. My comfort level escalated even more when I saw two chariots waiting for us. For the first time in three weeks, this lazy boy was going to be hitting and sitting–enjoying my round in golf’s equivalent of a La-Z-Boy.

And the Jailbird was also enjoying the ride because I rolled in 40 feet worth of putts on the first two holes to get into red figures. A three putt from long range on #3 killed the momentum, but it didn’t bother me too much because I am used to that. On tour, a bounce back is a birdie or eagle carded immediately after a bogey or worse. In my world, I was leading the stats in “Billy Bounce Backs,” which are bogeys immediately following birdies. I made a couple more soft bogeys to turn in 38. Scott asked us if we needed refreshment and we initially said no, but he insisted. It was at this halfway house that I truly found my groove.

A Transfusion contains Vodka, grape juice, ginger ale, and an optional lime. I have been nicknamed “The Transfusionator,” because I don’t know when to stop drinking them–especially if my bosses are purchasing them and placing them in my cart to sabotage my scorecard. The Ridge at Back Brook had frozen Transfusions, which looked like an adult slushee. Well, I’m an adult and I like slushees, so let’s party.

The back nine at Back Brook is a bit tougher than the front. In fact, the nines were recently reversed and rerouted to make the finish more dramatic. But I was in the zone now. I made a nice 10 foot par putt on the 10th, a one hand flip up and down on the 11th, and hit a leaner on the 12th. I was the only one in our group to reach the par 5 13th in two, but I squandered my chance there with a short miss. I two handed a soft pitch out of the deep rough to the right on the 14th using the bunker technique, where you try to hit it fat. I have no problem doing that. Easy par. I came to the uphill, par-4 18th at 1 over for the day.

The 18th at Back Brook has a massive lake which Fazio used to full advantage in his design. Again, it looks like you can carry the water but unless your last name is DeChambeau or McIlroy, you can’t. I hit a nice tee shot up the right side and had 137 to a back pin for my 2nd shot, which I hit to 8 feet. The stage was mine. I made a nice stroke–and boom–center cut for an even par 72, which was my best score since a 71 at County Louth in Ireland. I’m headed to the nearest store to buy Cutwater Transfusions so the swing stays lubricated for the rest of the trip.

To make this day a little bit sweeter, Scott allowed us to select an item out of the Pro Shop as a souvenir. My choice? An aluminum cup with my favorite logo plastered all over it. Playing world-famous Baltusrol tomorrow!