He left his dream job

This week: South Jersey had a week. Harbor Pines celebrated 30 years. Twisted Dune made the case for top-five in the state. Pinelands got its close-up. And Jason Lamp sat down in person to explain what it looks like to walk away from your dream job, and what he's building in its place.

Meanwhile, three New Jersey guys tee it up at Shinnecock Hills. Here we go.

— The DROP Podcast

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Harbor Pines turned 30 this year, opened late 1996, designed by Stephen Kay, family-owned, set back off a residential community in a way that AGM Chris Doyle calls a reveal: "You take a nice little scenic drive through a community and all of a sudden the Harbor Pines clubhouse is unveiled. Here's this beautiful patch of property."

Mike played the tips (just under 6,900 yards) and the stretch he keeps coming back to is 7-8-9. The par-5 seventh with the sand river and bridge. The par-3 eighth at 225 yards — Mike hit a seven-iron to eight feet and had a real look at birdie ("the seven wood is going back in the bag"). The ninth, the No. 1 handicap at 460 yards, two bunkers squeezing your window into the green. He made three pars and moved on. Back nine: No. 12, a driveable par-4 over water where Doyle's strategy tip is: "Car path on the right might be generous. Better than water on the left." No. 14, where a back-right pin reshapes the entire hole from the tee.

Superintendent George has been there 20-plus years. Full driving range with premium balls, putting green, short game area. The Roost Bar and Grill opened in 2023 overlooks the course and is open to the public. Peak weekend rate: $175. Twilight under $60.

Jason Lamp is 59 years old. He spent 37 years as a golf professional — 31 as a head pro. He was at Galloway National for 11 years, watched it go from a small membership to a full one during COVID, loved the place the entire time. Then he left.

When Mike sat down with him in person at Pomona Golf, Lamp's second DROP appearance since his June 2024 episode, and his first since Pomona was featured as South Jersey's best 9-hole hang last week he put it simply:

That's not a resignation under duress. That's clarity.

What he's building now: Pomona Golf (co-owner), teaching at Atlantic City Country Club a quarter-mile from his front door, and the big one, FIRE Golf Club, opening this week in Egg Harbor Township. Eight GolfZone simulators with moving platforms for uphill and downhill lies. A True Spec putting green Lamp says is the largest on the East Coast — and you putt on the actual surface, not a screen, same as TGL. A sand bunker for full bunker shots. A full bar. 24/7 key fob access.

The data point that got him: more people in the US play indoor golf than outdoor golf. "That blew me away," he said. Monmouth County has seen 11 indoor facilities open in the past two years. South Jersey had zero until now.

He's been the GM who built the vibe at every stop, Pine Valley, Blue Heron Pines, Deal, Galloway.

He's doing it again at FIRE while also spreading some knowledge to members at Atlantic City Country Club, where the word "birdie" was coined in 1903 and the locker room still gives you chills.

His parting shot on the South Jersey private scene: "You have Pine Valley, Baltusrol, Ridgewood, Plainfield, Somerset, where do you stop? And the South gets forgotten about a little bit."

Not this week.

The DROP visited Twisted Dune this week and Mike came back with one word he kept repeating through the whole episode: big. The bunkers are big. The views are big. The whole thing felt like Scotland in New Jersey.

The course opened in 2001, designed by Archie Struthers, a first-time architect who worked at Pine Valley and loved Irish and Scottish links. Rees Jones was originally hired, his plans diverged from ownership's vision, and Struthers took over and moved more than 2 million cubic yards of earth to build the dune topography that makes Twisted Dune unlike anything else in South Jersey. The 9th finishes back at the pro shop. The 11th green sits in a bowl. The views from the 4th green — left and right across the whole property — are as good as NJ public golf gets. 7,248 yards, max $135 on weekends, nine-hole rate at 4 p.m. (not something most courses offer). GM Jim Enders sometimes pulls a tee time mid-day to protect pace of play. That's not how most places operate.

Chris played it once about 12 years ago at a pro-pro event alongside a round at Galloway National. His verdict: "If you took it and moved it 75 miles north, it would definitely crack the top five. It's just a little quiet down there." Mike's verdict after this trip: definitively top 10, possibly top 5-6. A full course feature with Jim Enders is still to come.

On Wednesday Mike sat down with Pinelands Golf Club’s Director of Golf Mason Vacarella to go hole by hole. If you haven't been to Pinelands, this is the episode that finally explains why people keep recommending it.

Opened in 1964, designed by Ralph Leopardi, who spent 17 years as superintendent at Atlantic City Country Club before turning architect. His philosophy: private corridors between holes, strategic design over length. New City Equities took over in 2025 and immediately started reinvesting. Biggest upgrade coming: TrackMan monitors in every driving range bay, a pergola overhead, food and beverage at the range. Electrical going in now.

The holes Mike flagged: the par-5 sixth, where the layup still left him a six-iron into a false-front green that eats anything short ("This is no layup"). The par-3 eleventh — narrow green, massive false front, a short miss turns into a 60-foot uphill putt you need to swing like a driver to reach the hole. And No. 15, which the staff calls "the bowling alley" — dead straight, bunker at the entrance, green funneling hard to the front on any left pin. Vacarella's favorite: the opener, where he's made eagle and made double from the same tee. "There's been many times on the green within 10 feet for an eagle putt." Not a bad way to start a round.

For a course in this shape with tech upgrades coming, $110 with a cart might the best value story in South Jersey right now.

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Jason Lamp has created great “hang” environments at Pine Valley, Blue Heron Pines, Deal, and Galloway National. Now he's doing it in a sim in Egg Harbor Township.

Here's the question of the week: is indoor golf the future for South Jersey, or does the region have enough land, enough courses, and enough value that a $3,500/year simulator golf membership is a tough sell?

Where do you stand? Reply and let us know.