This weekend the PGA tour has made the trek to New Jersey, to Jersey City’s elite Liberty National Golf Club. The course is built on top of a landfill, cost $250 million to build, and $500 thousand to join.
It was unique idea to use land that absolutely no one wanted and create a golf course neighboring Liberty State Park, nestled behind the Statue of Liberty, and across the Hudson River from the New York City skyline.
Over the course of the week pros, sports writers, and golf analysts have berated the course. Their complaints center around the courses lack of identity, Liberty National is a strange clash between a Florida TPC course and Scottish links course.
The criticism is understandable, although the course seems to holding up just fine, with only one player in the clubhouse under par so far on Friday’s round. It isn’t criticism about the course that pisses me off, because I didn’t design it, I don’t belong to it, and I’ve never played on it.
What gets under my skin is a certain snobby golf writer making backhanded comments about Jersey City. This is why CBS Sports senior writer, Steve Elling, should remove the lob wedge from his ass.
His most recent column about Liberty National goes beyond criticizing the course. Elling digs deep into his myriad of knowledge of US history, by quoting the inscription on the Statue of Liberty and American Revolution hero Patrick Henry.
He also demonstrates how creative of a writer he is by relating New Jersey to the Gambino crime family.
“Lord only knows what's buried down there. The Gambino family owned a warehouse on the property that has since been removed, and though all vestiges of industrial activity are long gone, the greens are suspiciously lumpy. Any famous wise guys turn up missing lately?”
He hits just about every Jersey cliché in the article except gelled hair and spray tans.
I’m not surprised at his comments, I expected them, we can’t have a sporting event in New Jersey without mentions of oil refineries, pollution, trash, and the mob. I wish one-day close-minded sports writers such as Elling would grow up.
Liberty National Golf Club, may not be an east coast Pebble Beach, but it showcases American ingenuity. They took trash, made it treasure, and then marketed the shit out of it.
UPDATE: Steve Elling's twitter offers some more classic insights.
"It's raining so hard at Liberty National right now, the tips of Hoffa's shoes are now protruting from under the 18th green."
"It's raining so steadily at the Barclays, Lady Liberty just hiked up her skirt. Either that, or Camilo just flirted with her."
If you can't say something nice - -you're playing at Liberty National - CBS Sports
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