Galloping Hill Golf Course in November 2022

Galloping Hill Golf Course is a golf course in

Kenilworth, New Jersey Kenilworth is a borough in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 7,914,Union Township,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. It was designed by Willard G. Wilkinson in 1928, who had previously worked for A. W. Tillinghast's firm, and was subsequently renovated by

Robert Trent Jones Robert Trent Jones Sr. (June 20, 1906 – June 14, 2000) was a British–American golf course architect who designed or re-designed more than 500 golf courses in 45 U.S. states and 35 countries. In reference to this, Jones took pride in sayi ...

in 1949; Alfred Tull in 1953; Stephen Kay in 1998 and

Rees Jones Rees Jones (born September 16, 1941) is an American golf course architect. Life and career Born and raised in Montclair, New Jersey, the son of legendary golf course designer Robert Trent Jones and the younger brother of golf course designer R ...

in 2013. A new bar, restaurant, reception facilities, and clubhouse were built as part of an extensive remodeling to the course in 2013. The New Jersey State Golf Association moved its headquarters to the club in recent years. In 2016, it became the first

New Jersey State Open The New Jersey State Open Championship is the New Jersey state open golf tournament, open to both amateur and professional golfers. It is organized by the New Jersey State Golf Association. It has been played annually since 1921 at a variety of co ...

held on a public course in 95 years. It offers golf lessons and various year-round state-of-the-art golf training facilities including a 9 hole practice course, 52 driving stalls (20 with heat and protection from elements), 46,000 square feet of chipping/putting practice areas, and practice bunkers. According to the Federal Writers' Project's WPA Guide (1939), "the club occupies the low, rounded peak of Galloping Hill, so named because of the British military dispatch riders who galloped on the road here uring_the_American_Revolutionary_War,_which_was.html" ;"title="American_Revolutionary_War.html" ;"title="uring the uring_the_American_Revolutionary_War,_which_was">American_Revolutionary_War.html"_;"title="uring_the_American_Revolutionary_War">uring_the_American_Revolutionary_War,_which_wasan_unusual_sight_for_farmers_who_walked_their_horses_on_the_steep_hill." The_ghost_of_a_headless_Hessian_(soldier).html" ;"title="American Revolutionary War">uring the American Revolutionary War, which was">American_Revolutionary_War.html" ;"title="uring the American Revolutionary War">uring the American Revolutionary War, which wasan unusual sight for farmers who walked their horses on the steep hill." The ghost of a headless Hessian (soldier)">Hessian horseman is said to roam the links. At least one ghosthunter has suggested that stories of the Galloping Hill Headless Horseman may have inspired Washington Irving to write ''The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'' (1820).

Rail trail at Galloping Hill

Area residents have proposed a 7.3-mile pedestrian linear park along the main line of the abandoned

Rahway Valley Railroad The Rahway Valley Railroad (RVRR) was a short-line railroad in the Northeastern United States which connected the Lehigh Valley Railroad in Roselle Park and the Central Railroad of New Jersey in Cranford with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western ...

. The rail trail would run eastbound from the medical center on the edge of downtown Summit and head south along the old railbed through Springfield,

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

Kenilworth Kenilworth ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Warwick District in Warwickshire, England, south-west of Coventry, north of Warwick and north-west of London. It lies on Finham Brook, a tributary of the River Sowe, which joins the ...

and ending at the southwest edge of

Roselle Park Roselle may refer to: * Roselle (plant), a species of hibiscus (''Hibiscus sabdariffa'') **A drink made from that plant, also called "Hibiscus tea" Roselle is the/a name of: ; People * Mike Roselle - American environmental activist and author ; ...

at the Cranford border. A northern portion of the rail trail on the RVRR main line is under construction as the Summit Park Line, with a footbridge over Morris Avenue installed in October 2022. In parallel, advocates have been pushing for immediate development of the portion south of Route 22, running past the golf course, with views of same, through Kenilworth and Roselle Park. The

New Jersey Department of Transportation The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) is the agency responsible for transportation issues and policy in New Jersey, including maintaining and operating the state's highway and public road system, planning and developing transporta ...

, which owns the railbed, has been working to clear it in anticipation of possible future trail use.

References

External links

* {{Union County Parks, New Jersey Golf clubs and courses designed by Rees Jones Golf clubs and courses in New Jersey Kenilworth, New Jersey Union Township, Union County, New Jersey 1928 establishments in New Jersey Sports organizations established in 1928 Headless Horseman