The day at Essex started on the range above the fifth hole at Francis Byrne. You cannot really see the hole from up there, but knowing it is just below, after playing it the day before, gives you this feeling that public and private golf are sharing the same ground. That is the kind of detail that makes Jersey golf so interesting, with history and design woven together so closely.
Essex starts with a quirky dogleg left. The club’s entrance road is pressed up along the right side and you cannot see the green until you are nearly on top of it. It is not a gentle handshake start, so you have to pay attention right away. The second hole presents a completely blind tee shot. Anything more than a four iron is a risk, so it is all about discipline and putting your ball in the right spot.
Stepping onto the third tee, the course finally reveals itself. The land opens up, fairways start to roll, and you get a clear sense of how much ground there is left to cover. It reminded me of Stonewall, when the course just opens up and you finally see the bigger picture.
There is plenty of variety as you make your way through the front nine. Some of the shorter par fours look gettable, but there is always a wrinkle, like an angled green, a bunker waiting for a miss, or a slope that punishes a shot that is just a little off. Essex makes you play smart, especially around the greens, where false fronts and subtle contours turn even a simple wedge into a test.
Hole six really stands out as one of the most memorable par threes I played on this trip. The pin was tucked behind a front bunker on a ridge, turning a simple-looking shot into one where you have to pick your landing spot carefully. The bunkering and green site almost make you want to walk up and study the hole before hitting your shot.
Back-to-back par fives on seven and eight bring you back toward the clubhouse, both giving you a chance to make something happen. Then comes a daunting par three that plays straight toward the clubhouse. Depending on the wind, it can play anywhere from thirty to fifty yards different. It is a gut-check shot, especially with the flag waving and the clubhouse sitting right there in the background.
Twelve is a tough par four with a green protected by a huge false front. I left myself short here more than once, and it is a mistake you only want to make once. The green has a mix of Ross and Banks influence, both fair and demanding, always keeping you focused.
Fourteen is a short, uphill par four that is just fun to play. Strategic bunkers are scattered everywhere in the fairway, and the approach is to a blind, bowl-inspired green where you can use the slope off the back hill to your advantage. Fifteen is a long par three that played even tougher into the wind, and just keeping the ball on the green felt like a win.
Sixteen throws a blind tee shot at you with a Principal’s Nose bunker complex waiting in the fairway. It is a quiet nod to the classic template holes and a reminder of all the different architects who have shaped Essex over the years. Seventeen is a testy par four where you have to find the fairway between trees on the left and bunkers on the right. If you do, you have a real chance at the green, but the putting surface is sloped hard from back to front and nothing is guaranteed.
Then you climb up to eighteen, and it feels like you are launching your drive off the side of a mountain. If you keep your ball right, you will have a clean look into a finishing hole that is as grand as the walk back to the clubhouse.
After playing Stonewall, Mountain Ridge, and Francis Byrne, Essex feels like the culmination of the trip. It is full of history, layered with influences from Tillinghast, Raynor, Banks, and Ross, yet it still feels like its own place. There is a sense of continuity across all these courses, but Essex stands out for the way it blends those ideas while delivering a round that never gets old. Walking off eighteen, you know you have played a course with staying power, and you already want another crack at it.