Spot on with the Mercer County Courses. Oaks West didn’t look so hot over the summer but I figure they’ll get it back into shape.
For those on the PA/NJ border, I can also recommend Heron Glen. Always in great shape and a pretty fun layout with five par 5’s and five par 3’s.
I used to play Mercer Oaks almost everyday before i joined my club. I’m a fan of the East layout especially when it is windy, except for the 17th hole because it just doesn’t fit the rest of the course, you play 16 wide open holes and get to the 17th and its like a bowling alley (good green complex though)
West course they have been having trouble with in the summers especially 2 summers ago when they lost all the fairways and some of the greens due to water boiling the roots of the grass. West is usually the packed course on the weekends but you can usually get on the East course relatively easy.
Always happy to host at my club as well, anyone who wants to feel free to shoot me a DM
Ditto to what @Craigstands said - happy to host/have refugees out at my club too in Burlington.
I’m in Chester County just west of Philly in Kennett Square. Always down to play whenever the timing works out. Heron Glen’s been on my list for a little bit now…
Totally agree, Princeton was brutal. Went to school and worked in the area for about 7 years. Always left the course asking myself why do you have to be such a cheap bastard, should have paid the money and played Mercer.
I played Mercer Oaks often when I lived in Princeton. Fun course. I often played as a single and male playing partners were always friendly. I also played Mountain View a lot, especially on weekdays when it wasn’t so crowded.
Hey all! Just joined the Nest a few weeks ago and wanted to introduce myself. I’ve been living in the city for about two years but between the working at the hospital and the birth of my first son I haven’t met too many people who play golf. I’ve played Scotland Run and Ballamor. Liked them both. I used to play Hartefeld National frequently when my dad was a member but he’s now down in HHI. Before my son I was down to a 6. Now I’m running around an 8 and depending on the day I can still play to a 6, but also a 12. Such is fatherhood. Anyway, I’d love to meet up and get a round or range session in as it warms up. I’m located in the city but don’t mind a drive to meet up. Cheers and looking forward to meeting you all.
Welcome!!
Hoping that we can get some Philly area meetups on the calendar this year.
I’m a member at Burlington CC in NJ - only about 25-30 minute drive out of center city - would be happy to host you (or any refugees). I play year round (though sat out this weekend - temps in the 20s at 9 am with only part sun and 15-20 MPH winds = no go lol).
Thoroughly agree with you. Hopefully we have enough local refugees to make this happen at least a few times this year.
I work at Wilmington CC in Wilmington, DE (hosting the 2022 BMW Championship, so that’s utterly CRAZY still) and also at Inniscrone GC in Avondale, PA. Can’t get any players on with me at Wilmington, they’re incredibly strict with employee play, but I’m sure we can plan for something at Inniscrone!
I’m in for a meet up or two 
@ChickPhilA @tenthousanddays @MikeRevak thanks for the responses! Looking forward to meeting you all. Glad there is a group of us around the city!
All in like Kokrak for a Liberty Bell meetup in 2021
I have a meeting on Friday with our head pro and going to see how I can do an “event” that’s not during the week. But also I think we could totally use like some kind of google sheet weekend sign up to just play around in smaller groups too. Like who can play/host that weekend and slots to “sign up” for or something.
Open to suggestions, but there is so much good golf around these parts, we just have to get some stuff goin’!
Has there been enough interest/buildup for an NLU event in our area? Perhaps I am out of touch and haven’t noticed, but I don’t recall there being anything nearby.
I know there are other groups that host some big events at solid courses.
That’s what I’m trying to do. Drum up interest. Make at least a small event happen. And get the Philly love flowing for more member meet ups and what not 
I like what I’m reading.
How’s the conditioning over at Inniscrone right now? Played it not too long ago and it seemed Covid had left it’s mark on some of the upkeep. Would be interested to know if it was a course that saw the boom in play many did or if it’s out there enough that not as many people came around to play.
Conditions are good, but you can definitely tell that we saw more rounds in 2020 than we have in years. The two biggest issues are tee boxes getting chunked up/not being able to get the grass growing fast enough and then poor green repair by the players. It’s tough. The bones of the course and the layout is still a ton of fun, but there’s a lot of instances where we look at an issue like quality of the greens and realize that we could alleviate most of the issue if the players would repair a divot or two every time they were on the green.
So it’s a tough situation, I know the course could certainly use some extra staffing and manpower to help get conditions right, but because it’s run by the township, there’s a lot of kickback on those requests.
Thanks for the insight, I agree I love the layout and think the course offers a lot of fun challenges and variety between some of the open holes and tighter woodsy holes. Hopefully more folks will leave the course better than they found it in 2021!
Let’s do it!!!