BY LINDA DeNICOLA
Staff Writer
A rumor that the Deal Golf and Country Club might be sold is making people in Ocean Township nervous.
Some envision more than 100 “McMansions” on 1-acre lots instead of 117 acres of rolling green lawns and manicured landscapes.
Word that the club is being courted for sale has led to a rumor that the Deal Elementary School property is also up for grabs, which forced the Board of Education to post a notice on its Web site that reads: “There is a rumor afoot that the school is being sold. It is not true. The Deal Golf and Country Club, our neighbor to the west, has had several offers to buy their property. They are a separate entity.”
Ocean Township residents questioned Mayor William Larkin about it at the Township Council meeting last month. He said there has been a lot of discussion about it throughout the town, but right now it is just a rumor.
“I think it is pretty unique that a golf course would entertain selling their property,” he said.
The manager of the club could not be reached for comment.
But rumors often have a basis in fact. Ocean Township Councilman Christopher Siciliano said he has some factual information that the club is considering a number of offers.
He said in light of the booming housing market right now, the members, who are the club’s owners, may find that they have received an offer they cannot refuse.
“There have actually been offers. It is not a rumor. I’ve heard about it from members,” he said. “In fact, I had a call from a member begging me to do something about it. I guess he wants us to rezone it or something. He didn’t want them to consider selling it. He said he has been a member for 50 years.”
Siciliano said he believes any change in ownership would have to be approved by three-quarters of the club’s several hundred members.
“On Sept. 27, the club’s board had a membership meeting. There were cars spilling over on Roseld Avenue,” he said.
“I’m concerned about the impact it would have on the township. It has an underlying R-1 zone, which means it is zoned residential, 1 acre, but it has been assessed as a golf course for over 100 years. It’s a historical site that has been there since 1895,” he added.
Freeholder Bill Barham, who lives in Monmouth Beach and is running for election to the freeholder board, on an open-space platform, is on the board of the golf club. Barham declined to comment, saying the rumored sale is a private matter and he didn’t feel free to discuss it.
Larkin explained during the meeting last month that 93 of the 117 acres are in Ocean and the rest are in Deal.
Although the club is privately owned, Siciliano thinks it is a public matter because the sale of the large property would affect the residents of Ocean, as well as Deal.
“The possible demise of this historic club would greatly affect the entire population and have a major impact on the roadways,” he said, adding that historically, it would be a loss.
“It’s my understanding that Abraham Lincoln’s son was a member there, and a cannonball was fired from a British Revolutionary War ship that landed on the 17th fairway. It’s only a half mile to the beach.”
Virginia Richmond, president of the Township of Ocean Historical Museum, said the museum has information about the 110-year-old golf club.
“We have a 75th anniversary booklet that was published in 1973,” she said. “The club was formed in 1895. It was the first organized golf club in Monmouth County. At the time, it only had nine holes. In 1898, they added another nine holes. That’s when they built the clubhouse. That was the formal beginning,” she said.
According to the booklet, many presidents played at Deal Golf and Country Club. The club’s first president was Col. George B.M. Harvey, Richmond said. “He had a magnificent estate to the west of what is now the club’s fifth hole, on the corner of Wickapecko Drive and Roseld Avenue. He was a friend and supporter of President Woodrow Wilson and was later ambassador to the court of St. James in President Harding’s administration.”
She added that at one time, Harvey was editor of the Washington Post and Harper’s Weekly.
“We have pictures of Harvey’s estate at the museum. The building is still there.”

