Designed by golf architects Dr. Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry for Malcolm and Edson Robertson, and constructed and shaped by Britt Cunningham and Mike Gaffney, the Sand Barrens Golf Club is one of the premier picture-postcard venues along the South Jersey Shore.

Opened in 1997 and expanded to 27 holes in 1999, Sand Barrens offers carpet-like fairways, lush greens and more than 35 acres of waste bunkers.

With its winding fairways, 10,000-12,000 square-foot greens and abundance of waste bunkers cut out of the South Jersey Pinelands, it plays easier than it looks ... which could be rather intimidating at first glance.

Keeping the ball on the fairway, playing to one's ability and taking advantage of five tee boxes at each hole, Sand Barrens is quite a pleasant playing experience.

The toughest hole, for the average (15-25 handicap) golfer, is the par-5, 545-yard (white tees) North 8th hole ( No.1 handicap). The elevated tee opens to a slight dogleg left, with waste bunkers down the right side, then crossing the fairway 200 yards from the green and continuing down the left side of the fairway all the way to the green. A well-placed first and second shot are needed to reach the undulating green in regulation.

As an added attraction, there's a 430-foot-long, 55,000-

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square-foot green used for holes 2 North and 4 West. Hitting this green in regulation does not guarantee par. For the record, 2 North plays 377 yards from the white tees to a par 4. The 4 West hole plays 356 yards from the white tees, also a par 4.

Then there's the beauty of the 4 South hole. This plays to two greens, depending where the pin is placed from day to day. One hole plays to a par-4, 381 yards (white tees) dogleg left. The other plays to a par-4, 391 yards (white tees) and a more severe dogleg to the right.

"When you are playing to the right green," Sand Barrens PGA professional Jack Zaborowski said, "the hole plays a half-shot harder."

As a little extra touch, Sand Barrens also offers a bit of history/folklore. According to Gaffney, when the third nine holes were under construction, two sets of bones believed to be more than 200 years old were unearthed.

Somers Carson, a retired curator of the Cape May County Museum, also said that nails found among the bones helped establish the age of the bones. He related that those kinds of nails weren't made after the early 1800s. The bones were uncovered by a bulldozer, prompting authorities to halt work for further investigation.

Police, together with investigators from the Cape May County prosecutor's office and the county medical examiner' s office, determined that the bones were likely from a family burial ground. The remains were reburied elsewhere during a memorial ceremony conducted by a pastor, according to Gaffney.

"That's really the end of the story. We just want to put it to rest," Gaffney said at the time.

The grave is unmarked.