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Hoffman Cup Match Schedules Are Coming Together  

(April 2, 2026) The 2026 Red Hoffman Cup Groups have been set and match dates are gradually being posted (see "2026 Competition," above).  The tournament schedule, where you'll find "play by" dates, is below. 

I wish there was a way to get all 36 Hoffman Cup clubs to our Finals host club, Liberty National Golf Club, this July, but only five will make it that far.  

In case you're not confident about your club's chances, there's plenty of precedence for clubs that have suffered through recent sluggish performance to pull it together. Just last year, Deal Golf & Country Club came into the Hoffman Cup ranked #23 out of 36 clubs, based on their performances in 2023 and '24. Their new captain, Derrick Scenna, whipped them into shape; must have been a real bootcamp!  Deal made it through its group matches well, had a great performance in the semifinals, and ultimately came in a remarkable fourth in the Finals.  

That story isn't isolated. It takes good golf, for sure. But add leadership, teamwork, and enthusiasm and you have the formula for Hoffman Cup success!

You and your club can do it! Have a great 2026 season!

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2026 Hoffman Cup Finals Venue is Set:
Liberty National Golf Club

Nationally acclaimed Liberty National Golf Club has graciously agreed to host the 2026 Hoffman Cup Finals on Saturday, July 25.  The Hoffman Cup Finals are the season-ending climax to this two-and-one-half-month-long, all-scratch interclub competition among thirty-six Northern New Jersey clubs.

Just 864 yards from the Statue of Liberty, Liberty National Golf Club rises from land that once symbolized something very different. Today, golfers stand on manicured fairways with sweeping views of Manhattan, the harbor, and the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge. But the story of Liberty National is about more than scenery or championship golf. At its core, it reflects the vision -- and values -- of its creator, Paul Fireman.

Most golf courses are built to make money, and Liberty National is no exception. Yet Fireman envisioned something more meaningful when he set out to build a course along nearly 4,000 feet of New Jersey shoreline. In a 2006 interview with Fortune magazine, Fireman reflected on the symbolism of the site: “It’s incredible to think that my grandparents came through here and the first thing they saw was this land. And today I am building this golf course. That’s the American dream.”

Realizing that dream required one of the most ambitious environmental reclamation projects in modern golf. The 160-acre site had long been an industrial wasteland -- an EPA Superfund property once occupied by oil refineries, storage tanks, and ammunition depots.

Fireman invested heavily to transform it, assembling a design team led by architect Bob Cupp, a longtime associate of Jack Nicklaus, and U.S. Open champion Tom Kite. Together they spread more than two million cubic yards of fresh soil across the capped site and reshaped it into a graceful American-style parkland course. Hundreds of mature trees were planted -- willows, honey locusts, pin oaks, golden maples, and pines -- while five ponds and winding brooks were introduced. Just as importantly, the architects carefully sculpted sightlines that frame some of the world’s most recognizable landmarks.

Opened fittingly on July 4, 2006, Liberty National quickly entered golf’s global spotlight. Stretching to 7,387 yards from the back tees, the course offers a demanding par 72, with a slope rating of 155 and a USGA course rating of 77.7. In just two decades of existence, Liberty National has already hosted the 2017 Presidents Cup and regularly appears in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoff rotation and in the LPGA's annual New Jersey caravan.

More than a golf course, Liberty National stands as a powerful reflection of Paul Fireman’s vision -- and a modern expression of the American dream along New Jersey’s waterfront. (The foregoing content was adapted from Remarkable Stories of New Jersey Golf)

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2025 Red Hoffman Cup Matches Recap 

(July, 2025)  Baltrusrol Golf Club successfully defended its 2024 Hoffman Cup with a convincing showing at amazing Hollywood Golf Club, capturing its fourth title since 2012. Perennial contender Arcola Country Club finished second in the Finals after hanging near the top for most of the afternoon. 

Baltusrol's eight team members fashioned an impressive seven-under 267 led by Ryan Fountaine and Gregg Angelillo, but still had their hands full against a determined Arcola. The Paramus club, stung by last year's loss to Baltusrol at Bayonne, responded with an excellent 269. Arcola's balanced 67-67-67-68 would have captured the day in any other Hoffman Cup Finals, but the sheer strength of Baltusrol's roster was not going to be overcome.

Baltusrol's dominance was no surprise. It steamrolled through preliminary play with 31.5 out of 36 possible points, and its finals lineup featured two nationally-ranked amateurs, Mark Costanza and the newly crowned New Jersey State Amateur Champion, Barnes Blake. But it was Gregg Angelillo and Ryan Fountaine who led Baltusrol’s victory charge with a sparkling 65. 

It should be noted that – between Baltusrol and Arcola – all eight sides broke 70. This impressive display of skill and depth from both clubs foreshadows more close finals to come. (Detailed finals scoring can be found at 2025 Competition, above).

Montclair Golf Club finished third at 275, extending an impressive semifinals showing. Deal Golf and Country Club, in the running much of the day, followed at 276. Manasquan River Golf Club rounded out the field at 279.

While Baltusrol took the Cup, Hollywood GC, with its heaving greens, memorable bunkering, and pristine conditioning – was a star in its own right. One finalist summed it up well: “Playing Hollywood is like playing a round in a really great golf museum.”

(more dtetails from the 2025 Hoffman Cup Matches can be found at "Cup Archives," above.

The Red Hoffman Cup Matches were created in 2005 to foster interaction and friendly competition among northern New Jersey golf clubs. Annually, 500 leading New Jersey amateurs and professionals from 36 clubs play in a no-handicap, four-ball competition designed to effectively identify the strongest cohort of players in one club in northern New Jersey.

Groups Announced	Intragroup Matches	Semifinals	Finals
When: Mar 1, 2026	When: Ideally, Sat, May 2; Sun, May 3; Sat, May 9 (all matches must be completed by Sun, Jun 14)	When: To be played between Sat, Jun 20 to Sun, Jul 14.	When: Sat, July 25
Who: Your club and three others will form a single Group. Captains should start setting up matches.	Who: Your club vs. one of the other three clubs in your group.	Who: All Intragroup  winners, minus the bye club, which will have a bye directly to the Finals.	Who: The four Semifinal match winners, plus the bye team; that is five teams (40 players).
	Where: Each day, two four ball matches at home, two away.	Where: Two matches home, two away (same as Intragroup Matches).	Where: Liberty National  Golf Club
	Format: Two man, four ball, match play, Nassau point system. Team with the overall highest point total (a.k.a., the bye club) advances directly to Finals.	Format: Adjusting for the bye club, seeding will be determined by points earned in the intragroup play;  sudden-death tie breaker would be in effect.	Format: For each club, four x two-man teams; four ball, medal play; all four scores count; sudden death tie breaker in effect.

2026 will mark the 22nd anniversary of the Hoffman Cup Matches; the first Finals were held in 2005. That year, in a field of only four clubs, Fairmount Country Club came out on top with an 8-4 win led by Allen Small and Craig Smith, two top amateurs who had just returned from Ireland as members of the MGA's Cary Cup squad. A year later, 2005 runner-up Montclair Golf Club extracted revenge by winning the Cup, then winning four more Hoffman Cup Finals in a row.  

While the first Hoffman Cup involved four clubs and a total of ~36 golfers, this year's event features 36 clubs and more than 500 golfers. Seen through the Hoffman Cup prism, twenty-two years has gone by quickly.

View the results of each Hoffman Cup season, 2005-2025, in "Cup Archives" in the navigation, above.

As always, thank you to the captains and professionals who make this competition hum!