Deal G&CC -- the 2026 Red Hoffman Cup Champions!

(July 26, 2026) Deal Golf & Country Club became the seventh first-time champion in the 22-year history of the Red Hoffman Cup Matches, earning a decisive victory in the Finals at iconic Liberty National Golf Club.

It was a perfect day for spectators, but Liberty National’s Hudson River breezes, lightning-fast greens, and demanding fairways proved a stern test for the competitors, with most scores finishing over par.

The Finals featured 40 players representing the five clubs that survived the Hoffman Cup gauntlet, competing over 18 holes to determine northern New Jersey’s top golfing contingent. Those five finalists emerged from a field of 36 clubs across the region after three months of club-to-club competition. Complete results can be found under “2026 Competition,” above.

In the end, proximity to the water may have mattered. Shore-course Deal captured the title with a seven-under-par 281, finishing seven shots clear of fellow Shore-dweller, runner-up Manasquan River Golf Club, which posted an even-par 288.

The inland clubs could not quite keep pace. Hamilton Farm Golf Club, the most recent first-time winner before Deal in 2020, finished third at 293 (+5). Five-time champion Montclair Golf Club placed fourth at 300 (+12), while Morris County Golf Club, making its first Finals appearance in nearly two decades, rounded out the field at 301 (+13).

Deal entered the Finals as a prohibitive favorite. The club dominated preliminary group play, earned more points than any other team, secured a semifinal bye, and advanced directly to the championship round.

The club’s rise to elite status has been swift. As recently as 2025, Deal was not considered a serious title threat and was seeded third in its four-team group. But with new captain Derrick Scenna at the helm, expectations changed quickly. Scenna made clear that his team was aiming for the Finals — and delivered, guiding Deal to a fifth-place finish in 2025 while confidently predicting an even stronger result in 2026. This weekend, he delivered again, leading Deal all the way to the championship.

Deal’s victory was built on remarkable consistency. Captain Derrick Scenna and partner Brian Hale carded a 69 on the par-72 layout, matched by Scenna’s son Patrick and partner John Browndorf. Anthony Campanile and Brian Hart added a 70, while Pat Keenan and Matt McCormick completed the scoring with a 73.

Manasquan River continued its impressive presence in the Hoffman Cup with a runner-up finish at even-par 288. The team was led by Rich Fitzsimmons and Jack Stamberger, who fired an excellent 69, followed by Jack’s father, Mike Stamberger, and Chris Dymek with an even-par 72. Manasquan River will now set its sights on a third straight Finals appearance in 2027.

Hamilton Farm was paced by Mark Costanza and co-captain Evan Jones, who posted the low round of the day, a superb four-under-par 68. For Costanza, who played on Baltusrol’s 2024 and 2025 Hoffman Cup championship teams, it was a third straight Finals appearance. Co-captain Pat Wilson and partner Erik Stevens contributed a strong 69 in Hamilton Farm’s third-place finish at 293.

Montclair continued its Hoffman Cup resurgence with a fourth-place finish, led by three rounds of 74 in its team total of 300. Montclair’s commitment to the competition is often reflected in the presence of its loyal gallery. Given the club’s enduring enthusiasm for the Hoffman Cup, it would be no surprise to see Montclair remain a Finals fixture in the years ahead.

Morris County was the dark horse of the 2026 Finals, making its first appearance at this stage since the 2000s. At 301, the team was led by Tim Kistner and John Clarke, who posted a two-over-par 74. If captain Chris Sears can continue the team’s upward trajectory, Morris County will return to the Finals in the near future.

Liberty National was a champion in its own right this weekend. Anyone familiar with club operations knows how difficult it can be to dedicate a prime July weekend day to a championship event, yet Liberty National delivered an exceptional setting for the Finals. The course conditioning matched the day’s spectacular weather, the vistas were unforgettable, and the hospitality was abundant throughout.

Special appreciation goes to Head Professional Dan Schleichert, a steadfast champion of the Hoffman Cup, whose thoughtful stewardship reflects the Fireman family’s original vision for Liberty National. No club has hosted this event with greater grace.

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2026 Hoffman Cup Finals Venue: Iconic
Liberty National Golf Club

Nationally acclaimed Liberty National Golf Club has graciously hosted the 2026 Hoffman Cup Finals. The Hoffman Cup Finals are the season-ending climax to this two-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 at 1 pm
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!