Mccullough's Emerald Golf Links

What Mccullough's Emerald Golf Links does

McCullough's Emerald Golf Links is a privately held public golf course operator headquartered in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. Founded in 2002 and designed by architect Stephen Kay, the asset is an 18-hole, 6,600-yard par-71 layout featuring 17 holes inspired by famed European courses including Saint Andrews, Carnoustie, Prestwick, Gleneagles, and Turnberry, plus a signature 7th hole drawn from Alister MacKenzie's unbuilt 1914 design. The course is recognized by Golf Digest (4 stars), GOLF Magazine (Top 34 Courses to open in 2002; Top 10 You Can Play Honorable Mention), and GolfStyles New Jersey (100 Must-Play Courses). The company's single-facility operation distinguishes itself through a claimed 100-foot elevation change feature unique in Southern New Jersey, water hazards on five holes, and a 3-acre waste area on the signature hole.

The business is monetized across seven revenue streams: (i) dynamic-priced greens fees and cart rentals booked through the website, phone, walk-in, and third-party platforms; (ii) a four-tier annual membership program (Full $4,500/$6,500, Intermediate $2,500, Twilight $1,400, Junior $499); (iii) Smart Card 10-round packages (Weekday $650, Premier $900); (iv) corporate and charity group outings; (v) on-site F&B through the Vagabond Kitchen & Tap House; (vi) pro shop merchandise; and (vii) gift cards in $25-$100 denominations. Tee-time booking, member management, and smart-card billing are operated through third-party infrastructure providers Gallus Golf and CPS Golf. Distribution is direct-to-consumer across a single New Jersey location with no disclosed geographic expansion.

The company employs between 11 and 50 staff under General Manager Thomas Sullivan, Outings Manager Bernadette McCabe, and Superintendent Steven Lane. Marketing is concentrated on the company website, the E-Club email newsletter, and group outing sales. No parent company, private equity backing, or institutional investment is referenced in the source material, and ownership is not publicly disclosed. There is no evidence of acquisitions, fundraisings, or strategic transactions; the operating model is a stable single-asset daily-fee golf business with episodic product and pricing refinements.

Name

Mccullough's Emerald Golf Links

Legal name

McCullough's Emerald Golf Links

Website

https://mcculloughsgolf.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

McCullough's Emerald Golf Links operates a single 18-hole, 6,600-yard par-71 public golf course in Egg Harbor Township, NJ, designed by Stephen Kay with Irish-Scottish themed holes and sells greens fees, memberships, smart card rounds, group events, and F&B to individual golfers, members, and corporate groups in the Atlantic City region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Golf Course

NAICS

Golf Courses and Country Clubs (713910)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Golf Courses & Golf Facilities (MPAKAEAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Golf Equipment, Apparel & Pro Shop Retail (CRAMABAG)

Keywords

• Public golf course
• Golf memberships
• Golf leagues
• Group outings
• On-site restaurant

Headquarters

HQ city

Egg Harbor Township

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Greens Fees and Cart Rentals: Public tee time sales with dynamic pricing that adjusts in real-time based on demand. Includes golf cart rental fees.
2. Membership Programs: Annual membership tiers including Full Membership (Individual $4,500 / Family $6,500), Intermediate ($2,500), Twilight ($1,400), and Junior ($499). Provides unlimited greens fees with varying restrictions.
3. Smart Cards (10-Round Packages): Prepaid round packages including Weekday Smart Card ($650 for 10 rounds) and Premier Smart Card ($900 for 10 rounds). Rounds valid for one year from purchase date.
4. Group Outings and Events: Corporate golf outings, charity fundraisers, group meetings, and family gatherings. Revenue from event bookings and group packages.
5. Food and Beverage - Vagabond Kitchen & Tap House: On-site restaurant and bar serving craft beer, wines on tap, and innovative menu. Revenue from food and beverage sales with views over the bay.
6. Gift Cards: Gift cards available in $25, $50, $75, and $100 denominations. Redeemable for greens fees, cart fees, and pro-shop merchandise.
7. Pro Shop Merchandise: Golf merchandise sales including apparel and equipment with 15% discount for pass holders.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

McCullough's Emerald Golf Links operates a public 18-hole, 6,600-yard par-71 Irish-Scottish themed golf course designed by Stephen Kay in Egg Harbor Township, NJ, with on-site Vagabond Kitchen & Tap House restaurant, pro shop, group event services, and tiered membership and prepaid round programs. Tee times are sold directly to consumers via a dynamic pricing engine and supported by third-party booking platforms.

Product overview

McCullough's Emerald Golf Links operates as a single-facility public golf course centered on its core 18-hole, 6,600-yard par-71 Irish-Scottish inspired course designed by Stephen Kay, located in Egg Harbor Township, NJ near Atlantic City. The course is complemented by an on-site restaurant (Vagabond Kitchen & Tap House) and a range of ancillary services including online tee time booking, golf leagues, group event management, and an email club. Golf access is monetized through multiple products: a tiered membership program (Full, Intermediate, Twilight, and Junior), a Smart Card prepaid rounds program (Weekday and Premier tiers), and individual green fee sales. Gift cards in $25–$100 denominations are also offered. All tee time booking, member management, and smart card billing are handled through third-party platforms (Gallus Golf and CPS Golf). The overall offering is a unified golfing venue rather than a modular software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Vagabond Kitchen & Tap House: On-site restaurant and bar serving craft beer, wines on tap, and an innovative menu with views over the bay from the covered patio, bar, or dining room.

Products and services

• McCullough's Emerald Golf Links - Public 18-Hole Course The flagship 18-hole, 6,600-yard par-71 public golf course designed by Stephen Kay, offering a distinctive Irish-Scottish golfing experience with wide-open fairways, tricky winds, undulating greens, and grass mounds and bunkers. Features water on five holes, the region's only 100-foot elevation changes, and a signature 7th hole inspired by Alister Mackenzie with a three-acre waste area and a 160-yard-wide island fairway. Targeted at individual and family recreational golfers, members, leagues, and group outings.
• Vagabond Kitchen & Tap House On-site restaurant and bar at the golf course serving an award-winning selection of craft beer and wines on tap, complemented by an innovative menu. Features a covered patio, bar, and dining room with views of sunsets over the bay. Serves golfers and the general public.
• Group Golf Events & Outings Hosted corporate golf outings, charity fundraisers, group meetings, and family gatherings. The professional staff works with organizers using a step-by-step planning system to manage golf events of any size. Targeted at corporate event planners, nonprofit fundraisers, and family reunion organizers.
• Membership Programs Tiered annual membership program including Full Membership ($4,500 individual / $6,500 family) for unlimited greens fees 7 days a week with no restrictions; Intermediate Membership ($2,500) with seasonal time-based restrictions; Twilight Membership ($1,400) for unlimited play during twilight hours; and Junior Membership ($499) for players 17 and under. Benefits include 7-day advanced tee time reservation, USGA Handicap Service, and 15% Pro-Shop discount. Targeted at avid individual and family golfers seeking annual unlimited play.
• Smart Card Program Prepaid multi-round package alternative to annual membership. Weekday Smart Card: 10 rounds for $650 valid Monday-Thursday before 8 AM or after 12 PM, with cart fees included. Premier Smart Card: 10 rounds for $900 valid 7 days a week before 8 AM or after 12 PM, with cart fees included. Both cards valid for one year from purchase date and redeemable for up to 2 rounds per day. Targeted at frequent individual golfers who want prepaid, discounted rounds.
• Gift Cards Golf gift cards available in denominations of $25, $50, $75, and $100, redeemable for greens fees, cart fees, and pro-shop merchandise. Cards expire two years from purchase date with no cash returns and gratuities cannot be charged. Targeted at gift purchasers and casual golfers.
• Golf Leagues Organized weekly golf league play hosted at the facility, including the Emerald League held Mondays at 5:00 PM. The course accommodates both league hosting and league sign-ups for recurring competitive play. Targeted at league coordinators, team captains, and regular competitive recreational golfers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4-star rating from Golf Digest Places to Play
• +3 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature1 record

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Drive Shack: Drive Shack operates indoor and outdoor golf entertainment venues (Puttery, Drive Shack venues). Like Topgolf, it addresses golf as entertainment and competes for casual golfers' leisure time and spend, making it an adjacent peer for McCullough's casual and league segments.
• Topgolf: Topgolf operates a tech-enabled, entertainment-focused golf venue concept competing for the same leisure dollar as traditional courses. While not a direct course operator, it is a comparable play in the broader consumer golf market and a long-term threat to traditional daily-fee tee sheets.

Direct peers

• Troon: Troon is the world's largest golf and club management company, operating hundreds of courses across public, private, and resort categories. It is the closest direct peer in terms of golf course operations, F&B, and revenue management, although at vastly greater scale than McCullough's single-asset operation.
• KemperSports: KemperSports manages a portfolio of golf courses, clubs, and hospitality venues across the U.S., including public daily-fee courses with F&B and event businesses. Comparable to McCullough's in product mix (course + restaurant + events) and management approach.
• Arcis Golf: Arcis Golf is a major owner-operator of private, resort, and daily-fee golf clubs in the U.S. Its portfolio model of club-level operations, F&B, and event hosting mirrors McCullough's greens-fee, membership, and outing revenue mix.

Broad incumbents

• Pebble Beach Company: Pebble Beach Company operates iconic destination golf resorts with F&B, retail, and event businesses. While a far larger and more upscale operator, it shares McCullough's business model of monetizing a signature course through greens fees, F&B, and merchandise, and serves as a benchmark for destination-golf economics.

Regional players

• Atlantic City Country Club: Atlantic City Country Club is a long-standing golf course in the same Atlantic City catchment as McCullough's. It competes for the same local and tourist golfer demand, making it a direct regional competitor in southern New Jersey.
• Liberty National Golf Club: Liberty National is a high-end public-access golf course in northern New Jersey with strong brand recognition and proximity to NYC. It shares with McCullough's the same state geography, daily-fee public model, and reliance on out-of-area destination golfers, though at a higher price point.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mcculloughsgolf
• Facebookfacebook.com/McCulloughsEmeraldGolf

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mccullough's Emerald Golf Links