In 2005, the 99-acre River Vale Country Club on Rivervale Avenue had already been sold to a development partnership. A state Green Acres project description from that June says the sale was "increasing the pressure of impending development on a public recreation facility." The township applied for funding to buy the course for recreation and conservation. Part of its case was that the land borders United Water property that protects Lake Tappan. The state listed a $400,000 matching grant award for the project.
River Vale bought the club in 2010. That preserved the 18-hole, semi-private course at 660 Rivervale Avenue. Since then the "country club town" nickname has been literally true. The course is also a business, and its fees are what keep the land open.
A September vote kept the same operator
On September 28, 2026, the Township Council passed Resolution 2026-199. It gives Long Ball Golf Management, LLC, of Wood-Ridge a contract to run River Vale Country Club. The term is three years, with two optional one-year extensions if the Council approves them. The management fee is $175,020 a year. The township took proposals on September 1. After reviewing them, the administration found Long Ball's proposal
"to be the most advantageous to the Township"
according to the meeting minutes.
Pascack Press put the three-year total at $525,060. Chief Financial Officer Gennaro Rotella told the paper that Long Ball has handled the club's day-to-day operations since 2010. So the course has had one operator for its entire run under public ownership. That track record is what makes the financial results below worth taking seriously.
The course runs on its own budget
New Jersey towns can run some services as dedicated utilities, with their own revenue and their own appropriations. River Vale treats its golf course that way. The township's 2026 introduced budget includes a separate Dedicated Golf Course Utility Budget. Here's what it shows.
| Golf course utility line | Budgeted for 2025 | Actually realized in 2025 | Budgeted for 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golf course fees | $3,800,000 | $4,692,112 | $4,339,100 |
| Reserve for prepaid membership fees | $380,000 | $382,128 | $389,000 |
| Total utility revenue | $4,955,000 | $5,849,240 | $5,260,100 |
| Bond principal payment | $650,000 | $650,000 | $670,000 |
| Interest on bonds | $435,000 | $439,869 | $414,000 |
| Surplus sent to the general budget | $400,000 | $400,000 | $400,000 |
In 2025 the course collected $892,112 more in fees than the town had budgeted. The bottom line of the table shows money flowing from the course to the town. The township's general revenues include a matching $400,000 "Anticipated Utility Operating Surplus" for 2026, the same figure as in 2025.
The same pattern held in 2019. When the council considered a mini golf course that year, Rotella told Pascack Press that no taxpayer dollars would fund it. Money from River Vale Country Club and a $50,000 county Open Space grant would cover the cost instead. The town has long expected the club to pay its own way.
Golfers are on the hook for $12.2 million through 2042
Buying and improving the course took borrowing. River Vale's 2025 audit covers the year ended December 31, 2025, and its report is dated July 7, 2026. It lists three golf course utility bond issues still outstanding:
- 2014 bonds, originally $9,600,000, with $6,295,000 left at the end of 2025 and payments running through October 1, 2039.
- 2015 bonds, originally $5,095,000, with $3,595,000 left and payments through August 1, 2042.
- 2023 bonds, originally $2,620,000, with $2,355,000 left and payments through 2038.
That's $12,245,000 in total at the close of 2025. The audit says the township "pledges revenue from operations to pay debt service on utility bonds issued." In other words, the plan is for course revenue to repay the course's debt for the next 16 years.
More spending is planned. The 2026 capital program lists $140,000 for bunker renovations, $45,000 for leveling tee boxes, $250,000 to upgrade and repair the irrigation system, and $250,000 for clubhouse upgrades and repairs.
The open space depends on demand
That arrangement is why demand matters. A course funded by taxes stays open as long as the council keeps paying for it. River Vale's course instead has to bring in enough money to cover its management fee, staff, operating costs and roughly $1.08 million in budgeted bond principal and interest for 2026, and then send $400,000 to the town on top of that.
So far, the demand is there. River Vale Country Club's membership page says memberships for the 2026 season sold out. The club's 2026 rate sheet gives residents a lower price at every tee time. Monday through Thursday midday, it's $80 for residents and $100 for the public. Saturday, Sunday and holiday midday rates are $100 and $130. Super-twilight is $45 for residents and $55 for the public all week. Residents get those rates with a $35 annual registration card. New registrations need three forms of ID, including photo ID. Returning registrants need a valid driver's license showing a River Vale address.
The property isn't only a course. The club's website also advertises a driving range with Toptracer, chipping and putting areas, a turn snack house, and Cherry Brook Restaurant and Bar.
Edgewood, nine holes later
River Vale also has a second club that went a different way. The private Edgewood Country Club still has an 18-hole course. Next to it is the Fairways at Edgewood, a 249-unit townhouse development that Pascack Press described in October as recently completed. It was built on nine holes of what used to be Edgewood's 27-hole course. When the plan first came up in 2019, northjersey.com reported it as 249 units, including 24 affordable units.
A privately owned course decides its future through its owners. River Vale Country Club once faced that same pressure, when a development partnership bought it in the mid-2000s. The township's purchase moved that decision to the public budget, where the numbers come out every spring and the operating contract comes up for a vote every few years.
What this changes when you compare towns
The $400,000 transfer is real money, but it should be kept in proportion. River Vale's 2026 local tax for municipal purposes is $15,257,171, which makes the golf surplus about 2.6 percent of that figure. It helps the municipal budget. It won't move any one household's tax bill by a dramatic amount. This is general information, not tax or financial advice, so confirm how any of it affects your own situation with the right professional.
The course sits behind the town's best-known nickname, it carries its own debt, and in 2025 it brought in more than the town expected. If you're weighing a home near the course, or just weighing River Vale against a nearby town, three public documents tell you most of what you need: the yearly golf utility budget, the audit's bond schedule, and the Long Ball contract the Council renewed in September.
If you're thinking about what River Vale's open space and the club's track record mean for a home you own or want to buy, Sara Deutsch and Team Deutsch can walk you through the local numbers and what recent sales near the course show. Start by getting your home value.
