New Jersey's Atlantic Coastal Plain covers the southern 3/5 of the state and is composed of gently rolling hills less than 100 feet above sea level. In the southeast Pine Barrens, the landscape consists of pine forests and wetlands while closer to the Atlantic coast, the salt marshes, shallow lagoons, and meadows are prevalent.

Along the Jersey Shore resort areas of Atlantic City, Ocean City, and Cape May are the best public golf courses in New Jersey including the Atlantic City Country Club, Twisted Dunes, and Stockton Seaview In the north and southwest, along the Hudson and Delaware Rivers, the industrial cities and bedroom communities support an abundance of municipal golf courses such as Neshanic, Hominy Hill, Skyway, and Francis A. Byrne. The Highlands of New Jersey border New York and Pennsylvania and feature more dramatic topography punctuated by rocky ridges and valleys of the Kittatinny Mountains with some of the best public golf courses in this area including Ballyowen at Crystal Springs Resort and The Architects.