Joel D. Moore, owner of The Ridge at Back Brook, died Sept. 30. He was 70.
Under Moore’s leadership, The Ridge at Back Brook became a dedicated GAP Member Club. It hosted the Junior Boys’ Championship (2013, 2024), the Open Championship (2016) and numerous Member Play Day events. The galleries always included Moore, a hands-on owner and amateur golf advocate.
“He had a tremendous eye to detail. There was nothing at The Ridge that didn’t pass his approval. He was involved deeply in every aspect of the club,” Matthew Galvin, who met Moore in 1997 through the New Jersey Golf Course Owners Association, said.
Moore founded The Ridge at Back Brook in 1998. The Ringoes, N.J. venue opened for play in 2002. It joined GAP two years later.
“He was the hardest-working individual I’ve ever seen by far. His passion was The Ridge at Back Brook.”
Travis Deibert
“I woke up one day and told my wife Pam, ‘I’m going to build a Tom Fazio-designed private golf course, and I’m going to do it right. And, knock on wood, it turned out the way we hoped,” Moore told the GAP website in 2016. “This is a great piece of land. Tom Fazio did a fantastic job of selecting the holes. He had free reign to do that. What we’re really proud about is that there are 18 unique golf holes. He really used the land to his benefit to get a totally wonderful golf course. It’s maintained and it is manicured edge-to-edge, which is our philosophy.”
In 2003, Golf Digest ranked The Ridge at Back Brook as the second-best new course east of the Mississippi and sixth-best new course in the United States. In 2010, GolfWorld’s Readers’ Choice Awards ranked The Ridge at Back Brook the 8th Best Private Course in the United States. It is No. 14 on Golf Digest’s 2023-24 Best Golf Courses in New Jersey list.
“He was the hardest-working individual I’ve ever seen by far. His passion was The Ridge at Back Brook. He built The Ridge at Back Brook, he and Mrs. Moore. It’s a very special place,” Travis Deibert, the club’s head golf professional, said.
“Joel was tenacious. He would have a vision, and he would work as hard as it took and as smart as it took to achieve that vision. That is as evidenced by building The Ridge (at Back Brook). His dream was to build a high-end, top notch, the best of the best private clubs, and he achieved that,” Galvin, President & CEO of Morningstar Golf & Hospitality and a past president and director of the NGCOA, added.
Deibert served as The Ridge at Back Brook’s golf professional from 2014-18. He returned in 2023 following a brief stint at Doylestown Country Club. His relationship with Moore still close to heart.
“He made me a better professional. He made me work harder because I was doing everything for him and his wife. He had confidence in me to do it. That’s kind of why I came back, too. Today, I’m honored to be the head golf professional for The Ridge, representing Mr. and Mrs. Moore,” Deibert, 50, of Pipersville, Pa., said. “It’s hard. He’s going to be missed dearly. He had a big heart. He always supported me 100%, even if I was wrong.”
That support extended to the entire The Ridge at Back Brook team.
“He always had his employees’ backs, which was great,” Deibert said. “It’s obviously been tough the last couple of days because he was always there. Every time I turned the corner, he was there. He was always wanting to check in on me, just to make sure everything was good. He knew it was, but he always wanted to find me. The biggest joke was, ‘Where’s Travis?’”
In 2021, Moore received the Paul Porter Award, which recognizes a National Golf Course Owners Association member who left an enduring mark on a national or international affiliate through the highest level of commitment, service and leadership. The National Golf Course Owners Association also honored Moore and NJGCOA President Dave Wasenda in 2021 with the Champion Award.
“Joel had so much passion not only for the industry, but for The Ridge at Back Brook itself,” Wasenda, 55, of Monroe Township, N.J., said. “He was a perfectionist. He wanted to have the best golf course in the region. He spent all of his energy in making things better and doing things the right way. He was a good role model for all of us who were trying to be successful in the business.”
The Champion Award is bestowed upon individuals who or entities which have succeeded in working on behalf of a group of owners and have garnered through a significant victory for the NGCOA membership. Moore was active in the New Jersey Golf Course Owners Association for more than two decades, most recently serving as vice president.
“The Champion Award was given to Joel and Dave Wasenda for representing the New Jersey Golf Course Owners Association during the COVID-19 pandemic. They were instrumental in lobbying the state to get golf courses open as quickly as possible in a responsible way to get people out of their houses during COVID,” Galvin, 57, of Belle Mead, N.J., said. “It took a lot of effort to get the state of New Jersey to allow golf to re-open. Not even all of the other allied golf associations were necessarily pushing as hard as Joel was.”
“In many ways, Joel was a model member of NGCOA,” NGCOA CEO Jay Karen added. “He cared deeply for the success of our industry in New Jersey, and represented himself and fellow members so well. We were so sorry to hear the news of his sudden passing, and we are grateful for all that he did.”
Moore, according to Galvin, always shared ideas and “advocated for the everyday golfer and strongly as he would for the private club golfer.” Moore supported partners in the golf community such as the American Junior Golf Association, Hurricane Junior Golf Tour, International Junior Golf Tour, New Jersey PGA and New Jersey State Golf Association.
In 2017, The Ridge at Back Brook welcomed the AJGA Polo Golf Junior Classic, an invitation-only event with past champions such as Paula Creamer and Tiger Woods.
“(Moore) was here every day. We were here from dawn to dusk that whole week,” Deibert said. “He takes pride in that. He was a big proponent of the kids and junior golf. He really had a passion for that. He was always wanting to be a part. He’s always present. Just a special individual.”
Moore, who graduated from Quinnipiac College with a bachelor’s degree in accounting, established J.D. Moore and Company, an accounting firm based in Skillman, N.J., in 1983. He met Pam at Quinnipiac; the two celebrated their 46th anniversary this year.
The Ridge at Back Brook is the Moores’ lasting golf legacy.
“Going forward, he knows everything is in good hands. We have a great team in place,” Deibert said. “We want to say it’s business as usual, but in the aftermath of his passing, I’m thinking each day that I’m going to turn the corner and there he is. And unfortunately, he’s gone.”
Joel Moore is survived by Pam (nee Dispoto), sister Linda Moore and her sons Harrison and Jonathan Kirkland, brother-in-law Anthony Dispoto and his wife Martha, niece Morgan Dispoto and Christopher Lacher, nephew and Godson Anthony James Dispoto and his wife Tammy, sister-in-law Denise Lenzo and her husband Jimmy, nephews James Lenzo and his wife Lauren, Nicholas Lenzo and his wife Rachel, great niece Savannah and great nephews Wyatt and Grant Lenzo.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
GAP
Celebrating Amateur Golf since 1897, GAP, also known as the Golf Association of Philadelphia, is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The organization’s 345 Member Clubs and 110,000 individual members are spread across Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.
