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SPRINGFIELD, N.J. - One club. Two major championship-worthy courses.
This has always been the calling card of Baltusrol Golf Club. The other is that the famous private club has never been shy about embracing change.
More than a century after the club board's decision in 1917 to plow under a course that had hosted two major championships and hire A.W. Tillinghast to build the first 36-hole dual championship courses in America, the executive board has once again turned to one of golf's greatest architects - in this case, Gil Hanse - to modernize everything with an elaborate master plan and restoration that has taken years to complete.
This vision and dedication is paying off with sparkling upgraded versions of the Lower Course, revealed in 2021, and the Upper Course, which reopened earlier this year. While the Lower will host the 2029 PGA Championship, the Upper could easily host as well if it had more room for tournament infrastructure. It's a member favorite.
"I 100 percent believe that golf course could host any championship that it wanted to from an architectural and playability standpoint," Hanse said of the Upper at a June media day. " ... I would put that golf course up against the Lower any day as far as quality."
Enhancing the Upper Course at Baltusrol
For those who haven't been to Baltusrol, located just 20 minutes from Newark airport, the Upper Course gets its name from the shelf of elevated land closest to Baltusrol Mountain. Its highest holes along a treeline require some fun shotmaking where balls funnel off the high sides, sometimes into bunkers and other times directly toward the hole.
Using old aerial photographs from the 1936 U.S. Open held on the course, Hanse reconstructed everything - fairways, bunkers, tees, greens and rough. Tee areas (by 50,000 square feet) and greens (by more than 25 percent on average) have expanded considerably. More than 260,000 square feet of bunkers have been rebuilt using the Better Billy Bunker system.
Championships at Baltusrol
Founded in 1895, Baltusrol has hosted 16 USGA Championships and two PGA Championships since 1901.
U.S. Opens (1903, 1915, 1936, 1954, 1967, 1980, 1993)
PGA Championships (2005, 2016)
U.S. Amateurs (1904, 1926, 1946, 2000)
U.S. Women's Opens (1961, 1985)
Women's PGA Championship (2023)
U.S. Women's Amateurs (1901, 1911).
U.S. Junior Amateur (2018)
Reconstructing the greens to USGA standards, plus installing a PrecisionAire subsurface system, was an intricate process. The greens on both courses are a mix of poa annua and bentgrass, so the sod was cut out in sections, set aside to continue growth and replanted when the work was completed. The PrecisionAire system manages moisture and temperature by removing excess dampness and delivering heated or cooled air to the roots to promote healthier turf.
The most noticeable change to members is the tree removal to open up sight lines. Hanse wouldn't put a number on the effort, insisting he doesn't count them. There are moments when golfers who are always walking with caddies can see five flags by simply turning around.
"Here, the tree removal, the restoration of vistas across the property, has been hugely impactful and presents the golf course in a much better way from the Upper down to the Lower," Hanse said. "The views of the Manhattan skyline are spectacular, so you do now have longer vistas across the property, but also of the adjoining area. Not that Tillinghast would've seen that skyline, but it's a nice bonus."
The dual green at no. 14 is a major talking point, as it was removed from the plan originally and then brought back again. The par 3s remain the strength of the routing. All of their greens sit on pedestals, forcing golfers to be precise in their club selection and ball-striking.
A pond that must be carried on the short 356-yard 10th is really the only place to lose a ball (there is a small trench guarding the right green on no. 14 as well). Although there are four water hazards on the Lower Course, I played 36 holes of major championship golf with the same pellet, which felt like a solid accomplishment.
With every step you take, history oozes out of Baltusrol, from the grounds to the gigantic 80,000-square-foot clubhouse, home to 17 second-floor guest rooms and numerous dining and meeting spaces. In 2014, Baltusrol was designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service, one of just five clubs to be so honored. Jackets are required at dinner, another nod to tradition that marches towards another major moment in 2029.
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