Golfer Login | Register

Baltusrol Golf Club

Baltusrol Golf Club's Lower Course Set For Reopening

World-famous site of 10 major championships to be unveiled in May

By Brian Weis


After a year-long restoration led by renowned golf course architect Gil Hanse, the Lower Course at Baltusrol Golf Club will reopen to members in May of 2021.


The Lower Course has already hosted 10 major championships-4 U.S. Opens, 3 U.S. Amateurs, 2 PGA Championships, and 1 U.S. Women's Open-and after this restoration is ready to welcome its first KPMG Women's PGA Championship in 2023 and its third PGA Championship in 2029.


Originally designed by A.W. Tillinghast, the Lower Course opened in 1922 as part of Baltusrol's historic "Dual Courses" initiative, the first contiguous design and build of 36 holes in the U.S. In keeping with the "dual courses" theme, the Upper Course will undergo a Hanse-led restoration in 2024.


Having undergone numerous revisions, large and small, in their near-century-long existence, the club wanted to return the purity of the Tillinghast design to both courses. Hanse was retained in 2018 to help prepare a long-range master plan that included the most comprehensive restoration to the Lower, with particular attention to restoring Tillinghast's design features and shot values.


Every hole on the Lower Course was affected, with special attention paid to widening and twisting fairways, removing trees, and returning greens to their original scale and size. On some holes, fairway bunkers that had been removed over the years were returned, while other bunkers were eliminated to bring back the ground game that Tillinghast favored.


But the biggest change to the course, according to Hanse, was an overall lowering of the course's features, returning Tillinghast's preference for making the green the high point-and focus-of a hole.


"Over the years, bunkers and green surrounds were raised for framing," Hanse explained, "and it was our belief that the golf course would present itself more authentically if we removed these raised features. Now the course better fits the ground and our perception of how Tillinghast presented it."


Lowering bunkers had another benefit: Making it easier for members to get in and out of them.


"We are extremely proud to have restored Tillinghast's original vision for golf throughout the Lower Course," said Matt Wirths, President of Baltusrol and Chair of the Master Plan Committee in charge of the project. The restoration also included substantial infrastructure improvements such as the installation of new drainage, an irrigation system, and a PrecisionAire sub-surface air system for the greens.


Added Wirths, "Updating the infrastructure of the Lower will have a material impact on its agronomic health and our maintenance procedures for years to come. We feel like we have more control over the course's health and playability going forward."


Hanse also added new tees that will allow more players to enjoy the course. Several practice areas also were renovated.


Interestingly, Hanse explained, some of the most dramatic changes were to what are arguably the Lower's most famous holes-numbers 4, 17, and 18.


No. 4: The short grass that used to join the 4th tee to the 3rd green was restored. The 4th green was significantly expanded to the right after "old photographs showed the horizon line behind the green was dramatically different. So, we dropped the right side of the green to create a lower section."


No. 17: The great "Sahara" bunkering complex was moved 40 yards down the fairway, putting it more in play for better golfers while giving average players the chance to lay up short of it. A narrow opening to the green was also restored.


No. 18: The entire 18th fairway was raised, bringing it level with the pond so "it feels more natural as it goes downhill," according to Hanse. Bunkers were removed both along the right side of the fairway and in front of the green. And the fairway was merged with the 18th fairway from the Upper Course, "back to what Tillinghast had designed."


Work on the Upper Course will be done in 2024 with reopening scheduled for 2025. Said Hanse, "The Upper Course has always remained much closer than the Lower to what Tillinghast originally designed. There's still significant work to do to get the style back, but architecturally it's a lot closer."



More Information »

Revised: 03/11/2021 - Article Viewed 12,294 Times - View Course Profile


About: Brian Weis


Brian Weis Brian Weis is the Publisher of GolfTrips.com, a network of golf travel and directory sites including GolfWisconsin.com, GolfMichigan.com, ArizonaGolfer.com, GolfAlabama.com, etc. Professionally, Brian is a member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA) and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG). In 2016, Brian won The Shaheen Cup, an award given to a golf travel writer by his peers.

All of his life, Brian has been around the game of golf. As a youngster, Brian competed at all levels in junior and high school golf. Brian had a zero chance for a college golf scholarship, so he worked on the grounds crew at West Bend Country Club to pay for his University of Wisconsin education. In his adult years, his passion for the game collided with his entrepreneurial spirit and in 2004 launched GolfWisconsin.com. In 2007, the idea for a network of local golf directory sites formed and GolfTrips.com was born. Today, the network consists of a site in all 50 states supported by national sites like GolfTrips.com, GolfGuide.com and GolfPackages.com. It is an understatement to say, Brian is passionate about promoting golf and golf travel on a local, regional, national and international level.

On the golf course, Brian is known as a fierce weekend warrior that fluctuates between a 5-9 handicap. With a soft fade, known as "The Weis Slice", and booming 300+ drives, he can blast it out of bounds with the best of them.



Follow Brian Weis:

linkedin  twitter  facebook  blog  youtube  vimeo  insyagram

Contact Brian Weis:

GolfTrips.com - Publisher and Golf Traveler
262-255-7600

Share Post



Get Social


facebook   twitter   pinterest   pinterest   youtube   RSS  

Free Newsletter


FEATURED