Baltusrol Golf Club
Upper Course
Hole 14 / Par-4 / 400 Yards
Architect: A.W. Tillinghast (1922)
Restoration Plan: Hanse Golf Course Design (2023)
Springfield, New Jersey, USA
One of the more interesting developments is when clubs opt to update what they provide. The situation can mean a pathway where outcomes are anything but assured.
Baltusrol is one of the leading golf clubs in the world. The NJ- based club has hosted seven US Opens and two PGA Championships with a third coming in 2029.
The 36-hole facility is noted for its Lower and Upper Courses. The former has often received the lion’s share of attention but ask many members which of the two they prefer playing and many will opt for the Upper.
Interestingly, Baltusrol is the only club in the USA in which the 36-holes have hosted both the Men’s and Women’s US Opens.
The genesis for the club to update both courses came about in a strong desire to return the architecture to be in alignment with what A.W. Tillinghast originally envisioned.
Over the course of many years the two 18-hole layouts were updated by Robert Trent Jones, Sr. and his son Rees. The general belief was that the core principles espoused by Tillinghast were far less than what they should be and the club engaged the services of Gil Hanse to do the work for both courses.
The Lower was finished a few years back and the Upper was just re-opened for member play this spring.
The primary flow of the routing of the Upper is two directions — with holes generally either north/south or south/north. There are only a few exceptions to that and one of them is especially noteworthy – 14 Upper.
The 14th on the Upper is nothing less than a tour de force hole. New Jersey has a number of outstanding top tier golf experiences but if an all-star grouping of holes is put together for the Garden State you can be assured the 14th is certainly among them.
The hole moves in an east-to-west direction and features a compelling uphill elevation of 40 feet. While the hole is listed at 400 yards from the championship tees, the effective yardage is greater and needs to be accounted for – both with the tee shot and approach.
The typical wind direction is often a crosswind in an left-to-right manner.
The most engaging aspect of the hole comes from the double-greens encountered. The left green was built prior to the 1936 US Open which the Upper hosted. The right green was the original Tillinghast green from the early 1920s. In reviewing the club’s history — it’s believed Tillinghast saw the dual greens when he visited the club in the 1930s but his involvement in the building of the new green cannot be confirmed with any certainty .
The two greens existed together for more than 30 years before the right green was removed in the 1960s — the exact year unknown.
The square footage of the two greens is comparable — 7,017 square feet for the left one and 7,952 for the one on the right.
Interestingly, a narrow creek guards the front entrance to the right green. Given the elevation change the right fairway bunker looms as an ominous threat to all but the longest and straight of drivers.
The internal contours of both greens are vexing with an array of devilish movements and pity the hapless player who short-sides himself.
The concept of including double-greens is not a sure thing by any means. Often one of the greens can be more challenging than the other. In some cases – a second green is only added in order to handle the foot traffic the original green endures.
14 Upper is simply brilliant. The tee shot must be placed with care and the approach must be ever diligent in landing in a location so that no more than two-putts is likely. Both greens are more than capable in providing a worthy test.
The mid-length par-4 (380-420 yards) in today’s golf world is a difficult design concept. Trying to match the needs of low and high handicap players so that comparable golf skills are on display is no easy feat. Additionally, the nature of uphill holes can make for a difficult task to do smartly given the elevation change encountered.
Credit Hanse for his keen sense in bringing back to life the Tillinghast style. Far too often when such projects are put in motion the latest architect is enamored with placing their own fingerprints resulting in obscuring to the point of eliminating the core design elements from the original architecture.
In addition, kudos to the senior leadership of Baltusrol. The $22+ million price tag for the updating of the Upper Course required a firm resolve — both financially and in expediting the effort. The Upper was closed November 7 2023 and by mid-May 2025 was back in operation.
14 Upper serves in the role of an honest judge – no bribes accepted. Mount your case with your strongest golf game as evidence because the verdict will be swift, certain and ever final.
All photos of Baltusrol GC courtesy: Evan Schiller
Schematic rendering courtesy: Hanse Golf Course Design.
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