A Sneak Peak Into the Rich History of One of the Top Courses in America, The Baltusrol Lower Course

The KPMG PGA Championship is just about to begin in a couple of days and the excitement is enthralling. From players competing in the tournament, the prize money worth $9 million to the iconic venue, everything about this year’s women’s PGA Championship is just simply astonishing. 

If out of the three, there is just one thing that tops the chart in making this year’s championship even more historic and special, it is undoubtedly the Lower course of Baltusrol Golf Club. Let us find out more about the rich history of this spectacular golf club and golf course. 

A brief history of Baltusrol Golf Club 

Baltusrol Golf Club is located at the base of Baltusrol Mountain in northern New Jersey It is just a stone’s throw from New York City. The golf club was founded by Louis Keller as he wanted to create a world-class golf club that would just align with America’s leading city. 

The club’s history goes back over 12 decades and has hosted seven US Opens, two US Women’s Opens, and two PGA Championships. 

Read More: 8 Interesting Facts You Didn’t Know About the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship

When the golf course was established, it just had a single old course but in 1922, the Dual Course project was launched by architect A.W. Tillinghast. It was the bold initiative to design two marvelous golf courses side by side at the same time, now known as the upper course and lower course. This was an extremely huge move at the time. The project Dual Courses turned out to be one of the biggest accomplishments of Tllinghast’s career. 

In 2014, Baltusrol was designated a National Historic Landmark in recognition of its importance to Tillinghast’s career as a course designer.

The Lower and Upper courses are among the top 100 courses in America as rated by major golf publications; Golf Digest, Golfweek, and Golf Magazine. The KPMG PGA Championship 2023 will be played at Lower Course, one of the two noteworthy courses. 

Rich insights about the Lower Course of the golf club

Tillinghast worked as the club’s architect till 1942. In 1948, Robert Trent Jones was retained to update the Lower course for tournament play. The Lower course was lengthened again by his son Rees Jones in 1992 in preparation for the U.S. Open in 1993. 

Many renowned and decorated golfers such as Jack Nicklaus, Jimmy Walker, Mickey Wright, Phil Mickelson, Ed Furgol, and Lee Janzen have emerged victorious at Baltusrol’s Lower Course. 

According to Golf Digest, the ‘Golden Bear’ has won two US Opens on the Baltusrol’s Lower Course, in his record-breaking performances. Phil Mickelson and Jimmy Walker also emerged as champions in the PGA Championships that were organized at the Lower course of this stunning golf club. 

In 1954, after Trent had reworked the course, some golfers were saying that he has made the course very difficult and then took place one of the most historic moments on the course. To prove that the course is not that difficult, the architect Trent shot a hole-in-one on the par-3 fourth hole. 

Three signature holes at the Lower Course of the Baltusrol Golf Club 

The three signature holes of the Lower Course are as follows: 

• The fourth is a par three of 194 yards where the player must hit the ball over the pond to a two-tiered green.
• The seventeenth is a par five of 650 yards where John Daly is the only player to ever reach the green in two strokes. During the 2005 PGA Championship, Tiger Woods also managed to hit his second shot over the green in two strokes.
• The eighteenth is a par five spanning for 533 yards famous for spectacular performances by Ed Furgol, Nicklaus, Mickelson, and Jason Day.

Tournaments hosted at Lower Course

Since its inception, the golf club has hosted 15 USGA-sponsored events and 2 PGA Championships. 

It has hosted the US Open seven times, in 1903, 1915, 1936, 1954, 1967, 1980, and 1993. It has hosted the US Amateur four times, in 1904, 1926, 1946, and 2000. The club has hosted the US Women’s Open twice, in 1961 and 1985, and the US Amateur Women’s twice, in 1901 and 1911. The 2005 PGA Championship was Baltusrol’s first time hosting a PGA Championship, and it returned in 2016. 

The PGA Championship will return to Baltusrol Golf Club in 2029 for its 111th edition. 

The list of events hosted at the iconic lower course of Baltusrol Golf Club is as follows: 

Lower Course’s recent renovation 

The lower course of the Golf Club was reopened in 2021 after it underwent an extensive renovation project to maintain its beauty and its iconic status. The renovation helped the course in strengthening its position as one of the most renowned golf destinations in America. 

The renovation project was led by Gil Hance and his team. They restored the magnificent putting surfaces designed by the first architect to their original shape and dimensions. The team also successfully restored lost bunkers and modernized the irrigation system on the course.

What are your thoughts about this one of the top 100 golf courses in America? Tell us in the comments below!

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