Baltusrol Finishes Major Makeover of Tillinghast Masterpieces

The Old Course, which was constantly tinkered with over its short life, hosted five national championships: the 1901 and 1911 U.S. Women’s Amateur, the 1903 and 1915 U.S. Open, and the 1904 U.S. Amateur.

However, five championships in 14 years were not enough for Keller, and he decided to have the Old Course blown up and two new courses built simultaneously.

In 1918, A.W. Tillinghast was retained to build the two courses, which were accomplished by purchasing additional land around the Old Course.

While the original mandate was to build two new nines on the acquired land and connect them to the Old, Tillinghast recommended demolishing the Old and building two new golf courses, which the membership agreed to in early 2019.

In 1922, the Upper and Lower opened to member play, and with changes throughout the next 100 years, which modified the original design, the club wished to return to what Tillinghast envisioned.

“The way we've chosen to do restoration is primarily focused on the original architect,” Hanse said about restoring the work of old masters. “We kind of take our ego and plug it over here and our design thoughts and keep them out the door. We want to rely on our intuition from a championship standpoint, that moving a bunker where Tillinghast had it at 220 to moving it to 320 is going to be accurate for today's championships. So, there are experiences we'll draw on from other places that will be impactful in restoration work. But since it's always focused on the original architect, first and foremost, that's not as challenging.”

Hanse, who is familiar with restoring other Tillinghast designs at Quaker Ridge and Somerset Hills, now provides the golfer with a truly elegant experience at Baltusrol by preserving the Tillinghast look and feel, while also catering to the needs of the 21^st-century golfer.

Perhaps the most dramatic aspect of the restoration is the removal of trees throughout the property.

While the exact number is unknown, it adds a splendor that likely only existed when Tillinghast had finished his work over 100 years ago.

With greens expanded when necessary and holes now back to the true Tillinghast philosophy, Baltusrol will be a sight to see when the next major championship visits in 2029, the PGA Championship.