Baltusrol Golf Club

The Baltusrol Golf Club is a private 36-hole golf club located in Springfield Township, Union County, New Jersey that was founded by Louis Keller. Among the many prestigious tournaments it has hosted, Baltusrol was most recently the site of the 2005 PGA Championship. The course architect is A. W. Tillinghast. The club's original 9-hole course was designed by George Hunter in 1895 and expanded to 18 holes in 1898. This course which is called the Old Course was further modified by George Low and no longer exists today. Louis Keller in 1918 hired A.W. Tillinghast to build a second golf course to complement the Old Course. However, Tillinghast recommended that the Old Course be plowed over and he would design and build two new courses. Baltusrol approved his design recommendation and commenced construction of the Upper and Lower courses in 1918. In August 1919, Golf Illustrated declared that "they are planning at Baltusrol on a vaster scale than has ever been attempted in American Golf for the opening of the Dual Courses." The Dual Courses, or Upper and Lower, would be the first contiguous 36-hole design built in America. Both courses officially opened for play in June 1922. In the years following their opening, refinements were made to prepare these courses for National Championship play. The first national championship held on the Lower was the 1926 United States Amateur. The first national championship on the Upper was the 1936 U.S. Open.

The Lower Course is a par 72, but for major championships, it can be set up to play as a par 70. The Upper is also a par 72 and can be set up to play as a par 71 or par 70 for championship play.