The Baltusrol Golf Club in northern New Jersey at the foot of Baltusrol Mountain has been in operation since 1895. It's a private club with two top notch courses, the Lower and Upper, and there's been sixteen major championships played at Baltusrol during its long history.
Let's take a look at some of the holes on the the Lower course and see what's in store for us. The first is a 478 yard Par 5 that is almost perfectly straight from tee to green. The fairway narrows down about halfway to the hole and there are traps left and right that will catch mid-length hitters that stray off the fairway. If you're lucky enough to drop one on the narrow fairway, then you're looking at a second shot toward a fairly small green that's fronted left and right with pretty substantial traps. All in all, a good test of your strength and nerve, and its only the first hole.
The third is a 451 yard Par 4 with a dogleg left and a narrow fairway once again. If you miss left or right here and you're in serious trouble in the trees. If you survive your tee shot it's another 200 yards or so to a pretty small circular green amply guarded by sand on the front left and right. Going over the green is not recommended because those nasty trees are lurking there again. As before, accuracy and nerve are called for in big doses.
If you're running out of steam at the end of your round, the 17th will not make you happy.
It's a 570 yard Par 5 monster with a two-part fairway divided by what looks like the Sahara Desert, but is really 6 separate sand traps. Once past that little obstacle, you've still got 150 yards to go and some more traps around the green. If you're going to miss the fairway on 17, miss left, where you might have a chance to recover. The right side of the fairway is a solid line of trees.
As you may have guessed, the 18th is not any easier or shorter. You need to conquer a 520 yard Par 5 before you get a chance to stroll triumphantly into the clubhouse. This time it's a dogleg left with a a little creek running across the fairway at about 300 yards. Most of us merely human players will lay up short of the hazard and hope to layup short of the green and get on in 3. If you have the strength left to two putt, do it, and call it a victory.
Playing a course like the Lower at Baltusrol is a great reminder that the guys who do this for a living and make it look so easy really are extremely talented athletes. The rest us should just enjoy the occasional good shot and the camaraderie of friends on a weekend afternoon and be grateful that someone invented such a crazy and satisfying game.
Pete Cullen runs Great Web Resources. For more information on golf-related topics and equipment, visit http://www.Great-Web-Resources.com/gpage33.html
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