Post reporter Brett Cyrgalis, a 2-handicap, recently played Baltusrol with a veteran caddie and takes a look at the five places on the course that figure to give the pros the most trouble this week.
If there is one thing that sticks out from a quick run-around at Baltusrol Golf Club’s Lower Course two weeks before the PGA Championship, it’s the overwhelming fairness of the layout. As my estimable caddie, Rick, told me many times, “It’s right there in front of you.” With the grounds in pristine conditions, that couldn’t be more true.
Now if the perpetual fairness remains with the greens speeding up and the rough — well, it’s hard to imagine the rough getting any longer or thicker — is to be seen come the opening round. But as for what course designer A.W. Tillinghast put forth, it’s clear the championship test will bring forth a worthy winner, not an overly lucky one.
But what also became clear is there are a couple specific places around the venerable grounds that will go a long way in determining who hoists the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday. Let’s examine those places, and see how this intrepid 2-handicap did (even if some of the championship tee were a 6-iron behind me).
Second hole
At least one day during the week — and hopefully at least one of them is the final round — the PGA will move the tee up to make this a drivable par-4. Either way, a risk-reward decision has to be made to either lay back before the blind cross-bunkers, or carry them to leave a short wedge shot into a tricky, well-guarded and sloping green. It’s refreshing to see difficult decisions coming so early in a round. A birdie here and a player could get rolling; a bogey, and he’ll certainly lose a shot to the field.
How’d we do: Playing from the front-right tee made it about 300 yards, so a driver up and over the bunker left less than 50 yards in. The wedge shot carried too long, and a good two-putt down a steep hill in the green wrapped up par.
Fourth hole
This is the “signature hole” on the golf course, and the water and stone wall that front the long par-3 are beautiful and intimidating. The green has a lot of large slopes in it, and the top-left pin position, sitting atop a small ridge with a bunker in front and deadly rough over, is going to make par a great score. If it’s in front, a birdie can be had — but only for the bold willing to take on the water.
How’d we do: Far in front of the pro’s tees of over 200 yards, a simple shot from 150 left and easy uphill putt to a hole in the middle of the green. With the huge and empty grandstands surrounding, the spotlight was too big — a two-putt par.
13th hole
The story goes that this was Tillinghast’s “obtuse” design, and that when Bobby Jones essentially lost the 1926 U.S. Amateur here, it became inspiration for No. 13 at Augusta National. Either way, the left-to-right diagonal drive over a creek means the farther right you hit it, longer you have to carry and the closer you’ll be to the green. With deep bunkers on the far side of the fairway, it’s a difficult drive, but with a green that is relatively small, birdies and bogies could be had in equal measure.
How’d we do: The anti-water swing off the tee landed in the middle bunker, and two swipes from there ended over the green. An up-and-down finished a double-bogey 6. Hey, if it outdid Jones, it can outdo me.
Closing par-5’s
One of the most unique things about this course is the way it closes with two monster par-5s, the first being the 647-yard 17th. There are some hellacious cross-bunkers that have to be navigated for the second shot — reminiscent, on a smaller scale, of Tillinghast’s “glacier” bunkers on No. 4 at Bethpage Black. An elevated and well-guarded green makes par a good score.
Then 18 makes for all the drama a spectator could ask for. The pond that bisects the fairway is only in play for a layup, which will come for those that hit a wayward drive. With the Jack Nicklaus plaque sitting 238 yards away, commemorating his epic 1-iron in the 1967 U.S. Open, the long approach up the hill to a well-bunkered green is what will likely determine the difference between a major champion and a runner-up.
How’d we do: The thunderstorms came rolling in just after hitting the tee shot on No. 17. The lightning is what drove me and Rick inside and ended the round early, and if someone finds a Titleist 2 with blue dots in the right rough, please mark it — I’d like to come back and finish someday. Driving in, squinting through the droplets, the plaque on the 18th fairway could be seen, and the presence of history could be felt. This place was made for major championships.