Baltusrol Upper Course

The verdict

The Upper Course is the less famous, no less worthy companion to Baltusrol's celebrated Lower. When A.W. Tillinghast remade the club in 1922, he laid out two complete eighteen hole courses on the rolling, wooded slopes of Baltusrol Mountain in Springfield, New Jersey, less than an hour from Manhattan. The Upper climbs higher into the hillside and plays across more dramatically contoured land, a par 72 of about 7,350 yards from the back tees.

Its own championship record is significant. The Upper hosted the 1936 U.S. Open, won by Tony Manero, and the 1985 U.S. Women's Open, won by Kathy Baker, the year Baltusrol became the first club to have staged a men's and a women's U.S. Open on two different courses. It also held the 2000 U.S. Amateur. A Gil Hanse restoration in the 2020s recovered Tillinghast's bunkering and green edges, returning the Upper to the front rank of American parkland. For a traveling golfer it is a private club of true major pedigree within easy reach of New York City, reached through a member.

The holes worth the trip

Where the Lower is broad and stately, the Upper is the more natural and more rumpled of the pair, routed across the higher, tumbling ground that gives the club its name. Tillinghast used the slope of Baltusrol Mountain to set greens into hillsides and to ask players to shape shots to fit the land, and the Gil Hanse restoration sharpened those green surrounds and re-cut the deep, flashed bunkering that is Tillinghast's signature.

The par 3s are the heart of the course, played to firm, well defended greens where club selection and a confident strike matter more than length. The closing stretch climbs and falls through mature woodland to a strong finish, and the views back across the property toward the clubhouse are among the best at any parkland club in the Northeast. It is shot making golf on a grand, historic stage.

What stays with players is the sense of a course rediscovered. For decades the Upper sat in the Lower's shadow; the restoration has reminded everyone that this is a Tillinghast layout of the very top order, every bit as worthy of the trip as its more decorated sibling.

Where to stay nearby

Northern New Jersey offers a wide range of hotels close to the club, while Manhattan, about forty five minutes east, provides the fullest choice of luxury lodging and dining for travelers building a wider trip. Newark Liberty International Airport is the nearest major gateway, with the New York airports also within reach.

Baltusrol anchors a strong metropolitan New York golf itinerary and pairs naturally with the great courses of New Jersey and the surrounding region. We can arrange the introductions where possible and handle the lodging and transfers around your round.

Looking for a base? See our recommended hotels and resorts around New York and northern New Jersey.