The 8th hole on the Upper course at the Baltusrol Golf Club is a 550-yard par-5 from the back tees. For the restoration of the A.W. Tillinghast design, which was unveiled this spring for members after a 12-month and $22.8 million construction, Gil Hanse used original drawings and photos to bring back the vision that Tillinghast had for the 8th hole when the Upper and Lower courses—commonly called "Dual Courses"—were opened in 1922.
“My favorite spot on the Upper is between the first two fairway bunkers on the 8th hole, looking at that green complex, how it sits up on the hill, how it serpentines around the fairway, and now with that beautiful American elm sitting up there by itself in all of its glory,” says Greg Boring, the 48-year-old director of grounds at Baltusrol. Boring is just the sixth person to hold that position in the 129-year history of the Springfield, N.J., club. “It’s one of the first places I go to when I bring someone out on the property. I bring them right to that spot. It’s hard to believe you’re less than 20 miles from one of the largest cities in the world when you’re out there. But it’s your own little piece of heaven.”
