In the morning, we pointed the minivan towards Springfield, New Jersey to play one of the most historic courses on the planet, Baltusrol Lower. Named after Baltus Roll, the farmer that formerly owned the land, the club (Lower and Upper) has hosted seven US Opens, four US Amateurs, two US Women’s Opens, two US Women’s Amateurs, a Women’s PGA Championship, and 2 Men’s PGA Championships. The 111th PGA Championship will be played here in 2029 along with the 2046 United States Open. Today, three banged up Sendell boys would be attempting to tackle the golf course equivalent of Derrick Henry in the open field.

This would be my 19th round in 21 days. So, my deteriorating body is already in overtime. My oldest son is fighting some upper back tightness, and my younger son is dealing with an uncooperative left ankle. We would be hosted by Balty Bob, who we met in the men’s locker room for lunch prior to the round. I have been in a few private lunch settings in my life, but this one was extra-special. Between the memorabilia, the professionalism of the service staff, and the spirited conversation surrounding us, the three of us knew we were blessed to be in this space. And it felt strangely comfortable for me. I think I am tapping back into my New Jersey roots and finally understanding why I must share my opinion despite the listener not wanting to hear it. These were my people.

When Bob walked into the lunch room, it was obvious this man has a strong reputation around the club. Between shaking hands and having his name called out repeatedly, it reminded me of when Norm walks into the bar in the sitcom, Cheers. Bob worked in Finance for 42 years and has lived within 30 miles of the club for most of those years. Let’s just say he has some sway. His current home is about 10 minutes away, and after meeting him, I am not sure if I should say he is in Baltusrol’s backyard or it’s in his. Regardless, we knew we were rolling with the right dude. I consumed one of the best tuna melts of my life and the price was $8. We had been transported back in time.

After a quick warmup, we met our caddies. Wax and John were very different, but equally great. John was more reserved and had only been introduced to golf 5 years ago. My sons continuously remarked what an awesome green reader he was. John was the Ed McMahon of this combo. Wax was Johnny Carson. Wax had a personality that matched his stature as a former hooper nicknamed Block Party. On the 2nd hole, he told Bob his putt was going to move like a Mexican Stripper. He also asked Bob throughout the round if he could remove the bodies from his golf bag. There are five tee choices at Baltusrol. My sons chose the fours and I would be joining Bob from the threes. Initially, Bob said the three of us would play the fives, but Wax said he wanted to be done by Tuesday. This was definitely my kind of grouping.

I made an opening birdie at the first to get things rolling. Brad canned one from long distance on #2 that broke at least 10 feet. Jack was making easy pars. Boomerang Bob was hitting a very reliable power draw, which is a shot none of the Sendell’s have in their bags. I spun my tee shot on #4 back into the water and made double, but we were having so much fun, I didn’t care. I birdied the 5th, both boys birdied the 7th, and I birdied the 8th. The boys were balling out with Balty Bob.

The second nine at Baltusrol Lower is a massive plate of food that only a few can consume. The doglegs are a little bit sharper, the fairway slopes more pronounced, and the bunkers pinch the landing areas to perfection. I am back to hitting my reliable 5 yard fade off the tee, but that isn’t good enough on the back nine at Baltusrol. I hit what I thought were good tee shots at the 11th, 13th, 14th, 15th, and 17th, but found the rough or a fairway bunker each time. I can only imagine the difficulty of playing an angry Major Championship Baltusrol and trying to close out a Championship. In hindsight, I would have chosen different clubs off the tee and hit longer approaches into the greens. In my humble opinion, the course we played could be ready for a Major in two weeks.

My boys were playing Bomb and Gouge again, and Jack was finishing out efficiently with the putter. All of us had our highlights with Jack playing the most cleanly. The 18th is a Cape hole that sweeps from right to left and up towards the magnificent clubhouse. From a raised tee, the view is spectacular and terrifying at the same time. It is very easy to wipe one right to avoid the water hazard, which is exactly what my three playing companions did. After a frustrating three-whip at the 17th, I went to my bag for a fresh nugget. But after a double take on the 18th tee, I was re-thinking my strategy. I started rummaging around in my bag for a “water ball” because my legs and brain were not firing on all cylinders. When I host people at Tehama, I say there are 6 tee shots where you just have to “Sack Up” and hit a good one. I finally decided if there was ever a time to sack up, it was on the 18th tee at Baltusrol.

My tee shot hugged the water on the left side and I had 215 yards uphill to the hole. We had just walked past the Nicklaus plaque where he famously hit a one iron from 240 to the middle of the green to claim one of his two US Open Championships here. I jokingly told Bob to get a plaque ready for Bill Sendell topping a 5 wood into the water from where my ball was. But I made a confident swing, and although it was struck a little off the heel, it had the correct left to right shape needed to feed into the back right hole location. After a solid read by Wax, I rolled in the eagle to finish in style. Jack was low man with 72, I had 75, and Brad had 76. It was a proud effort for all three of us and it gave us a much needed shot of adrenaline for the rest of the trip.

After a Guinness with Bob and his good friend Bob, who have played in 30 consecutive Member-Guests together, we snuck a couple of the all-time best chocolate chip cookies on the way out. We were heading south to Metedeconk, just east of Sea Girt, where I spent many summers as a kid. The happiest thought was that we get another round with Balty Bob at the Upper next Thursday.