The Shot

The final pairing of the 67th US Open (June 18, 1967) at iconic Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, NJ matched Jack Nicklaus and rival Arnold Palmer. Jack held a four shot lead (-4) over Arnie (E) as they approached the 542 yard par five, 18th hole. In addition to chasing his second US Open title and his 7th Major Championship at the age of twenty-seven, Nicklaus was in hot pursuit of the US Open scoring record (276) held by Ben Hogan since 1948 (Riviera Club, Los Angeles/7,020 yards, par 72). Nicklaus needed to birdie the seventy-second hole to secure the record.

Facts:

• Baltusrol: Par 70
• US Open Prize Money: $175,000
• Winner’s Share: $30,000
• Attendance: 88,414 (largest on record)
• The 67th US Open was Ben Hogan’s final US Open
• Amateur Marty Fleckman held the three round lead
• 67th US Open Program (18th Hole Description): “A magnificent finishing hole which should prove a real thriller in the clutch. Trees, rough and water on the left will force the tee shots right on this dog-leg left, thus lengthening the play of the hole. Few if any will reach the shelved green in two as the shot, from a hanging lie, would have to carry a lone trap fronting the green. Birdies may be few on this closing green as the left to right borrow is more severe than it appears.”

Nicklaus, along with his trusted caddie (Lee, a Baltusrol legend) prioritized the win however, chasing down Hogan’s record was certainly in the back of their minds. A Palmer eagle and a Nicklaus bogey would guarantee the win. Danger lurked left with a small pond and stream running parallel to the fairway, and then crossing over the fairway at the one-hundred and fifty yard mark.

Jack and Lee selected one iron (MacGregor VIP Blade, a.k.a. butter knife), pushing the tee ball into the right heavy rough. Nicklaus pitched an eight iron back into the fairway, laying two, 238-yards from the pin, uphill into the wind. Jack and Lee once again selected the one iron, landing the ball twenty-two feet from the pin, subsequently draining the birdie putt for the US Open Championship and the US Open scoring record of 275.

 

 

Facts:
• Nicklaus’s round by round summary: 71, 67, 72, 65 (275)
• Nicklaus posted eight birdies during the final round, shooting a thirty-one on the front nine
• Nicklaus won a second US Open at Baltusrol Golf Club in 1980

During a practice round of the 2005 PGA Championship, Baltusrol’s reigning club champion, Rod McCrae III (1 handicap) was asked by Golf Magazine to reenact Jack Nicklaus’s famous one iron shot, armed with an exact replica of his MacGregor VIP Blade one iron and a dozen or so “mealy” old balls, in similar (into the wind) weather conditions. Here are the results:

• Swing One: 175 yards (63 yards short)
• Swing Two: 180 yards (58 yards short)
• Swing Three-Ten: Seven additional lay-ups
• Swings Eleven through Fifteen: “It is like hitting an aluminum bat off the handle.” Running out of the old “mealy” balls, McCrae dips into a few boxes of new Titleist Pro V1’s.
• Swings Sixteen-Twenty: Generally twenty yards short of the green
• Swings Twenty One through Thirty: Still cannot get one to the green, McCrae decides to move ten paces forward
• Swings Thirty One through Thirty Six: “I feel like I am hitting it great but I still can’t get there.” His caddie (5 handicap) takes two swipes and chunks both into the creek. McCrae once again moves ten paces forward.
• Swing Thirty Seven: The ball falls five feet short of the green

Details of McCrae’s trials and tribulations appeared in the August 2005 edition of Golf Magazine (Baltusrol PGA Championship: Reenacting Jack Nicklaus’ Famous One-Iron). Authors Quote: “Even Rod can’t hit a one iron!”

Note:
On June 18, 1993 during the second round of the 93rd US Open Championship, John Daly became the first player in Baltusrol history to reach the 630 yard, par five, 17th hole in two shots, landing a one- iron from 290 yards. Daly made birdie.

Facts:
Recent Major Tournaments at Baltusrol (Lower/Championship Course/Par 70):

Tournament	Distance (yards)	Score	Winner	Winner’s Purse
1967 US Open	7,022	275	Jack Nicklaus	$30,000
1980 US Open	7,076	272	Jack Nicklaus	$55,000
1993 US Open	7,152	272	Lee Janzen	$290,000
2005 PGA	7,392	276	Phil Mickelson	$1,170,000
2016 PGA	7,428	266	Jimmy Walker	$1,8000,000

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