I think what Baltusrol means to golf and to the
world is that it's a place that sets standards and it's a place that leads. Going back to its origins
in the 1890s up through when it redeveloped its dual courses in the teens and 20s through all
the championships it's hosted through the years it's been a place where the game of golf has
found a sort of standard for what it should be in the New York metropolitan
area and around the country. When you're dealing with a club that is 125 years
old and has been a leader in American golf for that time span there's no shortage of stories to
be told.
What ZEBRADOG has done is found the most creative and innovative ways to tell those stories
in a unique fashion and that's something we didn't have before. I think what we were really struck
with very early on in the process with ZEBRADOG was their attention to detail and their thorough
understanding of what defines the Baltusrol brand and in many cases they helped us realize
what that meant to be at Baltusrol Golf Club. The new Scoring Room was an area that we had a
hard time developing. Quite frankly we failed on those and we were looking at something that we
just knew needed to be better. You came in and you just have some different vision and sometimes
bringing people from the outside – we're here all the time we get tunnel vision in some of this –
is just a good thing.
But we start with talent. Once you started working with us once you
started showing other things we could be we couldn't wait for the final product and
the final product was just spectacular. When you walk into the Scoring Room you're
immediately struck by A.W. Tillinghast's dual championship golf courses which is the
heart of Baltusrol Golf Club. So you see an original sketching of his dual
courses and on the walls you see our major champions with their scorecards
of when they played with Baltusrol. You're taken aback and you have an immediate
appreciation for the significance of this place. It gets you excited to play golf at Baltusrol
and to walk in the footsteps of our legends. At any classic club the the primary design
direction that you get from the members is make it timeless. I think one of the things we
forget is in order to get to timeless you have to make a pit stop at timely. And I think the way
that we live our lives today is deeply ingrained and integrated with media.
Baltusrol wants to be
at the highest levels for that and the interactive aspect of this has been a game changer.
It's important for us with our members that we keep on educating them what they are
a part of particularly our younger members. I think both the scoring area and the multimedia
area are spectacular. I think it's a great way to showcase our history and tradition not only to our
membership but to guests. I think it's a great way for new members to really spend some time looking
at our history and how far back it goes. You know 1901 and the history of American championship golf
being played at Baltusrol and really being able to look at the multimedia screens and look at each
hole and all the players that have been here it serves as a wonderful reminder of what
we've accomplished over the last 125 years. We've got a lot of content we have the information
and the images that we want to show we don't know how to present it in a way that's engaging
and fun and exciting.
The ZEBRADOG team made it so easy for us. What's truly impressive about
them is they feel timeless they feel like spaces that have been around since the clubhouse was
built a hundred years ago and they immediately make you understand why this place is so special.
In a sense that it's not hitting you over the head with it you walk in you can enjoy these
spaces and it feels like it's part of Baltusrol. From the beginning of the engagement with ZEBRADOG
to the very end you are a company with value, experience, expertise, professionalism. The
thing that I would say makes you different – you have vision and you see things a little bit
differently and you have the ability to connect. Same reason we brought Gil Hanse.
Same reason for that vision and the character that you can bring something
to a higher level that they want to be part of..