The Baltusrol Murder Mystery

The PGA Championship is being held at Baltusrol. It's an odd name. Is it Native American? Or maybe it came over with some immigrants who ventured out to New Jersey having left New York? The reality is far darker and might just give you the heebie jeebies. 

Baltusrol is named after a certain Baltus Roll. Roll was a farmer who worked the land in the area in the early 1800’s. Known for being tight, there were rumours that he was sitting on a vast fortune. But nobody knew where it was.

On Feb 22nd 1831 Baltus Roll was dragged out of bed by two intruders, demanding to know where he stashed his cash. Torturing and beating him until he would spill the beans, the attackers didn't know what to do when Roll wouldn't speak.

So they kept beating him up, bashing him to a pulp before throwing him into the frozen night. Left to rot in an icy puddle, Roll froze to death not long after. 

No one was ever convicted of the murder. There were two suspects. One found out the police were onto him and committed suicide in a local pub. The other was taken to trial but was never convicted. Nearly 100 witnesses had claimed to have heard the two accused talking about the Baltus Roll fortune. Yet the defence attorney managed to have most of the incriminating evidence found impermissible in court. 

The locals couldn't believe it and burned effigies of the two accused men. The story went down into local folk lore and when a farmer called Louis Keller decided to build a golf club on the land 65 years later, he decided to call it Baltusrol. In 1895 the club opened for business.