Bethpage Black, a Riggsy Course Review

Bethpage Black is firmly in the conversation for best publicly accessible golf course in the country. And it’s very accessible — a simple 50-minute train ride from Manhattan, and greens fees at peak weekend times are just $75 for New York residents, $150 for non-residents.

Commissioned for construction in 1934, the Black opened for play in 1936 but vaulted into the national spotlight relatively recently by hosting the 2002 and 2009 US Opens. It also hosted The Barclays in 2012 and 2016, and will host the PGA Championship in 2019 and the Ryder Cup in 2024.

The Bethpage project, which included three courses and a clubhouse, was commissioned in the heart of the Great Depression as part of a federal Works Progress Administration initiative that employed 1,800 men.

The Black is the last and oft considered some of the best work of golden age architect great A.W. Tillinghast, who designed other American classics like Winged Foot and Baltusrol. There’s a point of controversy over who deserves credit for the course, as Tilly’s contract on the project was just as a 15-day consultant, but even those most outspoken against credit going to Tillinghast admit he was closely involved, and likely the head designer.

The author of this piece (me) will be giving credit for the the Black to Tilly.

Today the Black sits among a total of five courses sprawled across Bethpage State Park’s 1,368 rolling acres. In 2002, the course became the first publicly owned and operated course ever to host a US Open; Tiger Woods won by three strokes and was the only player to finish under par.

It tips out at 7,426 yards and plays to a par 71 for the public. It’s one of the toughest courses in the world, a fact made famous by the first tee warning sign.

It has an outrageous rating of 78.1 and slope of 152.

The Black is just very challenging tee-to-green. It’s long and narrow with thick, punishing rough. It’s aesthetically very intimidating, the bunkering scaring you into tentative swings and uncommitted lines.

Notice the narrowness of that first fairway is over our right shoulders. That sets the tone for the rest of the day.

1st, 430 yards, par 4

The first isn’t the best hole on the course, but its saving grace is its distinct, pressure-inducing first tee environment. A walkway and practice green perched above create a stadium feel when you strike that nervey first shot, then you’re off.

The 1st is a sharp dogleg right with a green receptive to low runners and featuring one of few multi-tiered putting surfaces on the course.

Even in cold November weather, you can see how excellent the conditions were. Impressive for a muni with a perpetually packed tee sheet.

The rough was INCREDIBLY lush and difficult. For our skill level, any ball in the rough 160+ out had no chance of landing on the green. None.

2nd, 389 yards, par 4

The second is the first great par-4 on a course famous for having as good a collection of par-4s as any course in the world. Unique yet natural. As Frankie Borrelli described it, this fairway feels like a tiny stream that’s carved its way through a small, wooded opening for centuries. Here’s the view from above and behind the green.

3rd, 217 yards, par 3

The third is the first par 3. Notice Tillinghast’s artistry, the bunkering adding visual beauty and pause to this actually flat hole.

4th, 517 yards, par 5

Many consider the 4th the best par 5 in the northeast. A “Great Hazard” template design, it’s one of Tillinghast’s greatest holes. Any tee shot down the right side is safe but leaves a much longer and more difficult approach to either the green or to even cover the “Great Hazard” bunkering that protects the layup area.

I had read a lot about this hole. I was anxious to play it, but when seeing it for the first time from 3 green I actually got goosebumps. What a hole.

5th, 478 yards, par 4

Another staple that makes Bethpage Bethpage. The 5th snakes through the landscape, with the fairway angling right while the green actually sits back left. The strategic approach is key; you have to chew off as much of the right bunker as possible to leave any angle into this green.

I hit a solid drive and was still a 3-iron out… a 3-iron that required a draw around a tree to hit this green (I obviously did not hit this green).

6th, 408 yards, par 4

Tilly just showing off with the bunkering here. What a stud. Here’s what this thing can look like mid-summer.

7th, 553 yards, par 5

The 7th is a dogleg right par 5. The more aggressive you can be taking it up the right, the better chance you’ll have at getting home in two. But anything skanky or hugging too far right will find either a bunker or some tree blockage.

This is one of the course’s least-noteworthy holes and it still possesses plenty of beauty and strategy.

8th, 210, par 3

The 8th tips out at 210 but rarely plays that deep, even at the two US Opens. It measured 175 for us. Gorgeous one-shotter.

9th, 460 yards, par 4

A tough dogleg left, the 9th’s signature is that massive bunker guarding the left side and its sloping fairway making approach shots — even those struck from the fairway — challenging.

The front is beautifully difficult, and the back’s even better. Here’s what the card looks like to this point.

10th, 502 yards, par 4

The 10th and 11th share their own little nook of the course and a collection of fairway bunkers. Above you see the tenth going down the middle and the 11th coming right back down on the left.

Our group needed driver –> 3-wood to reach this par-4. A tough one.

11th, 435 yards, par 4

The 11th on the Black is most famous for Frankie Borrelli finding out he had missed Jeter getting?his 3,000th hit with a dinger because he was playing golf.

12th, 501 yards, par 4

Another 500+ yard par 4, the 12th is obviously hard. The yardage can vary dramatically based on one’s tee shot. The bunker you see there can be carried and?the dogleg left becomes much shorter in doing so. Anything sprayed right, however, leaves well over 200 yards into this protected green. A small frontal gap does allow run-ups.

13th, 608 yards, par 5

This one’s just a beast. Pretty straightforward, bunkers must be avoided. 608 yards is a lot of golf hole for nearly any player. You also have a bit of a walk back to the tee box, making the first shot?feel even more daunting.

14th, 158 yards, par 3

The 14th is really the only break on the back nine. The only place to catch your breathe, to stand on the tee and think you’ve got a shot?at birdie. This short one comes much-welcomed. Renovations over the last 20 years expanded the green’s narrow front left section, providing additional pin locations present in Tillinghast’s original design.

15th, 478 yards, par 4

Maybe the most difficult hole on a really difficult golf course, the 15th defends itself valiantly from the tee box all the way through the contours of the green. It takes a great drive to find the narrow fairway, a great approach to hold the elevated green, and great touch and imagination to navigate the unusual-for-Bethpage slopes of the green.

Phil famously bogey’ed here while co-leading the ’09 Open after driving into the rough, a 3-wood onto the fringe, then 3-jacking from there.

16th, 490 yards, par 4

A gorgeously elevated tee makes this hole play significantly shorter than the scorecard yardage. Another staple that helps to define Bethpage as an unmatched collection of great 4-pars.

17th, 207 yards, par 3

This wide but narrow green surrounded by 5 Tilly bunkers backdropped by a steep hill makes this an incredible amphitheater for championship golf.

Look at this scene.

18th, 411 yards, par 4

The 18th sometimes gets criticized for being too easy a finishing hole for such a punishing course, but look at this thing. It’s a spectacular finish. The bunkering is mesmerizing.

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All this for just $75 for New Yorkers? $150 for us foreigners? It’s the single best deal I’ve ever gotten in golf, just can’t say enough about this experience.