During the Ryder Cup, all the focus will be on one course and one course only – the famed Bethpage Black at Farmingdale, Long Island.
The course, which opened in 1936, has long had a reputation as one of the best public courses in the US.
That has only grown since the turn of the century, when it began hosting some of the game’s biggest tournaments, including two editions of the US Open, a PGA Championship, and, of course, the biennial match for the first time this year.
However, for all its fame, as well as considerable notoriety thanks to its difficulty and an iconic warning sign spelling that fact out, it’s far from the only course in the immediate vicinity.
Bethpage Black is part of Bethpage State Park, a 1,477-acre site run by the state of New York that borders Nassau County and Suffolk County.
As well as its world-famous course, the park has amenities including tennis courts, a polo field, cross-country skiing trails and hiking and biking trails, along with picnic and recreational areas.
Not only that, it also has no fewer than four other 18-hole courses – the Yellow, Green, Blue and Red courses, in order of difficulty, with the Black course the hardest of the lot.
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Of the five, it was the Green Course that was the first to open after it was modified by A.W. Tillinghast in 1934 from the original Lenox Hills Course, which had been around since 1923.
It’s a par-71, 6,378-yard layout featuring elevation changes without ever becoming too severe.
Some describe it as the “mini black,” although aside from the elevation changes, the two are not particularly similar, as it lacks some of its more famous neighbor’s key characteristics, such as fairway bunkers. However, like the Black Course, it also has a downhill opening hole.
While Tillinghast set about transforming the Lenox Hills Course, he was also tasked with constructing three new courses, the Black, Red and Blue.
The Blue Course was the next to open, in 1935, and just a year later, it hosted the US Amateur Public Links.
Like the Green Course, the front nine of the Blue Course is known for its elevation changes, with some of the hilliest terrain at Bethpage State Park, although it’s flatter on the back nine.
The par-72 course measures 6,676 yards from the back tees and also has mid-sized greens with gentle undulations.
Particularly memorable at the Blue Course is the par-4 sixth, featuring a downhill tee shot.
Shortly after the Blue Course opened, Tillinghast’s next design, the Red Course, saw the light of day.
While not able to lay a punch on the Black Course as the toughest of the quintet, it’s certainly not easy, with its long dogleg par-4s known for being particularly challenging.
There’s no easing into things, either, with one of the aforementioned par-4s greeting players at the first tee, measuring 471 yards and with an elevated green.
The Yellow Course is Bethpage State Park’s newest and most beginner-friendly layout. It was built in 1958 by Alfred Tull, and its appearance necessitated a redesign of part of the Blue Course by Tull to accommodate it.
It’s the shortest course of the five at 6,310 yards. Meanwhile, because of its incorporation of part of the Blue Course, there are elements of both Tillinghast and Tull as golfers make their way around, including some fairway bunkers on the back nine that are largely absent on the opening nine.
While Bethpage Black will surely always remain the most revered of the five courses, the five layouts at Bethpage State Park offer something for everyone, making it one of the most appealing of any golf hotbeads in the whole of the US.
Course |
Yardage/Par |
Date opened |
Designed by |
Green |
6,378 yards/Par 71 |
1923 |
A.W. Tillinghast |
Blue |
6,676 yards/Par 72 |
1935 |
A.W. Tillinghast |
Red |
6,921 yards/Par 70 |
1935 |
A.W. Tillinghast |
Black |
7,468 yards/Par 70 |
1936 |
A.W. Tillinghast |
Yellow |
6,310 yards/Par 71 |
1958 |
Alfred Tull |
