Bethpage Black

[MyBluC4]

On Friday I played Bethpage Black...FROM THE TOURNAMENT TEES!!!
First off, my friend Mark called up and got an 11:57 tee time. $55.00 for the round. They don't allow carts so everyone walks either with a pull cart you can rent or you can ask for a caddy with 24 hours notice @ $40 plus a $20-$25 tip. Club house and pro shop is terrific. Dropped $200 on logo shirts before I even teed it up.
We were matched up with two single digit players who turned out to be great guys. Other than my buddy, none of us had ever played Bethpage so we agreed to walk back to tournament tees and play from the yardage plates even though no tee markers were set up. We decided to go with the experience and see the course from the pros standpoint. I play to a 9 and my goal was to break 90. The Black Course is simply fantastic. Besides being in great shape, the course is probably the most interesting layout I ever played. It is magnificent to look at from almost every vantage point. The card lists the blue tees at 7468 with a 76.6/144 slope rating with a Par of 71. The card however doesn't account for two new tees. I have no idea what the yardage is from the tournament tees but suspect it is around 7580. This is the hardest track I ever played bar none. Thick rough and natural traps framed with fescue. A big variety of large, mature trees framing the course. Some of my favorite holes include the 230 yard par 3 third, 608 yard par 5 thirteenth and certainly the uphill 411 par 4 18th coming into the club house. Oh, and then there is the #1 rated handicap Par 4 15th. The card says 490 yards from the blue tees...who knows what it is from the
> Tourney tips, but it's a magnificent view looking out to the fairway
> (you need binoculars to see the green). It's looooooong. The real view
> is when you look back to the tee from the green and see what you just
> played. Wild.
I can't imagine this course when it is set up for the Open where they grow the roughs another 3 inches, narrow the fairways to 20 yards on many holes, lengthen the roughs off the tee where, in some cases, its a 240-250 carry to the fairway and speed up the greens to a 13 stimp.
This course is a bear to walk now. To do it 4 days in a row with an Open set up is unfathomable to me. These guys will need to be in the greatest shape ever and mentally sharp.
This is public venue open to one and all. If any of you decide to make the trek and have the chance to play Bethpage you will not be disappointed.
Just a brilliant test of golf in everyway. I achieved my goal of breaking 90, scoring an 87 as the golf gods let me score a number of up and downs. I felt privileged to have had the experience.

[VtDivot]

awesome. I'd love to play BPB someday.

It's on my "bucket" list along with Pebble and the Old Course.

[SiberianDVM]

I'd love to play it, but there is no way I could play from the back tees. All of my drives would finish in the rough 220 yards out from the tee box.

[Clugnut]

Originally Posted by SiberianDVM

I'd love to play it, but there is no way I could play from the back tees. All of my drives would finish in the rough 220 yards out from the tee box.

There are a bunch of forced carries that require a 240+ carry from the tips. Really screwed with me because I felt I had to rip a drive, even though a nice smooth drive for me carries in the 245-260 range.

Glad you got to play it, C4! Congrats on breaking 90. I shot a 92 off a 13 cap about 3 years ago. I played really well, too. I'd love to take it on again.

[Johnny Par]

Played all the Bethpage courses except Black and Red. Definitely going to try and play Black just for the experience.

Glad to hear you enjoyed it. Damn, I am going to miss Bethpage when I get married and move into the city. (I currently live about 20 minutes from Bethpage)

[MyBluC4]

In the last few months, several readers have asked what we recommend in terms of when and how to get on Long Island, New York's Bethpage Black course before it hosts the 2009 U.S. Open.

The "when" part is easy: as soon as you possibly can. The U.S. Open is being held at Bethpage Black on June 15-21, 2009, so you only have this season before things start to get really jammed up out there. And for out-of-staters, it's going to be that much tougher because New York residents can make tee times up to seven days in advance; for everyone else, it's only two days.

Keep in mind, too, that the course is closed during winter and on non-holiday Mondays. And, when Bethpage Black opens in mid April for the 2009 season, it will likely be for half-days only through Memorial Day. The course will then close for the tournament and remain closed until two to four weeks afterward.

As for the "how," you have a couple options: 1) use Bethpage's tee time reservation system, 2) go the infamous route of trying to walk-on at the crack of dawn, which often involves camping out in your car, or 3) pay a huge premium to a little-known company that may be able to get you a tee time on your preferred day of play. Let's cover the first option first.

Before anyone can use Bethpage's reservation system, they must become a registered user. To register, you have to fax a copy of your driver's license AND write or type out all of the information that appears on the front of it, plus your telephone number (an email address would help, too), in case the image is unreadable via the fax.

If you're not a New York resident, you are also encouraged to include your Social Security number, which will become your reservation system account number. It's not required (they'll assign you a number, otherwise), but it will expedite processing. It usually takes between one and three days before you're officially "in" the system.

The number to FAX your materials to is: 516-753-0413. The tee time reservation line is: 516-249-0707. Again, out-of-state residents can only make tee times two days in advance of the intended date of play. New York residents can reserve seven days out. Sometimes, it's good to call the night before you wish to play because there are often cancellations.

In addition to a $4 reservation fee, the green fee is:

• Weekdays: $50 (NY residents) $100 (non-residents)
• Weekends: $60 (NY residents) $120 (non-residents)

Your second option for getting on Bethpage Black, as mentioned above, is to just show up predawn, as all of the first hour's tee times, and one slot per hour thereafter, are made available on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets for the day's first tee times, which begin at 5:30 am in summer, are handed out starting at about 4-4:30 am. (Note to foursomes: it used to be that only one player per foursome needed to camp out to get a tee time for the group, but now every person has to have their own ticket.)

From our experience and stories from people we know, if you're one of the first to show up, you'll likely get out in the morning. Later arrivals will likely get out, too, but it probably won't be until the afternoon. Either way, if you go this route to get on Bethpage Black, you'll be spending a good deal of time just waiting around in your car or the clubhouse, so bring a good book.

Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention one other option for getting on Bethpage Black, though it's better suited to those for whom money is not an object. NYGolfShuttle.com sells Bethpage Black packages that include the green fee and round-trip transportation from Manhattan for $750 ($400 per person for a foursome). At 15 times the in-state green fee, it is a huge premium, but convenience does have its price.