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wow, what a differentce!!!

Johnny Par

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Sep 5, 2006
785
0
wow, what a difference!!!

just got back from playing 18 on Bethage Blue.
I thought I was getting pretty good at golf but playing the Blue course was a rude awakening.

Here's why:
On my local course which is a par 67, rating of 63.7/108, I shoot in the 90's.

On Bethpage Blue which is par 72, 70.9/122, I shot a 110.

Here are the reasons:

The course is long, never in my life have I used my 3 iron so much. (I really need to learn how to hit my hybrid). On my local course, most par 4's are around 300-400yds. I could hit my driver and use anywhere from a 9 iron to 6 iron on my second shot.

Par 3 holes!!! OMG, all of them were at least 170 yds. Not used to this becuase on my local course, out of the 6 par 3's, only one of them is 180yds.

The ROUGH!!! this is a course where you really get penalized for not hitting the fairway. At my local course, there really isn't much of a difference between the fairway and rough.

Conclusion: I need to take some lessons!!!
 

cabinessence

Never Say Die
Jul 28, 2005
534
0
(95-63.7)*115/108 = 33.3
(110-70.9)*115/122 = 36.9

Sounds like you shot right around your handicap.
 

ezra76

Well-Known Member
Feb 5, 2006
12,412
16
I know the feeling. Last year I had a bunch of scores from an easy 6100 yd. par 71 course. I could tee off with a hybrid, 5Wood or even a 5iron on some of the par 4's. The par 5's were all reachable but 1, that one I could easily layup to 70-100 yds. though without even hitting driver off the tee. Greens slow and not much break. Just bang it home. Plus I could drop chips like nothing there. The slope on the internet service I was using was listed at 118. I had 5 rounds sub 80, 2 77's and finished the year at an 8.9 cap, all scores coming from there.

This year I've been playing a lot of more difficult courses. 500-700 yds. longer, much more difficult greens, rough, bunkers, hazards, forced carry's and just way more demanding in every aspect. My best score this year is an 88 at Triggs, just shy of 6600 and a 129 slope.
 

Clugnut

Gimme some roombas!
Aug 13, 2006
3,423
1
Bethpage Blue is a really fun course. I had an 84 when I played it last year. If you really want a challenge, try the Black or the Red. The Red opens with a 490 yard par 4, and the Black is 7400 yards and has like a 76 rating. Amazing that these courses were built in the 30's!
 

irfan

Well-Known Member
May 6, 2007
66
0
same situation here.. on the OSU gray course (66.6/111/5800)i shoot low-mid 80s, OSU Scarlet (71.9/134/6664 from the gray tees, 74/139/7115 from the blacks).. i havent broken 100 this year. the championship tees are 76.1/142/7455 but they are only out during tournaments, and id never play them anyways.
 

Bravo

Well-Known Member
Aug 27, 2004
5,822
15
my course is about 6300 yards from the white tees with a slope of 135...and it does tend to make my game 'travel' pretty well to other courses..
 

Sandy

Well-Known Member
Aug 29, 2006
907
0
(95-63.7)*115/108 = 33.3
(110-70.9)*115/122 = 36.9

Sounds like you shot right around your handicap.

I was going to suggest the same thing. I played on a very prestigious course last summer that had a slope of 137 and was really annoyed to have shot 110. When I put the score into my handicap calculating program it showed me immediately that this round represented probably my best ever score, and meant I had played better than racking up a score of 10 - 15 shots less on my local muni.
 

LyleG

gear head
Aug 10, 2006
6,388
28
Country
Canada Canada
We always play the black tees at our track, and although its not the longest course around it can really bite you with it tough bunkering, fast severely undulating greens and a lot of water in spots you wish it wasnt.

6670 yards, par 72, rating 72.6, slope 134
 

Lefty11

Well-Known Member
Jul 12, 2005
45
0
I'm from Northern New Jersey, would I be able to play on any of the Bethpage courses? If so, would I be able to call and make a tee time and how much are the rates for out of state?
 

sandwedge

Well-Known Member
Oct 19, 2006
790
0
Wow, this thread made me realize that I play some pretty tough courses. Most of the courses I play are about 6300-6700 yards and slope of mid 120's to mid 130's from the back tees that are right in front of the tips.

These courses also have water hazards on almost every hole which are good for a few lost balls and penalty strokes per round.
On the bright side I am so used to playing over water that it doesn't intimidate me anymore when I am playing a par 3 over water. I guess my 100 that I usually shoot isn't quite as bad as I thought.
 
OP
Johnny Par

Johnny Par

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Sep 5, 2006
785
0
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #11
I'm from Northern New Jersey, would I be able to play on any of the Bethpage courses? If so, would I be able to call and make a tee time and how much are the rates for out of state?

You can play Bethpage but only NY state residents can register tee times via automated phone (only method available). You would need to pay the out of state green fee which is $98.00 on weekends and $78 on weekdays. For some reason, they don't list non resident fees for the other 4 courses, not sure if they would be the same as Black.

Here's a link with info, it has a number as well.
Bethpage Golf Course

you should definitely try and play Bethpage. The courses are beautiful.
 

Pa Jayhawk

Well-Known Member
Nov 15, 2005
7,196
62
Country
United States United States
Par 70
Blues 5968 yards - 71.1/142
Whites 5638 yards - 69.6/135
Reds 4517 yards - 68.0/126

This usually accounts for maybe about 4-5 strokes more on the Course handicap over the index and a very enjoyable round anytime I play anywhere else. Where I can hit the worst shot I could imagine on this course where I would not even bother looking for the ball, where somewhere else it would likely be in the other fairway. They had the course re-rated a couple years back and when they came back with these results the course started making efforts to make it a little more friendly this year as they feel it is a reason people shy away. Although because of building they also added a considerable amount of OB's to contend. It is also usually a local contention that all tree lines are considered lateral hazards. There is also one hole they will likely lengthen to a Par 5 which will add somewhat to the length.

Even though I shot a 75 on my old home course a couple times, which was a par 68. I still find the 80's on this course to be the best rounds I have ever played, which would likely equate to a 73 on my old course. Just gave me a great level of satisfaction that I did not find on the other course. Actually regardless of Course Handicap and 2 different in par, it fees like about a 10 stroke difference to our prior course.
 

LyleG

gear head
Aug 10, 2006
6,388
28
Country
Canada Canada
Wow, that course has a very high slope for such a short track.

Is it all island fairways and greens LOL?
 

artfulgolfer

Well-Known Member
Jan 8, 2007
80
0
I've honestly never played a course with a slope as low as 110. The courses I play here at home have a slope of 134, 136, and 137. Like Bravo mentioned, this really helps your game "travel" well. Playing a variety of courses instead of going around and around on the same track help you improve more too IMHO.
 

Lefty11

Well-Known Member
Jul 12, 2005
45
0
You can play Bethpage but only NY state residents can register tee times via automated phone (only method available). You would need to pay the out of state green fee which is $98.00 on weekends and $78 on weekdays. For some reason, they don't list non resident fees for the other 4 courses, not sure if they would be the same as Black.

you should definitely try and play Bethpage. The courses are beautiful.



Thanks for the Info!
 

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