The Bethpage Black Course is a public golf course on Long Island, New York. It is the most difficult of the five courses at Bethpage State Park.
Bethpage Golf Course is one of the most popular and cherished golf courses in the nation. Located in suburban Long Island in close proximity to New York City, Bethpage is a mecca for public golf featuring five 18-hole regulation golf courses, including the world-renowned Bethpage Black .
Getting a tee time on Bethpage Black will never be easy. But landing one of the toughest tee times in public golf did get easier. You can now book online tee times for the famed major championship municipal course on New York's Long Island and other munis run by New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
The system still favors state residents over out-of-towners. State residents may book a reservation one week in advance stating at 7 p.m. for all courses at Bethpage. Non-residents may make reservations five days in advance starting at 7 p.m. for all courses. Reservations for the Black Course are limited to once per 28 days.
The Black Course at Bethpage State Park is an extremely difficult course, recommended only for highly skilled golfers. The public course is strong enough to have hosted the U.S. Open twice and now gets a PGA Championship. In short, Bethpage Black is a beast — all 17 holes of it.
The Green and Yellow courses are considered the two easiest tracks at Bethpage and best set up for the casual golfer. Green fees for the Blue, Green, and Yellow courses range from $23-43, which is much cheaper than the park's two premier tracks.
$20-$40Caddies are $80 plus tip (usually $20-$40 depending on the job they did) or you can carry your bag or rent a pull cart at the range. I recommend the caddie route. It's a tough walk up and down hills(Aprox.
Just $75 to play a championship golf course on a weekend morning has to be the greatest deal in golf. And unlike Torrey Pines and Chambers Bay, where out-of-towners pay $240 and $275, respectively, or three times what locals pay, non-resident rates at Bethpage Black cost just $150.
Find a different golf course. Bethpage doesn't allow golf carts on the Black course because real golfers walk.
Bethpage Black COurse From the middle tees, it's just short of 6,700 yards, nearly as long or longer than many full-length courses on the Island.
The rounds at Bethpage Black can be L O N G . . . sometimes stretching to 6 hours. If your start time is within 5 1/2 to 6 hours of sunset you could be pushing it.
Teaching pro Don't worry too much about tipping, unless you came back next week after shooting your career low round. Two teaching pros we talked to at prestigious clubs in Phoenix and Chicago say the tip isn't expected.
Standard tip is $2-$3 per bag, maybe $5 if you want to make sure they assist you after the round. Tips for the starter aren't necessary unless the starter is doing something special for you.
Pull Carts $7.00 and ID. ID returned when handle is returned.
There is no booking fee. Green fees for non-residents are $130 weekdays and $150 on weekends. New Yorkers play for $65 weekdays and $75 on weekends.
$575Pebble Beach green fees for a standard round are a whopping $550 per person and will increase to $575 on April 1, 2020. In addition to that initial price, it costs $45 per person to use a cart. If you choose to go the caddie route and walk, which is recommended, the caddie fee will run you another $95 per bag.
Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Course last June and the 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage Black on May 13-19. This is the first year the PGA Championship moves from August to May.
Non-residents may make reservations five days in advance starting at 7 p.m. for all courses. Reservations for the Black Course are limited to once per 28 days. For instance, if you make a reservation for a tee time for July 1 on the Black Course the next reservation tee time you can make a reservation for is July 29.
The first hour of tee times every morning are open on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you want to spend the night in the parking lot to snag one of these tee times, someone will knock on your car window about 4:30 a.m. to give you a ticket guaranteeing a spot. Just don't fall back asleep and miss your opportunity.
As for the golf, the sign at the first tee says it all: "Warning -- The Black Course is an extremely difficult course which we recommend only for highly skilled golfers.". The renovation by Rees Jones in advance of the first U.S. Open made everybody's prospects for scoring bleak.
A good golf book goes hand in hand with golf season. Total immersion in the sport you love. 18 holes in the morning followed by a few chapters on the porch in the afternoon or before bedtime. It can be relaxing to read about the course you just played or learn about the destination you're planning to visit.
You can also make same-day reservations through the online system. You can only reserve three hours out. For instance, if you look online at 8 a.m., you will only be able to reserve a time starting at 11 a.m.
Despite its lengthy tournament pedigree, Bethpage Black is the most affordable of the six public courses to host a U.S. Open. Bethpage hosted rowdy U.S. Opens in 2002 and 2009 with The Barclays following in 2012 and 2016.
And unlike Torrey Pines and Chambers Bay, where out-of-towners pay $240 and $275, respectively, or three times what locals pay, non-resident rates at Bethpage Black cost just $150.
The phone line opens at 7pm every night and once you get through, you tell an automated system what course you'd like to play, with how many people, and on what date and time. The system then offers the best available option, which you can either accept or reject. Pro tip: Add Bethpage's number (516-249-0707) to your speed-dial.
Whereas New York residents can book tee times up to seven days in advance, out-of-staters can reserve times up to 48 hours in advance.
For a NY resident, a tee time at the Green, Blue or Yellow costs only $38. Or, you can play nine holes or a twilight round for just $23. Weekend rates are $43/26.
Or, you can play a twilight round for just $39. Those prices rise on the weekend but not by all that much. Weekend rates for New Yorkers are $75 for 18 ($45 for twilight). Senior citizens and juniors can play during the week at a discounted rate of $42.
Some golfers swear that the Red Course is actually better than the more heralded Black Course. So even though greens fees on the Red are higher than Green/Blue/Yellow, it may represent the best value. Resident rates on Bethpage Red are $43/$26 during the week and $48/$29 on the weekend.
The 2019 PGA is the third major championship to be held at Bethpage Black. The first, the 2002 U.S. Open won by Tiger Woods, was affectionately known as the “People’s Open.”. And it got that name for a reason.
Unlike Augusta National Golf Club, the very private home of the Masters, or Pebble Beach Golf Links, the pricey resort course and site of June’s U.S. Open, Bethpage Black is a true public course. It’s part of Bethpage State Park, a public complex run by the State of New York.