Bethpage Black and Back

[4jag]

Well we did it.

After years of talking about it we finally drove down on Sunday and played Bethpage Black yesterday.

It is by far the longest and toughest golf course I've ever played and we played it in the most punishing heat and humidity. It was 94* when we teed off at 8:30 and was 100* (or 38* c) when we finished 5.5 hrs later. For those who don't know the Black is walking only, we carried our clubs 7400 yards, up and down major elevation changes. We literally had to lay on the ground in the shade for several minutes after walking up the fairway to the 15th green.

Was it worth it? Absolutely The course is majestic, the whole place is a golf mecca. I would do it again in a heart beat.

We had pre-booked a 3:50pm tee time on the Red course for Sunday and a 3:15pm tee time on the Black for yesterday. As it turns out neither of those times would have allowed us to play the full 18. These courses are long and slow with 6 hrs rounds being typical. The extreme heat was a mixed blessing as we were able to get earlier tee times both days due to cancellations.

We left Ottawa just after 5am on Sunday and arrived at Bethpage just after 12 noon, we were able to grab 1:40pm time on the Red (highly recommend course also). Yesterday, we showed up at the course at 7:30am and we had a choice of 8:12 or 8:30 on the Black for our foursome.

When I play again I will definitely hire a local caddie, it'll make your round more enjoyable and save you several strokes. They act as forecadies to help find balls and can give valuable advice about how to play the holes. We played without a yardage book and there are no pictures of the holes at the tee boxes so we had to wing-it with our tee shots and guess about landing areas and carry distances.

BTW, when we left Bethpage around 7:30pm on Sunday there was only 1 car in the line for Black course walk-up tee times on Monday. The course is normally closed on Mondays so that may have been part of the reason.

[jsttaylor]

What is the cost to play the black, and the red for that matter? And how much for a caddie?

[4jag]

What is the cost to play the black, and the red for that matter? And how much for a caddie?

As out-of-staters we paid $101 for the Red and $135 for the Black.
Caddies I believe are $50 per bag (they carry two) plus tip.

[4jag]

Here is a picture of us with the famous warning sign at the first tee ...

[Anth13]

May I ask what your handicap is/what you shot on Black and Red?

[Marcos]

My son and I have been talking about going there but I thought you had to sleep in your car and wait to be picked for your tee-time.I assume they take reservation tee-times?

[jvincent]

You can get into the booking system by faxing in a form. This allows you to call in advance, I can't remember what the restrictions are for out of state, and the tee times over the phone go quickly.

If you are a twosome you will have a better chance.

[4jag]

May I ask what your handicap is/what you shot on Black and Red?

I'm am a 7.5 index, I drove the ball exceptionally well and made no 3 putts and I shot 77 on the Red (par 70 6500 yards) and 79 on the Black (par 71 6700 yards).

Actually could have been better, I finished with a triple bogey on Red 18 and double bogey on Black 18 (from 90 yards out )

For comparison the others (handicaps ranging 3 - 12) shot 85, 90, 94 on Black.

The key is off the tee, put your ball in the rough or fescue and it is the equivalent of a 1 stroke penalty.

[jvincent]

Dude, 79 on the Black is fierce, even from the 6700 yard tees.

As you point out, hit it out of the fairway and you are toast there.

[4jag]

My son and I have been talking about going there but I thought you had to sleep in your car and wait to be picked for your tee-time.I assume they take reservation tee-times?

You have 3 options to get a time:

1) Get in the system (google for the registration process) and try your luck on the phone. As non-NY residents we can only call 2 days in advance but you may get lucky with a cancellation.

2) Get in the car line, get there the day before and park your car in one of the numbered walk-up spots. You must stay with your car overnight.

3) Just show up and grab an open time, anyone not showing up an hour before tee off loses their time. There were lots of open times on the Black both Sun and Mon when we were there. As JV says a twosome has an even better chance.

Good luck.

[Arrt]

Is 6700 yards the second longest tees?

[4jag]

Is 6700 yards the second longest tees?

Yes, the US Open tee boxes were closed for the most part, there was another set of tee markers that were usually on the same box that we played that would have added 200-300 yrds putting it around 7000, but believe me it is enough of a test from the regulation tees.

[Arrt]

Yes, the US Open tee boxes were closed for the most part, there was another set of tee markers that were usually on the same box that we played that would have added 200-300 yrds putting it around 7000, but believe me it is enough of a test from the regulation tees.

I don't doubt that.

[Brianson]

Sorry to bring up old memories, but I'm heading down to Bethpage TONIGHT!!!!

Just wondering if anyone had any suggestions for courses other than the Bethpages???

Wish me luck

Brian

[4jag]

Not sure of others in the area but Saratoga National in Saratoga Springs NY looks awesome. We thought about stopping there on the way down but decided to play the Red course instead.

[dasnutz]

Try Harbor Links or Montauk Downs