PLAY IT AS IT LIES

BETHPAGE STATE PARK:
5 STARS

By Jeff

“I think I’m ready to play Bethpage Black. I’ve been playing Tiger Woods on Playstation”. Famous last words uttered by a friend of mine before heading East to Farmingdale, NY and the site of the 2002 US Open won by Tiger himself. Bethpage will be host of the 2009 US Open after an impressive initial showing 6 years ago. If you watched on TV or were at the course, you experienced all that a New York venue can do to you. The home crowd serenaded Phil Mickelson for his birthday as well as laughed at Sergio Garcia (golf’s bad boy) for crying about the Black Courses’ unfair difficulty level.

In many ways, The Black Course is as unforgiving as the state in which it resides. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t do this but I have to warn you. This is not an easy course by any means. As a matter of fact, there is a sign right on the wrought iron fence of the 1st tee to tell you just that. There are golf demons on this course. Bethpage Black is as rigorous a golf test as it is a mental and physical torture. If your golf skills aren’t up to par, the ranger patrolling the course will kindly ask you to leave. You will be given a rain check or ….an opportunity to play one of the other 4 easier courses on the premises.

That being said: Test 1, acquiring a tee time. Most of the prime slots are given to those dedicated golf warriors who choose to spend the night in their car in an orderly line. When the starter arrives, you will exit the holding parking lot in the same order in which you entered. The purpose is to get a “baker’s ticket” . This is a numbered ticket that tells where you were in the line. When you get into the clubhouse, you’ll line up for the available slots on a first come (or slept) first served basis. Test 2, once you get a coveted tee time, you will have a color coded band attached to your arm showing you’re about to be a victim/guest on the Black course. Test 3, the driving range. I know you are all asking, why this is a test? Well, because other players tend to gather behind a banded player to gauge the state of their game. Some even say they’re taking bets as to how long you will last before getting asked to exit the course. Once you arrive at the 1st tee, you get the experience of any tour pro on TV. You actually get to hit your 1st shot in front of a gallery of waiting or curious players and people who packed a lunch just to see if you have control of your nerves. Isn’t this fun already?

Test 4, the course. Designer A.W. Tillinghast is an absolute master at creating visual challenges. He leaves no stone unturned. This particular design is a vehicle for bringing out your accuracy game. You do not want to miss the fairway anywhere on this course. It is penal. Even the primary cut of rough adjacent to the fairway is thick enough to swallow your ball into oblivion. Let’s see - almost 90 degree turning holes to 50 foot high elevated greens, diagonally crossed sand bunkers that make the hole appear to be shorter than it actually is, fairways squeezed harder than Florida orange juice, and tall as well as swirling ground fescue grass ready to make you cry with a missed shot. But, above all, AW makes you walk this epic course. There are no carts allowed. The only one you’ll see is that of the aforementioned ranger. So, you have a choice, either carry your bag, rent a pull cart or, at a nominal fee, hire a caddy for the day.

If you look at the picture above, that is the fairway of the 18th hole with it’s green in the foreground. Call it “three tiers of pain”. Good luck. If you need anything, the pro shop is one of the very best in the U.S.. Enjoy the U.S. Open experience, and as always, play it as it lies. Oh, by the way, my friend quit after the sixth hole from the psychological pain and embarrassment of a mediocre skill set. But at least he wasn’t asked to leave - he quit first

Photo courtesy of Bethpage State Park (web address below)

Recommendation: 5 Stars
Current Price: Week $60 Weekend $120
Par 71 Slope 140 Rating 73.1 Yardage 6673
Address: 99 Quaker Meeting House Rd
Farmingdale, NY 11735-1847
Website: http://nysparks.state.ny.us/golf/info.asp?golfID=12