Bethpage Black

About Bethpage Black

The Black is the hard one of Bethpage's five courses, and the sign by the first tee has said so since the 1960s: "The Black Course Is An Extremely Difficult Course Which We Recommend Only For Highly Skilled Golfers." It's par 71 and 7,468 yards from the back, and even the middle tees are just short of 6,700. It sits on wooded, hilly ground that used to be a private estate. State Parks lists carts on the other four courses but not the Black, so plan on walking. It's open mid-April to mid-November and closed Mondays except holidays.

It opened in 1936, the third of the new courses in Robert Moses's New Deal park, which he pitched as "the people's country club." State Parks credits A.W. Tillinghast. The credit is argued, though: his December 1933 contract paid him for 15 days at $50 a day and called him a consultant, and he later thanked park engineer Joe Burbeck for running the work day to day. Either way it was modeled on Pine Valley, and the cross bunkers show it, above all the big one across the uphill par-5 4th. In its 2007-08 rankings, Golf Digest put it fifth among America's greatest public courses.

By the 1990s it was overgrown. Rees Jones began restoring it in 1997 ahead of the 2002 U.S. Open, adding back tees and reworking every fairway and greenside bunker, and he has kept adjusting it for the 2009 Open, the 2019 PGA and the 2025 Ryder Cup. In 2002 it became the first publicly owned and operated course to host the U.S. Open. The greens ran close to 15 on the Stimpmeter by Sunday, and Tiger Woods, at 3 under, was the only player under par. That week also made the overnight waits in the parking lot famous. Lucas Glover won the rain-soaked 2009 Open, Brooks Koepka opened with a course-record 63 on his way to the 2019 PGA, and Europe won the 2025 Ryder Cup 15–13. The 2028 KPMG Women's PGA and the 2033 PGA are next.

It's one of 6 courses in Farmingdale on Yoink, and Bethpage Red is practically next door — handy when your first choice is booked solid.

Booking a tee time at Bethpage Black

Every tee time goes through the State Parks online system, the only way to reserve. Verified New York residents can book seven days out and everyone else five, with the sheet opening at 7 pm. You can book the Black only once every 28 days, and each player pays a $5 booking fee. Walk-ups still work: the first 6 to 12 tee times of the day, depending on the season, then one foursome an hour. Same-day times can be booked online up to 3 hours ahead. More than six cancellations in a month (a rule since May 1, 2025) gets your account locked for a while. The rate card dated February 2025 has 18 holes at $70 on weekdays and $80 on weekends for state residents, and double that, $140 and $160, for everyone else. Caddies are reserved through the pro shop at (516) 249-4040.

How to get a tee time at Bethpage Black