Bethpage Black

Bethpage Black is the rarest combination in American major-championship golf: a true public-access state-park course that has hosted two U.S. Opens, a PGA Championship, and a Ryder Cup. A.W. Tillinghast designed the Black Course in 1936 as part of a five-course Bethpage State Park complex, working with WPA labor on terrain that drops through 250 feet of vertical between holes. The course was the most demanding routing Tillinghast ever produced — the famous warning sign at the first tee, "The Black Course is an extremely difficult course which we recommend only for highly skilled golfers," dates to Tillinghast's era — and the routing's reputation has held through every major-championship update since.

The Black plays around 7,500 yards par 71 from the championship markers, with a slope in the low 150s. The fourth hole is a 517-yard par-5 with a tee shot through a chute of trees to a fairway that climbs sharply; the fifteenth is a 484-yard par-4 with a green set up the hill behind a deep cross-bunker complex. Tiger Woods won the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black at -3, the only player under par for the week, in conditions that the USGA had set up to test major-grade ball-striking under public-course constraints. Lucas Glover won the 2009 U.S. Open; Brooks Koepka won the 2019 PGA Championship; the 2025 Ryder Cup was scheduled for the course.

Bethpage Black is public-access daily-fee, but the demand is so high that the New York State Parks system runs a tee-time reservation system that limits public bookings to in-state residents and structures pricing around peak/off-peak windows. Walking is required on weekends and recommended throughout. The other four Bethpage courses (Red, Yellow, Blue, Green) play less demanding routings and are also public-access.

Long Island coastal climate keeps Bethpage Black playable from late March through November, with the firmest conditions in September and October. The fescue and rough get penal through July and August. The course is one of the few that consistently draws elite amateur and tour players for casual practice rounds — the public access combined with the championship-grade routing is uncommon in American golf.