4 Key Things We Learned Playing Bethpage Black
- Updated: May 11, 2019
@GOLF_com
Bethpage Black is back in the PGA Tour lineup for 2019, and we couldn’t be more pumped. Having previously lived in New York, we were extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to play this track a number of times and believe us when we tell you that there are not many more perfectly designed golf courses out there. It’s 7,400 yards of golf sublimity that will put your mind and body to the test.
Having had much experience on this track, we thought we could offer some advice. Here are some of the main takeaways from our experience at The Black Course. Take them or leave them – but if you leave them we hope you’re not playing in the group in front of us.
Ball striking is key
It seems pretty obvious. Fairways and greens, right? But seriously, fairways and greens. You’ll learn after just a few holes that there really is nowhere to miss it on any shot. There are no bailouts on tee shots and the only place around the green that you want to be is on the green.
One yard off the fairway and you could be pitching back into play from a buried lie in the rough or a deep bunker. Miss a green just barely and your next shot could be a full swing with an open blade to get the ball to go 5 feet and run out.
Some of the greenside bunkers are cavernous. Catch a plugged lie in one of those and you could be in there for a while. The best play on most holes is to err on the side of the pin with more green. Miss way on that side if you have to.
One thing about The Black Course is that the greens are relatively flat and easy to read. Just focus on getting your ball onto them in as few shots as possible and you’ll be in pretty good shape.
Shot shaping helps too
How are you at working it from left to right? Right to left? If you’re an amateur, chances are you’re just trying to put the ball in the fairway off the tee. Maybe you like to aim left and play your consistent banana slice or you just play the straight ball.
But at Bethpage Black, you better bring all the shot shapes to the tee because just about every hole is particularly receptive to something specific, and very few are straight away. You’ll find this out right away as straight balls on 1 and 2 will put you in the second cut at best.
You’ll need your baby fades and your hard draws, and you’ll want to hoist some tee balls a little higher than others in order to hold smaller landing areas.
And it’s not just your drives. The par three 8th has a mammoth tree in the front right of the green that makes hitting it with a draw virtually impossible.
Your approach into number 5 needs to be swinging from right to left and you better be able to hit a high draw on 17. Every shot needs to be approached strategically and methodically in order to succeed at this course. If not then you’ll be wearing out your grooves in the rough.
Taking a cart is overrated
If you’re anything like 95% of the people at any public course, you probably tend to ride rather than walk. It’s a great way to try to get around quicker and most online tee times these days include it in the price.
Well, when you show up to The Black Course, you better leave the giant staff bag and your EZ Go key at home because you’re going on foot from here. It may seem like an inconvenience to some of you die-hard riders, but isn’t this truly the way the game was meant to be played?
Walking offers a completely different perspective throughout your round. Instead of zipping from the tee to the fairway just to wait 5 minutes for the group in front to get off the green, you get to enjoy a walk for a couple of minutes. You can and should use this time to take it all in.
Take in all the sights, the sounds, and the smells. Feel the terrain under your feet and the breeze against your skin. What direction is the wind coming from? Is it doing the same thing when you get to your ball 2 minutes later? Embrace the walk. It’s a beautiful thing, especially at The Black Course.
Professional golfers are athletes
If you’re a real golf fan, you already know this. But if there was ever a doubt in your mind, it will be erased after playing one round at Bethpage Black.
The elevation changes make the more than 4-mile walk feel like a marathon and if you find yourself in the rough, you’re going to be expending a lot more energy than you’re probably used to in order to advance your ball.
The sight lines from tee to green can be exhausting just to look at, and the mental fatigue will trickle down to the rest of your body as you progress through the round.
After your round, pop in the clubhouse to unwind and try to imagine doing the same thing for the next three days. While you most certainly want to get out there again, you probably will need more than a day to recover and be ready to go. Guess that’s why they call them professional athletes.
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