Hole-by-Hole Guide to Bethpage Black
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Hole-by-Hole Guide to Bethpage Black Reuters
Wednesday, June 6, 2002; 9:01 p.m. EDT
FARMINGDALE, N.Y., June 6 The Black Course at Bethpage State Park, which will stage its first U.S. Open this week, is the first truly public golf course to hold the second of the year's four major championships.
Originally designed by renowned architect Albert Warren Tillinghast, who has also created Baltusrol, Winged Foot and the San Francisco Golf Club, the Black Course is a par-70 layout which measures 7,214 yards.
It is the longest course in U.S. Open history.
Three of its 12 par-four holes the 12th, 10th and seventh are among the five longest par fours in the history of the tournament.
The 499-yard 12th is the longest par four to feature in a U.S. Open with the 492-yard 10th the second longest.
The Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, which staged the 1997 U.S. Open won by Ernie Els, was previously the longest course in U.S. Open history at 7,213 yards.
Here is a hole-by-hole look at the Bethpage State Park Black Course:
No. 1 (Par four, 430 yards)Two accurate shots are needed on this dogleg right to find a narrow fairway flanked by trees and then the smallest green on the course. A deep bunker guards the front right of the green. Difficult second shot to hold at this hole as the front third of the putting surface slopes sharply down towards the fairway. No. 2 (Par four, 389 yards)
Although the shortest par four on the course, this heavily contoured hole can be treacherous. Slightly downhill off the tee, the fairway curves left between tree-lined ridges before rising upwards to the green. No. 3 (Par three, 205 yards)
This testing hole, which has been lengthened by 40 yards for the U.S. Open, demands an accurate shot off the tee to find a shallow green angled from the right front to the back left. Deep bunkers protect the left side of the green. No. 4 (Par five, 517 yards)
The feature hole on the course, this par five plays downhill to a fairway that doglegs slightly to the left around a cluster of bunkers. A good "risk/reward" hole which forces the player to decide between laying up with the second shot or taking on a blind uphill approach to a shallow green that slopes away. No. 5 (Par four, 451 yards)
The tee shot here is required to clear 260 yards of huge cross-bunkers that hug the right side of the fairway. The best line for the approach into a relatively small and well-bunkered green is also from the right to avoid a tree-lined ridge which shuts out any shot hit from the left. No. 6 (Par four, 408 yards)
A lay-up shot off the tee could be the best play to find a narrow landing zone that is just 12 yards wide between large fairway bunkers. The hole then curves sharply left before dropping steeply down to a small green protected by bunkers on three sides. No. 7 (Par four, 489 yards)
One of the longest par-four holes in U.S. Open history, this dogleg right requires a conservative drive of around 250 yards as tall trees guarding the fairway's right side prevent players from cutting off the angle. The green, guarded by a vast bunker on the right, is best approached from the left. No. 8 (Par three, 210 yards)
A picturesque hole with an elevated tee, this par three demands pinpoint club selection. The green is guarded by a pond in front, large bunkers to the left and back and a tall oak tree and mound to the right. No. 9 (Par four, 418 yards)
An accurate drive to carry at least 250 yards is required on this dogleg left to reach the top of the fairway. A wayward tee shot could find tall trees and thick rough to the left or bounce into the hillside of an undulating fairway on the right, leaving a blind approach into one of the bigger greens on the course. No. 10 (Par four, 492 yards)
A links-style hole, this long par four is a dogleg left which requires an accurate drive off the tee to avoid a fairway bunker on the right.
No. 11 (Par four, 435 yards)
From the tee, the best line into a blind fairway is to the right, well away from the left hand bunker. An exacting second shot is then needed to hold one of the course's most difficult greens, which slopes severely from back to front.
This hole, the longest par four in U.S. Open history, is a sharp dogleg left that demands an accurate drive with a vast cross-bunker to clear some 235 yards from the tee. A difficult second follows into a huge tiered green which places a premium on accuracy and club selection. No. 13 (Par five, 554 yards)
The second and last of the two par fives on the course can be a monster hole as this dogleg right generally plays into the prevailing wind. The green slopes from back to front and a cavernous greenside bunker lies to the right. No. 14 (Par three, 161 yards)
One of the easiest holes on the course into a large undulating green. Bunkers protect the front and right of a putting surface that slopes from the back to the front and from right to left. No. 15 (Par four, 459 yards) Probably the most challenging hole on the course. The tee shot here needs to find a fairway that curves gently to the left to set up a long second shot up to an elevated green. The two-tiered putting surface slopes sharply from back left to front right. No. 16 (Par four, 479 yards)
From a raised tee, an accurate shot is required into a narrow fairway that bends from left to right. Deep bunkers protect the front of a green which slopes back from right to left. No. 17 (Par three, 207 yards)
A testing short hole with a huge, kidney-shaped green that is largely obscured from the tee. Five bunkers surround the putting surface which is bisected by a ridge. No. 18 (Par four, 411 yards)
This finishing hole has been toughened for the U.S. Open, the tee having been pushed back and the fairway pinched to just 16 yards with bunkers placed on both sides to catch the drive. A lay-up off the tee could be the wise option to set up a long approach into an elevated green which slopes gently from the back.
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