Bethpage Black, located in Farmingdale, New York, is legendary for one thing: its unrelenting difficulty. Often referred to as one of the hardest public courses in the world, the course warns players with an ominous sign on the first tee: “The Black Course Is An Extremely Difficult Course Which We Recommend Only For Highly Skilled Golfers”. This track is a Major Championship venue, hosting two U.S. Opens and the upcoming 2025 Ryder Cup.
Our featured video, “The Major Cut @ Bethpage Black (Ryder Cup Venue)”, documents a group of skilled golfers who dared to attempt the seemingly impossible: posting a score low enough to make a hypothetical Major cut on this brutal course.
The Brutal Challenge of Bethpage Black
Bethpage Black is designed to test every facet of a player’s game, demanding precision, power, and high mental fortitude. The video likely highlights the unique struggles of playing this A.W. Tillinghast masterpiece:
- Extreme Length: The course measures around 7,400 yards and features brawny par-4s, forcing many amateurs to play them like par-5s.
- Penalizing Rough: The rough at Bethpage is notoriously thick, heavy, and cloying. If you miss the narrow fairways, finding the ball and making clean contact is extremely difficult, costing players multiple shots.
- Hilly Terrain: The course is severely hilly and walking-only, requiring significant stamina. Dead legs can betray a swing by the time players reach the brutal closing holes.
- Strategic & Penal: The course is strategic, with massive bunkers and sharp doglegs that force players to hit precise lines off the tee. Missing a critical bunker or hitting the wrong side of the fairway is highly penalizing.
The Quest to Make the Cut
The “Major Cut” challenge requires the players to execute with tour-level consistency. The video captures the drama of trying to keep the scorecard together under these intense conditions:
- Shot Selection: We see the tough decisions—whether to aggressively hit a driver over the carry on a dogleg, or to play safe to the widest part of the fairway.
- Scrambling: On a course where missing the fairway is common, the ability to successfully scramble for par is essential for survival.
- The Finishing Stretch: The Black’s final holes provide immense drama, starting with the long, uphill 15th and finishing with the par-4 18th perched beneath the clubhouse.
Lessons for the Amateur Golfer
While Bethpage Black is designed for the highly skilled, the video offers invaluable lessons for every golfer:
- Bring Plenty of Balls: Due to the thick rough, lost balls are common.
- Take Your Medicine: When in the thick, wet rough, the smart play is often to lay up to the fairway, rather than attempting a risky recovery shot.
- Hire a Caddie: The blind carries and required strategic lines are a mystery to first-time players. A caddie’s local knowledge is highly recommended to navigate the course.
Can the amateur team survive the notorious rough, the brawny par-4s, and the mental grind of a Major setup? Check on YouTube