Bethpage State Park

Bethpage State Park – “The People’s Country Club” – is the crown jewel of public golf on Long Island and one of the most popular golf facilities in America. It’s home to the famed Black Course, a difficult and highly regarded A.W. Tillinghast classic, which in 2025 will host the Ryder Cup for the first time. The Black has also hosted two U.S. Opens and a PGA Championship. While many players associate Bethpage golf with the Black Course and its often-photographed “Warning” sign, the park offers four other impressive 18-hole layouts. The Red Course has earned many accolades on its own and is consistently ranked among the best public courses in New York and on the East Coast. It opens with a long, uphill par-4 that is widely considered one of the best starting holes on Long Island. The Blue and Yellow courses play side by side on the western end of the park and traverse a series of deep valleys and rolling hills. Bethpage veterans will tell you that a combination of Blue’s front nine and Red’s back nine would give the Black Course a run for the toughest 18 on site. Though certainly not an easy course, the Yellow is the most forgiving layout of the Bethpage quintet. The Green is a shotmaker’s course that demands very accurate approaches. It’s also Bethpage’s original golf facility. When the park was created in the early 1930s, the existing Lenox Hills Golf Club was absorbed into the park and became the Green Course. Amenities at Bethpage include an irons-only driving range and a large pro shop, plus a bar and restaurant. Part of the Bethpage experience is the overnight wait for tee times on the Black Course. Some consider it a rite of passage – if you can handle the Black after a night in your car, give it a shot! (But remember, the Black Course is walking only – no carts.) The Black, Red and Green courses are open seasonally. Blue and Yellow remain open year-round as weather permits.