As America emerged from the Great Depression in the early 1930s, the state of New York had three major objectives when it decided to build Bethpage State Park on Long Island.
First and foremost, the state wanted to preserve green space and provide a long-term recreation area for its residents. New York also wanted to create a public-works project that would provide jobs for hundreds during the construction phase, and reliable employment for hundreds more once Bethpage State Park was completed.
The state succeeded on all counts. It also created something that will endure forever – a mecca for golfers of all skill levels, and a mecca for major championships, the latest of which will be the 45th Ryder Cup on Sept. 23-28 at Bethpage State Park’s vaunted Black Course.
Bethpage State Park is more than a state, national and international golf outpost, although it has become renowned for its five exemplary golf courses – the Red, Blue, Green, Yellow and Black. The state park is 1,477 acres that houses five golf courses, hiking and biking trails, picnic areas, bridle paths, playing fields, tennis courts, cross-county skiing trails and even a polo field on the border of Nassau and Suffolk County on Long Island.
Tillinghast Designs Course
The park’s clubhouse and four of its five courses, including the legendary Black Course, were either built or improved with federal relief funds and labor. In the early 1930s, the Bethpage Park Authority was formed and purchased the Lenox Hills Country Club and adjacent properties.
The brunt of Bethpage State Park was acquired from an estate controlled by the heirs of Benjamin Yoakum, a Texas railroad magnate who died in l930. The Yoakum family had leased their estate to the Lenox Hills Corporation, which built Lenox Hills Country Club. But the club struggled amid the Great Depression, and the Bethpage Park Authority purchased the land after agreeing to pay back taxes and assume debt.
Famed golf course architect A.W. Tillinghast was hired to design and oversee construction of three new golf courses at Bethpage State Park —the Black, Red and Blue. He also modified the original Lenox Hills Course, which was later renamed the Green Course. The Red, Blue and Green courses opened in 1935, with the Black Course following in 1936. Due to the increasing popularity and demand for golf, the Yellow Course designed by Alfred Tull was opened in 1958. Today, more than 210,000 rounds are played annually on the five courses at Bethpage State Park, all of which start from the same clubhouse area.
“Bethpage State Park is a special place with a unique history that dates to the Great Depression,” noted New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Erik Kulleseid, when he joined Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight to accept the Ryder Cup “keys” in Rome, Italy, following the 2023 Ryder Cup to officially tee off preparations for the 2025 Ryder Cup in New York.
“We call Bethpage Black ‘the People’s Country Club’ because it is a great golf course with all of the amenities and challenges of a private club – but with public access at a public price. Bethpage Black is considered one of the top golf courses in the world and our Parks team has been working around the clock on preparations to showcase the People’s Country Club when the golf world’s spotlight shines on our state park.
“We have been building up to this day for many years and are looking forward to it. It isn’t often that a course that caters to public play has the opportunity to host major championships and a prestigious global event such as the Ryder Cup. I know the founding fathers of Bethpage State Park would be very proud.”
Burbeck Assists Tillinghast
A debate continues to simmer over who actually deserves design credit for Bethpage Black. Was it Tillinghast, whose masterpieces include the West Course at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York, Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, Sleepy Hollow Club, Quaker Ridge Golf Club, Piping Rock Club and many others? Or should credit go to Bethpage Park Superintendent Joseph Burbeck, who led the day-to-day construction of The Black?
The bunkering, slanting and sloping greens, and the subtle angles from tee to fairways are undeniably Tillinghast design characteristics prevalent at his other courses. But historic accounts suggest Burbeck was actually responsible for bringing the Tillinghast concept to life.
The Black Course at Bethpage State Park graduated from being a state treasure to becoming a national treasure by hosting the 2002 U.S. Open (won by Tiger Woods), the 2009 U.S. Open (won by Lucas Glover) and the 2019 PGA Championship (won by Brooks Koepka). It also gained national notoriety by conducting the 2012 (won by Nick Watney) and 2016 (Patrick Reed) Barclays Championship on the PGA TOUR. But, remember, it was built for everyone back in 1936 – not just to host major championships.
“The five courses at Bethpage State Park, and the Black Course in particular, have weathered a lot of history and have been transformed over the years,” observes Bethpage State Park Director Scott Matson. “There was a time 30 or 35 years ago when someone might have laughed if it was suggested that The Black, or any course at Bethpage, would host a major golf championship. Now, The Black Course is considered one of the finest public courses in North America and the other four courses are held in high esteem.”
Indeed, the story is told about former USGA Executive Director David Fay taking a walk around Bethpage Black in 1994 to assess course conditions and decide whether The Black was capable of hosting the 2002 U.S. Open. Over the decades, while maintenance and capital-improvement budgets shrank considerably, The Black had fallen into disrepair. Years of neglect had allowed grass to overtake bunker definition. Tees, fairways and greens had hardened, and the course very much looked like a rundown muni.
“The Black needed work, but the bones, the anatomy of the original Tillinghast creation (with the help of Burbeck) were still there,” wrote Fay in the USGA’s Golf Journal. “I could see there was a great golf course underneath the overgrowth. There was a masterpiece waiting to return to its grandeur.”
The Black is Restored
So, to its credit, the USGA funded a massive make over of Bethpage Black. Rees Jones was brought in to lead the restoration and The Black was transformed into a highly challenging, aesthetically pleasing major championship golf course with an instant reputation for tough rough where pars were golden. Tiger Woods, then the No. 1 player in the world, was the only contestant to finish under par (3-under) in the 2002 U.S. Open and even Tiger conceded “Maybe the hardest course I have ever played – but it is fair” after a closing round of 2-over 74 that gave him a three-shot victory over Phil Mickelson.
Five players finished under par in the 2009 U.S. Open during a rain-filled week at Bethpage Black, with eventual champion Lucas Glover winning by two despite a closing-round 3-over 73 in a rare Monday major finish (because of lengthy weather delays).
Glover’s appraisal of Bethpage Black? “It was a bear from start to finish,” he explained. “The weather and rain didn’t help, but it was the same for everyone – tough as nails on every shot. No letup holes.”
Koepka had a similar summation after surviving a roller-coaster final round (plus-4) to secure a two-shot victory over Xander Schauffele in the 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage Black, where only six players finished under par.
“Glad we don’t play this course every week; you make even the smallest mistake, you pay,” said Koepka. “It wears you out. It’s long, it’s tricky and it challenges your concentration. I’m glad I don’t have any more holes to play.”
Since Bethpage Black is a public golf course, Long Islanders, New Yorkers and hundreds of visitors can relate to the comments made by Woods, Glover and Koepka. They know how tough The Black plays day in and day out, but that’s Bethpage Black’s DNA. It’s New York tough, born as a survivor of the Great Depression. —Roger Graves
