BETHPAGE BLACK COURSE

Location: Farmingdale, Nassau County, New York, 35 miles East of Manhattan

Bethpage State Park's Black Course is truly deserved of its infamous reputation; the venue for the United States Open Championship for 2002 and 2009 is a brutal examination of golf, but it also offers remarkable championship golf at an incredible price.

Bethpage Black is an excellent example of the remarkable municipal golf courses to be found in the United States, where the only obstacle to playing may the be extremely lengthy queues of similarly enthusiastic golfing aficionados. Bells and whistles you will not find at Bethpage, but the Black Course could not be more impressive.

Since 1936, Bethpage has been a staple in the diet of golfing New Yorkers, but only really grabbed international acclaim when the golfing elite gathered for the 2002 U.S. Open. On that occasion, the Black Course bared its teeth, the result being that just one player broke par.

The main characteristics at Bethpage are narrow fairways, mercilessly thick rough, and wicked greens that are superbly protected by strategic bunkering, giving an insight into the brilliance of designer A.W. Tillinghast. Add these facets to the course's extreme length, and the result is an astonishing and relentless test of golf.

On the first tee, visiting golfers are greeted by a sign that says, ‘Bethpage Black is an extremely difficult course, only suitable for highly skilled golfers'. The question is, are you brave enough to tackle the mighty Black Course?