From the White tees at Red:71.2/126 at 6555y
Here is a review:
At Bethpage, Black isn't the only game in town
By PAUL SUWAN
(Original publication: May 25, 2003)
It might come as a surprise to learn that when Bethpage State Park director of golf Joe Rehor and his assistants have a chance to go out and play a round, they always choose Bethpage's Red course.
After all, Bethpage is home to the famed Black, the course people sleep in their cars to play, the site of last year's U.S. Open, the layout ranked among the best in the world.
"First of all, I can't walk the Black," Rehor said. "The golf course is just too difficult for me, and for any guy who doesn't play golf for a living. It's too hard for the touring pros — they proved that last year."
What Bethpage Red offers is some of the Black's flavor without all of its bite. The two courses are both A.W. Tillinghast designs, opened around the same time, and require both power and finesse to be successful.
With its current length of 6,868 yards from the back tees, the Red is a little more manageable for most players — for now anyway. Impending construction of new tees on four or five holes is expected to extend the course to more than 7,100 yards.
At least carts are allowed on the Red, which isn't the case on the Black. And the rates are still as low as they come: $24 during the week and $29 on weekends, with a $3 reservation fee.
Of course when you talk about the Red, one of the subjects that always comes up is its demanding par-4 opening hole. Upon first glance, it's fairly straight and doesn't seem all that difficult. But with its 471-yard span and relatively small, elevated green, just making par is a tough chore.
Although the Black course gets most of the attention, the Red is good in its own right.
And it doesn't get any easier on the dogleg-heavy back nine, which features six par-4s all measuring at least 400 yards.
"One's a monster right out of the box," Rehor said. "Everybody has this idea about the Black course and how difficult it is and they say, 'OK, well, if it's that difficult, then the Red and the Blue can't be as difficult.' Well, guess what? When you go out there, you find out. For nine holes you shoot 40 or 41 and you think you should be even par.
"The Black gets all the notoriety. But again, I'm going to tell you that in a lot of ways — although it's not as difficult as the Black and I'll never say that (it is) — there are holes out there (on the Red course) that are every bit as good as the holes on the Black course."
That's one of the main reasons the Red hosts a number of important events every year.
This year alone, the schedule includes the Long Island Open, qualifying for the Champions Tour's Long Island Classic, the WMGA/MGA women's public links championship and the McLaughlin Invitational hosted by St. John's University.
"We travel all over the country and, by far, these are the best greens that any of our players play the whole year," St. John's coach Frank Darby said. "They're not too undulating, and you can make some stuff. But they can also get penal."
Ultimately, it's that blend of playability and challenge that draws players to the Red. It might not be the Black, but if you have neither the time nor energy to wait on the car line, it's probably about as close as you can get.
"It's really a good golf course," Rehor said of the Red. "It's got everything you need. You've got to drive the ball well, the par-3s are very, very good and the par-5s — although the young kids today can probably reach the par-5s (in two) because they hit it so far — for the average guy, they're three-shot holes. You finish playing a round of golf there and you say, 'This is hell of a golf course.' "