interesting observations Kyle.
I have yet to play the Yellow course but my rankings would be.
1a: Red
1a: Black
2: Green.
Unranked: Blue
Red --> this course is starting to get the proper recognition relative to the Black...as evidenced by the fact that this year non-NY'ers now pay double the resident rate on the Red (they only used to do this on the Black). I absolutely LOVE the Red course...to me it's all about what a great course in any era should be. Pace of play varies pretty widely, but I try to get out by 8.30am at the latest.
The Red:
- goes out, and comes back...it's a loop.
- the next tee is close to the last green.
- you never cross a road.
- you never see a house.
- there's not an OB stake on the whole course.
- the Red is a LARGE golf course...if you don't find it hard enough, just keep moving back.
- the Red is very fair to the player, good shots rewarded, bad ones are not.
- the Red is in great condition day-in day-out.
Black --> so much has been written about the Black, I won't rehash it. Bethpage is my home facility and I play the Black and Red the most (followed by Green) and honestly if I had to choose one to play every day for the rest of my life it would probably be the Red over the Black (keeping in mind that both are FANTASTIC courses, and oddly I've played Black close to double Red this year). Having said that, I think I'll keep my 10.36am on the Black tomorrow! Pace of play is actually pretty consistent on the Black and I'll take anything before 12.00noon.
Black vs. the Red:
- Black is a loop too.
- twice you have to cross a road.
- you do see a few houses, cement plant, maintenance shop, etc...
- not much OB here either, only on right of 15 if I remember correctly.
- clearly the Black is a large course too, but plays a little tighter than the Red.
- a few shots on the Black pretty much border on unfair.
- the Black is also in great shape on a day-to-day basis.
Green --> I have really started to appreciate this course in the last year or so. It is completely different than the Red or Black but is really a lot of fun to play. Because I get to play them all regularly, at this point honestly I am ambivilent between playing the Red, Black and Green...but I can understand why others from out of the area would target the Black. Green shorter, a bit more up and down the hills, oddly enough my perception is that it's in slightly better shape day-in day-out than Red/Black (but it's negligible). Green more of a shotmaking exercise, whereas Red/Black require more ability to bomb it. Main problem with Green is pace of play...the second hole has a very steeply sloped green and by 8.30am there will be a several group back-up on #2 tee. If I can't get out before 7.15am on Green I won't play it.
Blue --> 9 and 18 are both terrible holes...this one turns at the clubhouse. 13 through 16 are pretty darn good holes, I like 'em a lot. The rest are a mix of decent to good holes. I've only played this one once in '06...it's worth a visit from time to time.
Yellow --> I hear short but nice. Some people, long-time Bethpager's speak very highly of it. I intend to get out there before the season ends.
ES
(for sake of perspective, my index is 8.1)