So now that there's another BPB thread where everyone can spit bile at each other, perhaps this thread could get back to discussing the actual architectural details of Bethpage current vs past.
The irony of defending Bethpage circa 2019 is that the current set-up actually lessens the impact of the unique characteristics that make the course extraordinary. Any greens crew with a lawn mower can narrow fairways and grow rough. That doesn't make Bethpage more exceptional, it makes it more ordinary.
If the bunkers are so big and bold, why bury them in the rough? If the land movement is so monumental, why force so many players to approach it with sideways pitch-outs? If the length and carries are so intimidating, why not let more players attempt to conquer them? Why put so much value in something as arbitrary and mercurial as mowing lines?
There are spots all over Bethpage, most of them already mentioned, where bringing back width would bring back a lot of bad angles, uneven lies, and questionable decisions. It would not make the course play much easier for anyone who isn't already near-scratch, nor is "easier" anyone's goal in this thread — finding a more interesting kind of difficult, is.
If the purpose of Bethpage is only to emulate a modern pro event and extract the highest possible score from all who play it, well, it's off to a great start. If those are the priorities, though, then obviously the quality of architecture and design are not, and that's the discussion here: what would the course look like if they were?