I think everyone will agree that after having written two books about the Black course and with a thrid one about the entire Bethpage complex planned, that I might not be considered either a neutral or a casual observor to this debate.
When that is combined with having played the Black itself nearly 300 times over the years ('67-present) my knowledge of the course is surpassed by very few. For some that statement may border on arrogance and for others it will eliminate what follows as being objective statements.
So instead of my words, what did the players from the 2002 Open have to say about the course? This thread began by the observations and judgements of someone who had played it once and felt his were valid. I believe then that these "first-hand" and first-time played observations are not only valid responses, but should be listened to carefully in the overall dynamics of this conversation.
As for the greens being "flat" and therefor "easy" -
Phil Mickelson - “And it’s - the greens are so true, they're the best rolling poa annua greens that I've ever seen. You can make a lot of putts if you read them right. But you have to be careful not to give too much speed; you have to get a good feel for the touch and speed of these.”
Davis Love III - “I think somehow, somebody wrote that they were easy and they were flat, and they are not… You know, there are some greens that are flat, but they are flat on top and they might roll off, like roll off the back or roll off the side or have a false front. But the 11th green is severely tilted; 12th green is severely tilted. There's just a lot of them. One green has a false front and then it's fairly flat, but even the flat ones, are punch-bowly, where you can put the pin up towards the side of the green and you are starting to come up the side of the slope and you chip up the short-side, it's going to roll past the hole. If you put the pin in the middle of the green, there's probably four or five greens that you can call flat, but if you put them on the edges, none of them are flat. You always see a few bombs, but they are going to be so fast that -- they are Augusta speed right now, so they are tough to putt already. I mean, the 15th green is the most severe green I've ever played in the United States. It's more severe than anything at Augusta.” Davis Love III
Jim Furyk - “When you have a golf course that’s 7,200 yards, and you have fast greens, you can’t have undulations in the greens, unless you want to see guys shoot 80. If the greens had undulations, it would be darn near unplayable. I think it will be an awfully good test.”
Bob Estes - “Whoever said these are flat greens is crazy. Maybe they're flat for New York, but they're sure not flat for Texas.”
Mark O'meara - “The greens are flat and generous in size, but that doesn't mean it makes it any easier."
Nick Faldo - “Well, they call them flat, but I haven't had a straight putt yet. They are very slippery, and they have got such a good surface on them. Plus, we haven't been here before to read them.”
Mike you wrote on another thread that, "I was alerted to the greens at Bethpage and so was observing them intently."
I believe your view of the greens was shaped as much by what you were told as how you played. Whart makes what you were told more valid than what others were told, say someone like Tiger Woods who before he played the course said, “… and from what I've been told, the greens are pretty severe. But I don't know what kind of pin locations they'll have.”
Actually the subtlety of the greens on the Black is to be found in their ability to be fair and frustrating at the same time. They are not dramatic, but that doesn't make them easy either. When you played, how many times did you one-putt from five feet, ten feet or more? More putts are missed on the Black's greens by less (on the edge, etc...) than any great course (IMHO). It is not the amount they are missed by that matters as much as the fact that they are missed. There are subtle facets to the greens that cause staright putts to "come off line" minutely. When you add to this that the greens can be taken to speeds that can not be surpassed anywhere (a number of them were measuring at 15+ during the Open) yet still be fair, is a tribute to their fantastic conditioning and design.
Ziggy Zyons (PGA tour caddy) - “People said the greens were flat, but they're pretty 'rolly' with a lot of undulation, they've got great texture."
Sergio Garcia - “I think these greens are probably the slopiest flat greens I’ve ever seen in my life… They were unbelievably fast, and they’re going to get even faster during the week.”
I believe that Hall Sutton summed up the greens on the Black best when he said, "There will be a lot of putts made this week - for par.”
As far as how difficult the Black is when compared to other courses, during the Open the comparisons were being made to one course, and one course alone, Carnoustie from the previous Open that had been recently held there. The consensus was a draw.
To a man, and I was in the media tents for the interviews to observe and record the answers, when asked about the difficulty, the answers were along the lines of:
Spike McRoy - “I’ve played it three times. It's the hardest golf course I’ve ever seen.”
Ryan Moore - “That is the hardest course I've ever played,”
Andy Barnes - "This is probably the biggest mental test in all of golf."
Rocco Mediate - “Whoever thought they would tear this course apart has to be nuts”
Billy Harmon - “I think it's a great course. I put it ahead of many that are accepted as Open courses.”
Phil Mickelson - “This is as hard a U.S. Open as I’ve ever played, and that’s given we played in perfect conditions.”
Tiger Woods - “Yeah, I think it’s more - it’s definitely mentally draining, because every golf shot, you’re tested. There’s not one shot you can step up and kind of relax and ho-hum it out there. You’ve got to hit a golf shot. And once you get to the greens, your work is not finished. There aren’t easy putts out there. It may be along the flat side, but the reads are so difficult, you can see a putt behind the hole, it looks right-to-left, go behind the ball and now it looks left-to-right. That’s kind of how the putts are. And you’ve got to somehow pick a line and be committed to it.”
Brad Faxon - “That was tough, it was probably as easy scoring conditions as you could have - wet, soft greens, no breeze, it was early. It was the easiest conditions, and I drove the fairway on 10, 11 and 12. And I played them in three over par.”
Steve Lowry - “I think it is very, very hard when you go out and I have one of my better rounds ever and I shoot 70. It’s a very, very difficult course."
Tiger (again) - “This golf course is more difficult than Pebble was playing. It's longer, for one. And the greens are just like Pebble; they're small, and I think these are a little more undulating, some more natural slopes in them. And it's playing so difficult out there that you hit one poor shot, and you're going to pay the price. And Pebble, the rough wasn't quite as thick. If you hit a bad tee shot in the rough, you had a good shot at getting it to the green. Here, you don't really have a good shot getting it to the green.”
Padraig Harrington - “Every shot you’re under pressure not to make a mistake on. Like 16 is a classic example. I hit a perfect drive down there, a good solid drive. I left myself 180 to the flag. It’s an elevated tee shot and a little bit of a breeze there, and you think you’ve got to get it on the fairway, but it’s only half the job done. I missed the green right. At no stage does the course let up.”
Johnny Miller - “This course is unbelievably tough!”
Bob Estes - “I’m ranked 13th or 14th best in the world, and I’m not good enough to play this course.”
In my mind, Stewart Cink summed up the best exactly what Bethpage Black is for everyone who plays it, be they great players or poor, “It’s a hard golf course, but it’s hard for everybody.”
Mike, I believe that you need to play it several more times.