What are you looking forward to the most about Bethpage?

[Jay Flemma]

What are you the most excited to see?

I love the stretch of 4-5-6.  I'm looking forward to parking myself out there and going back and forth to watch a lot of action there, especially late thurs and all day friday.

I'm also looking forward to those GPS devices that will tell me where the leaders are at all times and where I can find player X at any given time!

[Phil McDade]

Carnage.....

[Matt_Ward]

Jay:

I'm hoping for better weather then what happened in '02 because I want to see the course play firmer and faster and see how the 2009 version of the world's best can hold up against such a layout.

The Black needs to show what it can offer -- beyond the Frankenstein imagery it imparted on so many people through the hands of an out-of-control USGA course set-up the last time.

[JC Jones]

I'll be looking forward to hearing about how people spend the night in their cars to play it in the morning....

[Richard Choi]

I am actually looking forward to Golf Digest Challenge.

Last year at Torrey Pines, JT broke 100 and Matt Lauer barely went over it. Personally, I think the celebs will get a bloodbath this year.

And I agree with Matt AGAIN!!! I would love to see good weather so that I can see how the course fares against the best pros when the conditions are firm and fast.

[Michael Ryan]

GCA wise, I'm looking forward to players playing #'s 4 and 5, my two favorites at BB.

Event wise, I'm looking forward to the "buzz" that I experienced at BB in '02.  LIke nothing I have ever seen in any golf event (having attending double digit majors as a fan).  I was at Torrey for the 3rd and 4th rounds and the Playoff and the events and characters involved made it an amazing few days of golf...I'll still put the buzz of 2002 against it.  

GCA / Event hybrid category...seeing how the championship unfolds with some of the changes in both the course and strategy of setting Bethpage up for the US Open since 2002.  Graduated rough, different angle on #7, possibly sliding the 8th tee up and putting the pin front left...where players will worry about spinning it into the hazard should they challenge the pin.  

Hope everyone enjoys....

Mike

[Anthony Gray]

  Somebody other than Tiger winning. Is golf too saturated with Tiger?

   Anthony

[derrickp]

I'll be there on Friday....

Big hitters taking it over the right trees on #1
Tee shots and approach shots on #5
Some nicely shaped long irons off #2 tee
#6 strategy
#8
#15 around the green
People watching

[Shane Wright]

#15 - might be the toughest par 4 I've ever played.

When Tiger hits shots like he did on #18 at Muirfield Village, watching him win is never old

[K. Krahenbuhl]

  Somebody other than Tiger winning. Is golf too saturated with Tiger?

   Anthony

The opposite.

[cary lichtenstein]

I love watching Tiger, just love it, so that's what I'm looking forward to the most.

[Michael Ryan]

"is golf too saturated with Tiger?"

Looks like ratings for the 2009 Memorial are up 100% over last year...so I would say that people are just slightly interested in consuming anything Tiger-related....

[Phil_the_Author]

Walking the hills alone with my memories among all who are there...

Listening to people tell others who are there for the first time about the course and park...

Introducing a friend in the media who has never been there to the 3rd green and then watching him turn and see the 4th hole through the trees on Wednesday...

Laughing at Ron...

Listening to the players once again talk about how flat the greens... AREN'T!

Seeing the professionalism of Dave Catalano and Craig Currier as they express the pride they feel in "their course"...

Yes, Michael, I too am looking forward to the day the up tee will be there with the hole located as close to the front as possible... This WILL happen...

Meeting up with as many GCA-ers as will be there. PLEASE IM me and let me know what days you'll be there!

I am looking forward to seeing how the new back tee on 13 brings the corner fairway bunker back into play and the risk/reward question between there, the cross bunker after it and the opportunity of going for it in two will define different players...

I am greatly looking forward to the new hole locations on the expanded 14th green and what i think will be an absolutely wonderful up-right tee with a hole cut into the new front-left tongue...

[Steve Kupfer]

The emotional roar from New Yorkers supporting Mickelson all week, given the unfortunate circumstances. Seeing him contend on Sunday would be a special.

[mike_malone]

  I got my USGA profile yesterday. Why all the 500 yard par fours. Isn't that an admission that the holes are weak?


     I notice that much discussion revolves around the wonderful streatch of 4-5-6 and then 15. The rest of the course rarely gets discussed. I wonder why?

[Jay Flemma]

well 8-9 promises to be fun too.  10-11-12 will be interesting after all the ballyhoo from 2002...

[Matt_Ward]

Mike:

Good question ...

Truly, BB doesn't really get started in earnest until you reach the 4th tee. The first three holes are mere bystanders to the main frame.

The 7th should have been played as a split between being a par-4 (as it will be ) and as a par-5 (which it is all the other times save for the US Open).

Mike, the downhill par-3 8th is Tillie's rendition of the 14th at PV -- you'll hear more about it this year because of the split tees and front pins that will be placed when it plays at the 130-140 yardages.

The starting trio on the back side is first rate -- but gets little mention save for when Tom Meeks kept tee boxes in the wrong places when sensible actions would have fared much better given the severe adverse weather conditions during the early rounds in '02.

The stretch of holes from #15 thru #17 is also quite special.

The lame closer does put a downer on a layout that calls for something more spectacular in my mind.

Mike, if BB had a world class short par-4 it would be even higher on the meter for fan attention. BB is the Nolan Ryan version of golf course design -- that's why you get such an overload on the long par-4 front. I have always been a huge fan of the places but the dogged pursuit for more and more distance has prevented the other elements of BB to emerge ... ditto if they widened the course so that more aggressive play can be tempted.

[PCCraig]

I can't wait for Jimmy Robert's video essay on how "supportive" the New York fans are to the players.

If I were Sergio I wouldn't bother to show up as everyone will be ganging up on him once again. I wonder if the New York crowd will react to Jim Furyk's putting routine the same way as they did to Sergio's regripping. Of course not.

[Tommy Williamsen]

I may be one of the few who, but I am not looking forward to Bethpage as a venue. I have never been enamored with ball busting par fours. I just hope for a close competition.

[Jerry Kluger]

What I would like to see for once is some explanation of the architectural features of each hole.  I haven't played the course so I would like an explanation of what the golfer needs to do in order to avoid disaster.  This would not be hard to do and would add so much to the viewing enjoyment of everyone.

[Charlie Goerges]

What I would like to see for once is some explanation of the architectural features of each hole.  I haven't played the course so I would like an explanation of what the golfer needs to do in order to avoid disaster.  This would not be hard to do and would add so much to the viewing enjoyment of everyone.

Paging Phil Young!

[mike_malone]

 Jerry,

   Mike(?) Davis, the USGA setup guy has a nice set of descriptions about some changes made since 2002 that may improve strategy. I doubt many will fly the bunkers on 18 as he guesses ,but wonder whether they will take advantage of fairway beyond the left fairway bunker on 6. Since that seems to give one a chance to get significantly closer to the green that could be interesting.

  Matt,

     I agree that  interesting shorter holes would aid in the variety aspect of BB.

[Phil_the_Author]

Here I is Charlie!

Could you do me a favor and start a thread with your aerials of the Black? A lightning strike last week took out my computer and i am rebuilding all of my databases from numerous backups.

I'll give a description of each as they appear and try to keep up with questions...

[Jay Flemma]

Phil, can we do it on this thread?

[Phil_the_Author]

Jay,

Absolutely... wherever Charlie would like to post the aerials...

Dave,

I also believe #2 to be a vastly underrated hole. I am one of the few who would recommend to anyone playing it that they hit driver long and left! The right side is so inviting and yet so limiting...

This is a prime example of a hole where Tilly's belief that a hole is best understood by looking at it from behind the green and back down the fairway. Standing on the tee you think that it is simply a gently rising fairway with a quick hill at the end. From behind you are stunned to see just how much you have climbed uphill! It is the misread of that that causes so many to hit into the front right bunkers. For most it is nearly impossible to hit it over the green...