[mike_malone]

At least 6 by my count --1,3,6,7,9,10

[Ronald Montesano]

None of those holes is bland. If you have played it, you don't begin this thread. If you haven't played it, you can't understand how television flattens things. I've played it 2 times and walked it twice as a scorer in tournaments, and generate more respect with each pass around the course.

[mike_malone]

I have played it. The holes on the flat land don't rise to the level of great courses.

[mike_malone]

18 is not bland; it's just lousy.

[Ronald Montesano]

It may be the third-best finishing hole on the property. Red #18 is better and I believe Blue #18 is as well. Green #18 is fun but would be eaten up by the pro, and Yellow #18, I cannot recall.

[mike_malone]

I mean bland to play. Of course if you put all that fescue out there and so many superfluous bunkers it doesn't look bland.

[mike_malone]

What some of these holes like 10 lack in strategy they make up for in long rough and length.

[Rob Marshall]

Mike,
6 is bland? You need to split two bunkers and the hole doglegs and probably drops 40 feet down to the green. I don't think it's a great hole but it's not bland IMO. 1,7, 10 I can see. If I remember correctly 9 is a dog leg with a nice cross bunker. I thought it was a pretty good hole.


Ron,
I loved the red, a lot of fun to play but didn't think it's 18th was better than the Blacks. Really enjoyed the course thou. Much more fun than the Black.

[mike_malone]

There are 8 acres of bunkers says Dottie. Just what you do when the land is bland.

[mike_malone]

I was wrong about six.

[mike_malone]

15 is great.

[Jeff Loh]

9 is not a bland hole. Try hitting a second shot with no view of the green.
18 Red is far superior to 18 Black.

[MCirba]

Not bland land.

6 and 9 are very good interesting holes Mike.  One is a nice launching point.

[Joe Bausch]

If forced to answer, I'd say 1 and 7 are not so exciting.

[Carl Rogers]

Only from viewing in the tube from the pro game perspective a , BPB seems to be a real slog with too few birdies and limited recovery possibilities.  If the tour got rid of the rough, restoring the playing width, the scores would be lower but make for a lot more interesting golf.
I am surprised by the fact that the greens do not seem to have a lot of slope but nevertheless few putts are made.

[Mark Fedeli]

I am surprised by the fact that the greens do not seem to have a lot of slope but nevertheless few putts are made.

"I think these greens are probably the slopiest, flattest greens I've ever seen in my life." --Sergio Garcia, 2002

[James Brown]

Only from viewing in the tube from the pro game perspective a , BPB seems to be a real slog with too few birdies and limited recovery possibilities.  If the tour got rid of the rough, restoring the playing width, the scores would be lower but make for a lot more interesting golf.
I am surprised by the fact that the greens do not seem to have a lot of slope but nevertheless few putts are made.

I think 18 and 1 are the weakest holes at Black.  In between, hold on for one of the best tests in golf.  Bethpage Black is all about hard, that's it.  The view of #4 from the 3rd green is worth the hassle of getting on. 

[Philip Caccamise]

I'll grant 1 as bland.
The rest, I take great offense to-
3 is A+ par 3, a green offset at 30* requiring a high draw to hold, with death beyond.
6 is an ok tee shot followed by a great approach dropping 40-50 feet.
7 is a test of how aggressive you want to be off the tee, with a great chance to chalk up a birdie or even eagle, before the course really turns up the heat.
9 is about as far from bland as can be. The landing area is scary and the 2nd shot is blind for the average player.
10? Very much disagree. For the regular player, the 2nd shot is outstanding.

I think you're confusing what the pros can do to cut the corners and have short irons into 480 yard par 4's with bland.

[Ronald Montesano]

People underestimate #1...It's as gentle a handshake as AWT could give the course. I don't recall if #1 fairway on the Green Course is OB during regular play, but if it is not, then you the public golfer have a really wide fairway, split by trees and rough. The approach to the green is one of the few that accepts a running shot (as do #4 and #16 from certain angles, as well as a few others.) #2 is so much more difficult in person, the first of a fair number of elevated approach shots. You learn on #2 that you simply have to hit the fairway to have a chance at reaching the green. It's not that the rough is always so bad, but missing the short grass often creates an angle that you don't wish to have.


BPB and those long par 4 holes! #5, #9, #10, #11, #12, #15, #16. You have six holes that are par 4.5 holes, regardless of your teeing ground. They either have an upslope, a hazard to carry, or a combination of both. No other course that I've played has an effective par of 78 for someone carrying the ball 240 off the tee. However, you can play to that par and shoot a score to be proud of. It's hard to hit 3-metal on those holes, knowing that you will lay up with your second and have wedge from the fairway for your 3rd. If you can come off that third of the course no worse than +5, you can shoot a score below 85. Most golfers would walk away with that number, given the slope and rating.

The closing hole is a overly bunkered in the landing zone. When professionals have to lay back to 170 yards, their fear of those sand wastes is palatable and justified. More than the sand, though, is the thick grass that surrounds them. Although it's only 380 or so yards, you walk down a massive hill, then up another one. It is a microcosm of what you've endured over the previous 17. As many have indicated, the greens on this course are as devlish as the tee balls and approach shots are brawny. You won't putt off greens, but you will be challenged from 10 feet in, and from outside of 30 feet to get the ball to hole proximity.

BPB is a course that I would play as often as possible. It is heroic, it has recent history, and will only have more with upcoming PGA and Ryder Cup championships.

[Tim Martin]

At least 6 by my count --1,3,6,7,9,10

I love the 6th hole and the stretch of 4,5,6.

[Eric LeFante]

18 is not a bad finishing hole. The hole does not force players to lay-up with an iron. They can hit a driver or 3 wood if they want a sand wedge in. The fairway is 24 yards wide in the area the players would hit 3 wood or driver. Maybe you could argue the fairway should be 5 yards wider there to entice them to hit driver and 3 wood more often. For the guys hitting an iron off the tee they will have a more difficult approach and tougher shot at birdie. Visually it's beautiful and there is a lot of strategy involved with playing the hole. It's not a gimme par as Patrick Reed and Rickie Fowler proved. Rickie desperately needed a birdie and hit a very poor tee shot and got penalized. Shouldn't you be penalized for missing the fairway with an iron on a shortish par 4?


Given the land that is there, how could 18 be made a better hole? I know 18 Red is better, but assume you cannot use 18 Red.

[Cob Carlson]

#8 is not bland. It is a five star par three...

[Greg Gilson]

Several bland greens but I really cannot think of any holes as bland - unless we have a different definition.

[mike_malone]

My definition of " bland" is what word would annoy enough people to post something 

[Pat Burke]

I was fortunate to be out at Bethpage the week before the Barclays.  I grew up in Mew Jersey, but never played there before I moved to California, so was very intersted in seeing the course.  I was doing some work for the guy who does the yardage and greens books in most tournaments.  We had an empty Black course for three days while we were doing the work.


I was surprised.  The contrasts of the fescues and playing areas was amazing. 
There was a lot of nice movement out there.
The greens were actually pretty simple and flat.  I guess I expected more movement in them.


I was surprised at number 1.  Wouldn't call it bland I guess.  I like the gentle handshake theory, but the hole just seemed out of place.  A small property hole on a huge property IMO.
18 was definitely meh.  Wouldn't say its a terrible hole, but it is a bit of a let down after beating you take all day. Like #1 next to it, it's a small course hole on a big course. 
Being out there for all those days, I can see how architect junkies can find a lot of things to point out, but as an old tournament player,Black looked like a hell of a test for a tour player

[Tags:]

Tags:

[Tags:]

Tags:

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()