How much of this hole players will actually see or remember is open to question. Ryder Cup nerves tend to trigger blurry sensations on the 1st tee. That area has been shortened slightly through necessity; namely the installation of a huge grandstand. There is a dog leg to the right from an elevated tee. Any drive leaking right will have an approach blocked out by trees. Those who cut the corner with drivers will have only a flick for their approach, towards a green that is well protected by bunkers. The putting surface is Bethpage Blackâ€s smallest, with a steep slope punishing any shot left short.
Another hole that starts from a raised position and another that turns, albeit this time to the left. This is also, like the 1st, a Bethpage rarity in terms of being a short par-four. The key here is hitting the fairway, meaning players are unlikely to hit drivers from the tee. There is a large bunker to the right of the green and a smaller one short and left. The raised green, which is 74ft from front to back, falls off sharply on the left side.
The first short hole and a tough one. This is typically rated among the most difficult par-threes in golf. Bunkers – and deep ones – protect a green that is visually tricky because of how narrow it looks from the tee. The perception at the opening shot is that the green sits side on. Any tee shot hit long will be punished by a steep slope behind the putting surface. Threes represent a good score here, regardless of the Ryder Cup format.
One of the more picturesque holes is relatively short for a par-five and can be reached in two if players are accurate from the tee. The ideal drive is carried over bunkers that guard the left of the hole and into a fairway that tilts to the left before a second set of sand traps on the opposite side. Bunkers are prominent around a raised green, which players may not be able to see when hitting their second. The incline is around 40ft. Unlike the 3rd, players will be looking to better par at this hole, which typically rates as the easiest on the course.
The green on the 4th hole at Bethpage Black has a trio of bunkers in play for any loose iron shots. Photograph: David Davies/PA
Tee shots that miss the fairway to the left cause significant problems. The right is protected by sand, albeit the longer hitters will be able to fly that trouble and would have a decent line in from that area. The green is quite tight – and another that is elevated – with a trio of bunkers on hand to collect any loose iron shots. Players claim this putting surface is more undulating and complex than most at this venue. It is a hole that defines Bethpage Black; a long, arduous par-four.
A real element of risk and reward. Bunkers on either side of the fairway may lead players to force a driver beyond the sand and to the bottom of a sharp hill. From there, it is a short approach to a pretty flat green. Those deciding to lay back with the tee shot could face close to 200 yards with their second, into a green that has sand all around it. Decision-making and level of accuracy from the tee determine what will play out here.
This plays as a par five for mere mortals. For the Ryder Cup, it is a seriously strong par four and one of the longest in the world. A drive is placed ideally short of the bunker that sits to the left of the fairway just as the hole turns right. From there, it can still be an approach shot of 200 yards towards a putting surface that has bunkers short left and right. The green is at least long, at close to 90ft, which gives those long iron second shots more chance of clinging on.
This plays much shorter than the yardage suggests, due to the elevated tee. A mis-hit or short tee shot will bring huge trouble, with a pond at the front of the green. A front pin position teases players into dicing with that hazard. Multiple flag locations are possible on a putting surface that stretches close to 140ft in length.
The 8th hole brings huge trouble, with a pond at the front of the green to punish any mis-hit or short tee shots. Photograph: Gary Kellner/PGA of America/Getty Images
The front nine ends with another par-four with a dog leg, this time to the left. Players are prevented from trying to hug the left side of what is a sloping fairway too tightly by a large bunker. The fairway, however, is wide and generally among the easiest to hit. This is one of umpteen pretty straightforward greens. Key in the minds of players is avoiding the penal bunkers that will grab anything missing short left or right of that putting surface.
Bunkers stretch for much of both sides of this fairway. Where there is no sand, there is fescue rough, albeit not as thick and problematic as has been witnessed for individual events here. Hitting the fairway therefore becomes the key to happiness on this hole. It is one that caused great controversy at the 2002 US Open after a wind switch left players with 260 yards into a strong breeze just to reach the short grass. The green falls away sharply to catch any approach flying long and left.
Players have to trust their swing and point of aim from a tee where they will not see the part of the fairway to go for. The best line is to the right, but anything pushed too far that way – or tugged left – will find sand. The green is widely reckoned to be the toughest on the course; it includes a false front that will embarrass anyone who overhits a putt or chip from the back of the putting surface. The 10th, 11th and 12th are three arduous par-fours in succession and offer a key stretch.
The green at the 11th hole is widely reckoned to be the toughest on the course, and includes a false front. Photograph: Gary Kellner/PGA of America/Getty Images
A hole that provides a daunting tee shot. Bunkers guarding the left side must be carried to the tune of 270 yards to set up a straightforward approach to this hole, which turns sharply left. Any drive hit too firmly over that sand will run out of fairway. From that left bunker, it will take an excellent shot to reach and hold what is an undulating green. At the 2019 US PGA Championship, this was the second-highest scoring hole to par at Bethpage.
After such a testing stretch, this is a relatively simple hole that offers light relief. Rory McIlroy and co will be disappointed if the green is not found in two. Key from the tee is avoiding bunkers to the left and trees on the opposite side. With second shots, sand is also the element to avoid, this time 30 yards short of the green and immediately to the front right, the latter being among the deepest on the course. The green slopes from back to front.
The tee shot is pretty straightforward, over some foliage and a bunker that will pull in anything played short and right. Do not be deceived by this as the shortest hole on the course. The tricky part arrives on a green that slopes not only from back to front but also left to right. At points, the putting surface is 115ft deep and 120ft wide. Three-putt territory and plenty of it.
Back to that familiar feeling of an elevated green, to the tune of 50ft, protected by bunkers so deep you feel you could get lost in them. The green is also two-tiered. Consensus is that reaching or staying on that putting surface is wellnigh impossible if the fairway is not found from the tee. The hole bends slightly to the left. Unusually for Bethpage Black, there are no bunkers in play for the opening shot. It routinely plays as the hardest hole.
By this point, matches are being decided. There is a 50ft drop from the tee on to a fairway that sits slightly from right to left. Players will be able to see the green when standing over that drive. Like the 15th, sand is not an issue from the tee. At the green, though, sand is a very real danger with bunkers left and, particularly, right delivering high penalties. Not too tricky a test, but two straight shots are needed under increasing pressure.
A hole that looks wonderful from the tee. Like the 1st, the full length for individual events cannot be replicated here because of a the erection of a grandstand. The green is more than 40 yards wide, but nowhere near as deep, leaving players with the perception they have little margin for error. Five bunkers are waiting to catch iron shots that go awry, with the only potential “good miss†long and left. The green sits slightly uphill from the tee. Its right side is significantly below the left.
The only potential ‘good miss†is long and left on the bunker-filled 17th hole at Bethpage Black. Photograph: Michael Reaves/PGA of America/Getty Images
How many matches will make it to this point? Those that do will encounter opportunity. On a course that offers little respite, the 18th is a pretty soft challenge. It is also a hole that has seen umpteen variations over the years. The tee shot is played downhill, with players who choose to use their driver having very little left with their second shots. Bunkers will catch a short tee shot to the right or one pulled and longer to the left. The hardest part of this hole is a deceptively sloping green. Hitting approaches to the front section, therefore leaving uphill putts, will be the popular option.
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