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Was one of the greatest golf courses in the United States taken over by … robots?

On Friday morning, the New York State Inspector General’s office released a months-long report on the state of the tee time system at Bethpage State Park, looking into allegations of software bots and tee time resellers that have plagued the municipal golf haven (and recent Ryder Cup host) for years. The investigation, which began after a separate investigation into the tee time system by the golf writer Kevin Van Valkenburg, aimed to understand why booking irregularities had become an accepted piece of the state park’s online reservation system among golfers at each of the park’s five golf courses. Specifically, the investigation tried to answer if tee time “bots” — or software programs targeted to scoop up times faster than any human user — were to blame for the irregularities, as Van Valkenburg’s No Laying Uppodcast first alleged.

Nine months after Van Valkenburg’s first report, the IG’s office report found bots posed a “serious threat” to the integrity of the Bethpage Tee Time system, though the Inspector General was unable to find any concrete evidence of bot usage.

The IG’s office produced a host of unusual data in the report, including a tranche of tee time data for the period between April and August 2024. According to the report, more than half of all the tee times booked on Bethpage’s five golf courses (57,587 of 105,000, or 55 percent), and nearly sixty percentof those booked on the fabled Black Course (9,462 of 16,365, or 57 percent), resulted in cancellations during those five months. Even if that datapoint made it impossible to ascertain the cause, the unusually high number suggested irregularities with some portion of the tee time system.

The report did not find evidence of tee time “resellers,” or those booking times illegally and reselling at a higher price, but the unusually high number of cancellations indicated there were loopholes that could be exploited — and perhaps werebeing exploited — by bad actors.

“This data could suggest that some users are exploiting a loophole to evade Bethpage’s prohibition on the transfer of tee times,” The report reads. “For example, if a golfer reserves a tee time that they want to transfer to another golfer despite this prohibition, the first golfer could cancel their reservation at an off-hour (for example, at 3:00 a.m.) so the second golfer can attempt to claim it when the reservation is re-released into the system.”

Ultimately, the IG’s office ruled that tee time bots were a “serious threat to the integrity of the booking systems,” and recommended a series of changes aimed at ensuring fair access for all who book tee times at Bethpage by disincentivizing (or outright removing) software programs from the system. One specific option, an identification verification system called ID.me which is frequently used by other branches of New York State government, would help authenticate every tee time booked through the system before it was finalized.

Those changes might sound familiar to golfers based in New York: They were many of the same changes implementedby the New York State Parks Department over the last several months. Earlier this year, the department instituted stricter rules regarding cancellations and the upfront payment of a “booking fee” in an effort to disincentivize bad actors. The department then doubled down on that approach in the days after the Ryder Cup, announcing the creation of a two-factor authentication system that would ensure all tee time reservations were executed by human beings.

Drama around the Bethpage Parks tee time system has increased in 2025 as Bethpage Black has welcomed the attention of the golf world in a historically busy playing season surrounding the Ryder Cup. As the “People’s Country Club” prepared for its moment in the limelight, the wait time for parking lot tee times on the fabled Black Course stretched in some instances to two days.

In the end, the Inspector General’s office said it was the spirit of these golfers that necessitated serious actions to defend against bots.

“If left unaddressed, such bot usage risks eroding public trust, limiting equitable access to tee times, and creating the perception that the system favors those who can exploit technology rather than those who follow normal booking procedures,” The report said. “For these reasons, adopting safeguards against bot activity is essential to preserving both the integrity of the system and fair access for all players.”

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By: Ed Weaver  /  May 25, 2022

One of Wellsboro’s all-time greats on the volleyball court has officially found a new college home for at least the next 3 years.

Caitlyn Callahan, a 3-time PIAA High School All-State Player of the year, as well as 3-time Offensive Player of the Year, recently signed her National Letter of Intent to play NCAA Division I Volleyball at the University of North Carolina – Wilmington. Callahan signed a full scholarship to play at UNCW after a breakout freshman season at NCAA Division 2 Millersville University, that resulted in numerous awards for the powerful middle hitter and blocker.

Coming out of high school, Callahan was heavily recruited, with both Pitt and Towson leading the waywith the larger NCAA Division 1 schools, but she chose instead to sign with Millersville and a coach shewas familiar with. Millersville Head coach Brian Smith had worked with Caitlyn since her 9 th grade yearwhen Callahan earned a selection to represent Pennsylvania on the High-Performance Team in Ft.Lauderdale, FL. There, Callahan and her team played against teams from several other states around thecountry, all with high quality players, many of whom also went on to play collegiate volleyball at various levels.

Callahan then went on to finish her high school career with 896 kills, 3 Offensive Player of the YearAwards, 3 Pennsylvania All-State Player of the Year Awards, and other various honors.

In her first year at Millersville, covid-19 halted all play, but as a redshirt-freshman, Callahan picked upwhere she left off. Using her first year to train and become bigger, faster, and stronger, Callahandominated the court both offensively and defensively. She led the PSAC in solo blocks (52) and was 2 nd inthe PSAC in total blocks (129). Caitlyn was also second in the PSAC in overall scoring with 428.5 totalpoints. When it came to team stats, Callahan was second on the team in kills (314) and third in servingaces with 24. She was named PSAC East Player of the Week in October and earned the PSAC East Rookieof the Year Award. Callahan went on to be named to the All-PSAC eastern Division First-Team and theD2CCA All-Atlantic region Second Team. This honor recognized the top 20 players out of over 800 in theentire Atlantic Region.

At the end of her first full collegiate season, Callahan continued to train, but decided that she wanted totest the waters and enter the collegiate transfer portal to shoot for the highest level of competition.“Playing D1 Volleyball was a huge goal of mine coming out of high school,†Callahan said. “I had someopportunities in my junior and senior years, but I decided to sign with Millersville, and it ended up beingthe right move.†After being in the portal for only a short time, communications and offers startedcoming in almost immediately for the college standout. Two Division 1 colleges stood out among theothers: The Gardner-Webb Bulldogs and The University of North Carolina – Wilmington Seahawks, bothDivision 1 schools in North Carolina. “I loved both the coaches and the campuses at each school, so thatmade the decision even harder,†Callahan notes. “However, when it came right down to it, UNCW is in alarger conference with a very competitive schedule. Their academics and athletics are top notch. Itâ€salso right on the beach which is really nice!â€

Callahanâ€s busy schedule will begin in May with daily off-season workouts. In July, her team will behosting camps and clinics to the public for both indoor and beach volleyball, along with preparation forthe upcoming season. Preseason training will then go into full swing in August, with the season ending inNovember or early December. All games are livestreamed on the Seahawk Digital Network or on theCAA website.

The Seahawks (NCAA Division 1) play in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), along with teams fromWilliam & Mary, Towson, the University of Charleston, Delaware, Elon, Hofstra, and Northeastern.Recently, their non-conference schedule has included Coastal Carolina, Wake Forest, Clemson, Duke, NCState, Old Dominion, East Carolina and other national powers. This year, they will play Florida State andUCF (University of Central Florida). “The travel will be a lot different,†Callahan says. “We will be flying alot more since our conference is large and spread out up and down the east coast. At Millersville, ourfarthest opponents were 3 or so hours away, so we traveled in coach busses a lot.â€

Callahan is proud to be representing Wellsboro and the NTL down in North Carolina. Looking back,Callahan believes she made the right move by going to Millersville first then on to UNCW. “Iâ€m gratefulfor the opportunities my coaches gave me at Millersville. I was able to play, be successful, and see that Ihave a huge competitive drive that will help me at the NCAA D1 level!â€

Everyone here at Wellsboro Athletics would like to congratulate and wish Caitlyn the best of luck on her upcoming season.

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