Bethpage Black is considered one of the hardest golf courses in North America, and was home to the 2025 Ryder Cup.
Bethpage Black is a public golf course located in Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, New York.
With close proximity to New York City, Bethpage is a mecca for public golf, and includes five 18-hole courses. The Black course consistently ranks as one of the most difficult public courses in the world.
The course was originally designed by A.W. Tillinghast and Joseph H. Burbeck in 1936 with the intention on creating a very challenging course for some of the worlds best golfers. Bethpage Black was renovated in 2015 by Rees Jones.
Bethpage hosted the Ryder Cup for the first time in 2025, and has hosted three majors and two PGA Tour events since 2002.
Brooks Koepka (2019) and Ryan Siegler (2022) own the course record at 63 strokes.
The course will played as a par 70, and covered 7,352 yards for the Ryder Cup which will took place Sept. 26-28, 2025.
Hole-by-Hole Highlights
Hole 1: 397 yards, Par 4
The opening hole plays from an elevated tee to a fairway that swings left to right, with trees lining the right-hand side.
The approach is to the smallest green on the course that slopes down in the front.
Hole 2: 389 yards, Par 4
Another elevated tee shot greets players at the second. The hole bends gently to the left.
The green is raised and slopes to the left, with deep bunkers lurking on the right.
Hole 3: 210 yards, Par 3
The first par 3 requires a mid or long iron into a shallow target that tilts from front right to back left.
Large bunkers guard the left side, and balls that run long often find themselves in the sand.
Hole 4: 517 yards, Par 5
This par 5 dog-legs right but bunkers cut across the fairway and complicate decisions.
The approach to the green is blind and uphill. Although it is possible to find it in two, staying on the putting surface is a difficult task.
Hole 5: 478 yards, Par 4
This hole also contains multiple cross-cutting bunkers on the fairway, so drivers can me a risky play unless the player can clear them.
The green on five is another small and elevated one.
Hole 6: 408 yards, Par 4
This hole plays straight but features a narrow landing area contained by bunkers on both sides.
Hole 7: 524 yards, Par 4
Length alone does not tame this long par 4. The fairway curves slightly from left to right and trees block off a straight shot to the green.
The green is then watched by a large bunker on the right.
Hole 8: 210 yards, Par 3
This tee is elevated, plays across a pond, and requires precision.
A ridge runs through the middle of the green, while a dune on the right and bunkers on the left punish anything offline.
Hole 9: 460 yards, Par 4
The ninth moves from right to left with a bunker sitting in an ideal landing zone.
Playing short of the bunker leaves limited view of the green which is flat, but contains bunkers on both sides.
Hole 10: 502 yards, Par 4
Multiple bunkers line both sides of the straight fairway on the 10th, and deep hollows await golfers who's shots veer left.
The approach plays uphill into an elevated green.
Hole 11: 435 yards, Par 4
A blind tee shot demands trust here. The safe play is to favor the right side, as the left is defended by deep traps.
The green features a false front and is further protected by bunkers across the entrance.
Hole 12: 496 yards, Par 4
The 12th is known for an intimidating tee shot. players can try and cut the cut the dog-leg by flying the bunkers, but the safer line leaves a much longer second shot.
The green is large on this hole.
Hole 13: 608 yards, Par 5
The longest hole on the course begins with a straightforward drive, but the approach gets complicated quickly.
Cross bunkers sit short of the green, and a deep trap guards the right side, making the gamble to go for it in two a risky one.
Hole 14: 161 yards, Par 3
The shortest hole at Bethpage Black still demands care. The wide putting surface is shallow from front to back. Anything long risks a difficult recovery shot.
Hole 15: 477 yards, Par 4
15 bends from right to left and climbs steeply uphill, with the green sitting nearly 50 feet above the fairway.
Not reaching the fairway off the tee makes for a an extremely difficult second shot, while bunkers around the green make for a complicated shot even from the fairway.
Hole 16: 539 yards, Par 4
One of the few holes where the green can be seen from the tee, the 16th plays with a narrowing fairway and that angles right to left.
Bunkers are not present until the approach, but flank the front and right of the green.
Hole 17: 179 yards, Par 3
The last par 3 requires a precise short iron. The green is slightly raised and guarded by two bunkers in the front.
The putting surface is wide but requires control to not bounce off.
Hole 18: 411 yards, Par 4
The closing hole offers birdie chances if managed correctly. The tee shot is downhill to a generous fairway, though bunkers sit on either side.
The approach sees an elevated green that slopes from back to front.
