Chocolate Drops: Thoughts on Bethpage Black as a Ryder Cup Venue

Hello, FEGC. It has been a slow week in golf architecture news, so let’s do what every other golf media outlet does when running low on ideas: talk about the Ryder Cup!

→ In all seriousness, I’m eager to share some thoughts on the venue of the 2025 Ryder Cup, the Black Course at Bethpage State Park, which I walked for the first time last week.

1. Big takeaways. I’ll admit that I wasn’t terribly excited to see the course. Having watched past events at Bethpage on TV, I had formed an impression that the Black was an unsmiling brute with too-narrow fairways, too-thick rough, and pretty bland green designs.

{{inline-article}}

I found last week that this impression was basically correct but incomplete. Yes, Bethpage Black would benefit from wider fairways, lower-cut rough, and more varied green contouring. As it stands, though, it is a beautifully routed course on an outstanding piece of land. These two factors—land and routing—may not come through strongly on a tournament telecast, but they account for much of the Black’s greatness, in my view.

Land: Bethpage Black’s property sits in the Goldilock’s zone for golf—dramatic but not overly so. Its ridges and valleys are large enough to make each hole memorable and challenging, but not so large that the course must dodge them or struggle to maintain walkability.

{{chocolate-drops-bethpage-black-land-gallery}}

Routing: A masterclass. Every hole on the Black Course uses the terrain in a unique and compelling way, and the green-to-tee transitions are tight and intuitive. 

{{chocolate-drops-bethpage-black-routing-gallery}}

But my favorite aspect of the Black’s routing is its narrative structure. It travels out and back, plunging deep into the rugged property and wandering through the woods before returning to the natural amphitheater where Nos. 1 and 15-18 sit. This type of routing fits with the course’s identity as a test. When golfers play the Black, they venture into the wilderness, like Young Goodman Brown, to have their skill and courage examined. They come back in an altered state—perhaps stronger, or at least wiser and more self-aware.

2. What’s new? The Black has not undergone any major renovation work since it hosted the 2019 PGA Championship, but director of agronomy Andrew Wilson informed us that he and his crew have made a couple of tweaks. They took down a diseased oak tree that once loomed over the front-right corner of the eighth green, and they moved a pair of fairway bunkers on the 13th hole about 30 yards downrange in order to account for distance gains. Also, Wilson and his team reconnected a few fairways with surrounding bunkers, notably on the sixth, seventh, 10th, and 11th holes. The widening will be especially obvious on Nos. 10 and 11.

{{chocolate-drops-bethpage-black-fairway-widening}}

And, as you’ve probably heard, the Black has a new first tee, built to accommodate a larger grandstand. We’ll have content on this catnippy subject closer to the tournament.

3. The Black Course as a Ryder Cup venue. Out-and-back, wandering routings can be problematic for tournaments, spreading out the action and attenuating the energy of the crowd. The Black, however, features enough “gathering points”—that is, concentrations of tees and greens in particular spots—to work as a spectator venue. If you attend the Ryder Cup, I would recommend spending some time near the ninth and 11th greens, where you’ll be able to see a lot of shots on Nos. 9-12 simultaneously.

{{inline-course}}

Now, is the Black a great match-play course? That’s a tricky question. I’m still formulating my own take on it, potentially for an episode of Designing Golf. In the meantime, let’s talk about it in the comment section: what makes a good venue for match play?

→ Last month, the European Tour announced that the 2031 Ryder Cup would be held at the Camiral golf resort in Spain. Co-architect David Williams penned an article on the (somewhat dull-sounding) course for Golf Course Architecture.