Bethpage Black: Detailed Hole-by-Hole Guide for the 2025 Ryder Cup

Forget about the low-cost greens and Tiger Woods’ victory at the 2022 US Open. The first thing any amateur golfer in Farmingdale, New York, will tell you about Bethpage Black is to pay attention to the warning sign. This says: “WARNING: Bethpage Black is an extremely difficult course that we recommend only for highly qualified golfers.” This warning is a harbinger for any player on one of the most unique courses in the United States, especially for the stars of the European Team and the United States Team competing in the 45th Ryder Cup 2025 this weekend. This course is unlike many others. For starters, it’s a municipal course owned by the public, one of five in Bethpage State Park, which means it wasn’t designed to be super playable, as everyday members wouldn’t want to play a course like that every week.

The golf course architect, Rees Jones, who has redesigned Bethpage on multiple occasions over the last two decades, explains that the enjoyment of the course lies in its design. “There’s a lot of thinking that players have to do, especially from the tee,” Jones comments.

“That’s not the case with some of these championship courses, where they’ve taken out the trees and widened the fairways to 50 yards. Very often, the courses are penalizing. This is a penalizing golf course, but there’s also a lot of strategy.”

Rees Jones

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How each team approaches Bethpage Black will greatly influence who wins the 45th Ryder Cup. Here’s the analysis of each hole, according to Rees Jones’ advice:

Hole 1 – ‘The format will change things’

Par 4, 397 yards

Professional tip: “We have moved the tee for this year’s event from the normal tee; the existing tee will be used for the stands. It’s normally a pronounced dog leg, but now less so. They will probably have the option of going over the trees and trying to get close to the green or playing a hybrid or iron from the tee and playing the dog leg around the trees. It’s one of the few holes where the trees really come into play dramatically. Most of the trees on the course frame the holes, but they don’t really come into play much. However, not on number 1. It’s not a difficult hole. The format will change things. It’s a very narrow entrance to the green, so they’ll probably play conservatively. In foursomes, I think they’ll be careful. In four-ball, I think a player will go for it.

Hole 2 – ‘They will probably play waiting’

Par 4, 389 yards Professional tip: “The second hole is another birdie opportunity, so you really get off to a good start early on the golf course. It’s a short par four, a straight hole with an elevated green. They’ll probably play waiting with a hybrid or a fairway wood because they may want to hit a full ball towards the green, and they won’t see the bottom of the flag on this hole because the green is elevated. That’s the only problem they might have. They don’t want to hit into the right rough because that’s a side lie on the rough and they wouldn’t be able to really spin the ball the way they want, but if the pin is in the front, it won’t be that difficult. They just won’t be able to visualize the shot.”

Hole 3 – ‘Used to be shorter’

Par 3, 210 yards Professional tip: “The third was shorter before the 2002 US Open when we moved the tee back substantially. They will probably have one of the few days when they will have the pin on the back left. The organizers may have that on a day when they want the birdies. Remember, it’s the Ryder Cup. It’s not like the PGA or the US Open. They’re going to set it up a little more gently. They want to see birdies and they want some excitement. So Keegan Bradley will have the fairway rough at about two and a half inches, he’ll have the green-side rough at over three. He wants the ball to stay close to the surface if they miss. I think he believes that favors the skills of his players. That’s usually the motto.”

Hole 4 – ‘Difficult for amateurs, easier for professionals’

Par 5, 517 yards

Professional tip: “This is a famous golf hole. It’s a short par five, which will play as a par four during the Ryder Cup. It’s the most difficult or the second most difficult hole for the daily player at Bethpage and it’s the second easiest hole for the professionals when they play events on it. The daily player struggles with that second shot because they have to carry the glacial bunker very deep and then the fairway rises after that. But for these guys, they’re going to go forward with probably a mid-iron off the tee, they can hit 300 yards and they’ll be right before the glacial bunker. The green slopes from front to back, so if they hit it at the back of the green without any spin and the ball can go to a chip area. It could even go lower. So they have to be careful not to take too much club, but it will be a definite birdie hole. So three of the first four holes are birdie holes.”

Hole 5 – ‘Where Bethpage begins to show its teeth’

Par 4, 478 yards Professional tip: “The fifth is where Bethpage starts to show its teeth. It’s modeled on the 16th hole at Pine Valley because of the line of trees on the left that really blocks your shot to the green. You have to carry a large area of sand that we extended on the right side because you have to favor the right side. If you hit it to the left, you’ll be blocked, so you have to flirt with that sandy area. These guys, because they hit it so far, they’re not going to worry about that, but then it’s an elevated green, a lot of undulations on the green, a lot of little nuances and it’s heavily bunkered, so this is a good par.”

Hole 6 – ‘All about the drive’

Par 4, 408 yards Professional tip: “The sixth is a hole that’s really all about the drive because it’s a short par four that drops substantially from 280 yards onwards. They have to flirt with the bunkers if they can’t fly them, but it’s to one side where they hit a short shot and keep it on top of the crest. They can decide to go through the slot, leaving a small flip shot to the green. But if they keep it on top, they will have a 170 to 180 yard shot, and then the green is completely surrounded by bunkers. “It benefits the golfer if it goes through the slots, but it’s a difficult choice from the tee.”

Hole 7 – ‘The hole players complain about’

Par 4, 524 yards Professional tip: “We converted it from a par five to a par four for the 2002 US Open, they’ve played it that way ever since. [Former USGA director] David Fay and I were going around the course and we were discussing whether we converted it from a five to a four. I said the players are really going to complain about that because the trees come in from the right because it’s a pronounced dog leg. He said that’s really good because if they complain about this hole, they won’t complain about the whole course. The drive is important because the trees come into play and the dog leg is quite substantial now as a par four, so they’ll probably want to flirt with the trees and have a shorter shot. As a par five, they would have played it more to the left. It’s a well-contoured green, but it has an open entrance.

Hole 8 – ‘The only hole with water’

Par 3, 210 yards Professional tip: “It’s the only hole that has water. It’s a downhill par three shot. For the location of the back pin, they will have to drop the ball at the pin. If they try to fly it and go over it, they will definitely have a lot of trouble recovering.

For the front pin location, if they don’t turn it too much, they could put a small stop on the green, but they have to be careful. If they turn it too much, they could turn it into the water. So this hole is going to play very differently every day. When Keegan wants birdies, they’ll probably put the pin in the middle”.

Hole 9 – ‘Beware of the massive bunker’

Par 4, 460 yards Professional tip: “It’s another dog leg that plays very efficiently as a dog leg because we added a really massive bunker at the turn, and they have to flirt with that bunker to stay on top of the platform and not roll to the right. Players will have to hit it a long way and hit it over that fairway bunker just to have the easiest shot to a well-protected, low-profile green. It’s a low-profile green that won’t be protected by slopes, but it has a lot of bunkers, like most greens.”

Hole 10 – ‘Where Sergio waved to the crowd’

Par 4, 502 yards Professional tip: “It was the hole at the 2002 US Open where players couldn’t hit the fairway because the rough extended so far, and the wind was blowing in their face, and it was a rainy day. That’s the day Sergio García signaled to the crowd, but it wasn’t playable. The fairway wasn’t playable for the shorter hitters. The street now extends further towards the tee. The entire street is bracketed by bunkers, so it doesn’t matter where the tee is. The bunkers will come into play on holes 10 and 11 from the tee, there are several. It’s a tougher tee shot, but it’s a wide target for these guys. This is a difficult hole. Hole 11 is shorter, but 9, 10, 11, 12 is the meat of the golf course.”

Hole 11 – ‘It can change in any game, day’

Par 4, 435 yards Professional tip: “The field turns there and goes in the opposite direction of hole 10. So one will be with the wind, one will be against the wind, or they could even be a crosswind. This is a hole where there is a bit of an angle, so its character can change on any day, in any Ryder Cup match by moving the pin. The back has a small raised point and that is a difficult point. When Keegan wants birdies, he will probably put it in the middle front.

Hole 12 – ‘The only hole that requires a driver’

Par 4, 496 yards Professional tip: “Hole 12 is the only hole that requires the driver to hit the ball 280 yards from the tee over the bunker. That bunker extends a bit to the left a little more, so if they pull it and don’t hit 280 yards, they could still get into the sand. However, golf has changed, so I don’t think they’ll be intimidated by that. Some players were at the 2002 US Open. I think most of them will go over the cross bunker.”

Hole 13 – ‘A birdie hole’

Par 5, 608 yards

Professional tip: “Hole 13 is a birdie hole. There is a cross bunker about 30 yards from the green. That won’t really come into play for them unless they’re in the rough off the tee. The tee was pushed back and back, but they’ll probably play it a little shorter. It’s a pretty simple green. You’ll see a lot of birdies on this hole.”

Hole 14 – ‘The easiest on the course’

Par 3, 161 yards Professional tip: “Hole 14 is the easiest hole on the golf course. It’s a short par three with a bunker in the front and on the left. The green has a small tongue, a small narrow slot on the front left, which is the difficult location of the hole. I hope you use it someday because it’s very difficult to access.” They might want to play it safe in the middle and go back to it, but if they want to go for that pin position, it’s a small target. Aside from that, it’s going to be a birdie wall.”

Hole 15 – ‘The most difficult on the course’

Par 4, 477 yards Professional tip: “Hole 15 is the most difficult hole on the golf course. It has the most contoured green. There are no bunkers in the fairway at all. They can bomb it. The rough on the right will come into play, except that there’s going to be a big hospitality area there. I don’t know how much they’ll be affected unless they hit the hospitality area. The green is a two-tiered green that is so steep at the front. They really can’t use the front, so they’ll have to use the back of the green. So the second shot is probably the most difficult. It’s a very elevated green with three substantial bunkers, and if you miss it to the right, then you’re on a big slope and have a very difficult recovery. The second shot is critical and it’s a very small target.”

Hole 16 – ‘The drive has to go left’

Par 4, 539 yards Professional tip: “The green is protected by two large bunkers on the right, so you really want to hit it to the left. Although the way it’s set up, you have to really fight your own visual effect and you have to hit it away from what you would normally hit. You want to hit it to the left, you don’t want to go over those two bunkers, especially if the pin is tucked on the right.” They can effectively hide the pin for a couple of days on the right side of the green, so the drive is very important to go to the left side to have the best entry angle.”

Hole 17 – ‘A hole that tightens the muscles’

Par 3, 179 yards Professional tip: “Hole 17 is a dramatic and wonderful par three. They are not going to play at the length for which we designed it because they are going to put stands there. It’s a two-tiered green with a lower area on the right and an upper area on the left, heavily walled, and not that deep. They could go long into a bunker. They could go short depending on how they hit the ball. If the matches get to that point, that’s when the muscles tense up. This is a hole that tenses the muscles.”

Hole 18 – ‘The hole that Scheffler and Rory like to play’

Par 4, 411 yards Professional tip: “This is a true birdie opportunity. It’s bracketed by many bunkers on both sides. If they play the waiting game and hit it to the right, they will be penalized. They probably won’t hit the driver on this hole due to the long left bunker. If they go for the driver and fly it, they have a chance of a penalty there. The green is heavily walled and elevated. It’s a small target, but this is a very good birdie opportunity if they tee off effectively. There’s a lot of thinking they have to do, especially off the tee, which isn’t the case on some of these championship golf courses where they’ve removed the trees and widened the fairways to 50 yards. In this case, they will have to think from the tee. Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy have stated that this is the type of hole they like to play.”