Bethpage Black

Q: Which hole is hardest at Bethpage Black?

Hole 6 has stroke index 1 — the hardest hole on the scorecard.

Farmingdale, United States

Par

Holes

Yards

7,089

Par 3 / 4 / 5

4 · 11 · 3

Course Layout

395 features mapped — fairways, greens, bunkers, tees, water. Data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Fairway Green Bunker Tee Water

Hole-by-Hole Strategy

Dogleg and layup calls derived from hole centerline geometry. 25 doglegs · 14 layup holes.

#	Par	Yards	Plays Like	Shape	Call
1	4	427	423 -4y · -13ft	Sharp dogleg right (51.0°)	LAYUP Sharp right-hand dogleg (51.0°). Driver runs through the corner — 3-wood or long iron off the tee.
1	4	464	423 -41y · -13ft	Straight	Straightaway — driver safe if you're hitting it well.
1	4	343	423 +80y · -13ft	Slight dogleg right (24.3°)	Straightaway — driver safe if you're hitting it well.
1	4	427	423 -4y · -13ft	Straight	Straightaway — driver safe if you're hitting it well.
2	4	384	373 -11y · -7ft	Moderate dogleg left (28.3°)	Favor the right side off the tee — opens the angle for your approach.
2	4	412	373 -39y · -7ft	Sharp dogleg left (42.1°)	LAYUP Sharp left-hand dogleg (42.1°). Driver runs through the corner — 3-wood or long iron off the tee.
2	4	375	373 -2y · -7ft	Straight	Straightaway — driver safe if you're hitting it well.
3	3	231	154 -77y · +26ft	Straight	Par 3 — pick the club that fits the full yardage, not one short.
3	4	393	154 -239y · +26ft	Sharp dogleg right (43.3°)	LAYUP Sharp right-hand dogleg (43.3°). Driver runs through the corner — 3-wood or long iron off the tee.
3	3	146	154 +8y · +26ft	Straight	Par 3 — pick the club that fits the full yardage, not one short.
4	5	518	352 -166y · -26ft	Slight dogleg left (22.8°)	LAYUP Par 5 at 518y — two-shot reach is elite only. Layup to your wedge distance wins scorecards.
4	3	184	352 +168y · -26ft	Straight	Par 3 — pick the club that fits the full yardage, not one short.
4	4	360	352 -8y · -26ft	Slight dogleg left (17.1°)	Straightaway — driver safe if you're hitting it well.
5	4	479	398 -81y · -10ft	Straight	Straightaway — driver safe if you're hitting it well.
5	5	485	398 -87y · -10ft	Moderate dogleg right (32.5°)	Favor the left side off the tee — opens the angle for your approach.
5	4	401	398 -3y · -10ft	Sharp dogleg left (46.6°)	LAYUP Sharp left-hand dogleg (46.6°). Driver runs through the corner — 3-wood or long iron off the tee.
6	4	404	192 -212y · +10ft	Moderate dogleg left (28.7°)	Favor the right side off the tee — opens the angle for your approach.
6	4	347	192 -155y · +10ft	Sharp dogleg left (76.7°)	LAYUP Sharp left-hand dogleg (76.7°). Driver runs through the corner — 3-wood or long iron off the tee.
6	3	189	192 +3y · +10ft	Straight	Par 3 — pick the club that fits the full yardage, not one short.
7	5	558	485 -73y · -46ft	Sharp dogleg right (69.3°)	LAYUP Par 5 at 558y — two-shot reach is elite only. Layup to your wedge distance wins scorecards.
7	3	175	485 +310y · -46ft	Straight	Par 3 — pick the club that fits the full yardage, not one short.
7	5	499	485 -14y · -46ft	Moderate dogleg left (34.7°)	Favor the right side off the tee — opens the angle for your approach.
8	3	211	351 +140y · +30ft	Straight	Par 3 — pick the club that fits the full yardage, not one short.
8	4	342	351 +9y · +30ft	Moderate dogleg left (33.4°)	Favor the right side off the tee — opens the angle for your approach.
9	4	476	568 +92y · +56ft	Sharp dogleg left (50.8°)	LAYUP Sharp left-hand dogleg (50.8°). Driver runs through the corner — 3-wood or long iron off the tee.
9	5	551	568 +17y · +56ft	Moderate dogleg left (37.9°)	LAYUP Par 5 at 551y — two-shot reach is elite only. Layup to your wedge distance wins scorecards.
10	4	506	371 -135y · -20ft	Slight dogleg left (16.0°)	LAYUP 506y par 4 with a slight dogleg. Treat as a three-shot hole unless you carry 280+ off the tee.
10	4	341	371 +30y · -20ft	Straight	Straightaway — driver safe if you're hitting it well.
10	4	377	371 -6y · -20ft	Straight	Straightaway — driver safe if you're hitting it well.
11	4	438	163 -275y · -16ft	Straight	Straightaway — driver safe if you're hitting it well.
11	4	450	163 -287y · -16ft	Moderate dogleg right (27.3°)	Favor the left side off the tee — opens the angle for your approach.
11	3	168	163 -5y · -16ft	Straight	Par 3 — pick the club that fits the full yardage, not one short.
12	4	520	302 -218y · +36ft	Sharp dogleg left (47.7°)	LAYUP Sharp left-hand dogleg (47.7°). Driver runs through the corner — 3-wood or long iron off the tee.
12	3	207	302 +95y · +36ft	Straight	Par 3 — pick the club that fits the full yardage, not one short.
12	4	291	302 +11y · +36ft	Moderate dogleg right (36.0°)	Favor the left side off the tee — opens the angle for your approach.
13	5	603	555 -48y · -59ft	Straight	LAYUP Par 5 at 603y — two-shot reach is elite only. Layup to your wedge distance wins scorecards.
13	4	391	555 +164y · -59ft	Straight	Straightaway — driver safe if you're hitting it well.
13	5	573	555 -18y · -59ft	Moderate dogleg left (25.0°)	LAYUP Par 5 at 573y — two-shot reach is elite only. Layup to your wedge distance wins scorecards.
14	3	146	365 +219y · +10ft	Straight	Par 3 — pick the club that fits the full yardage, not one short.
14	4	362	365 +3y · +10ft	Straight	Straightaway — driver safe if you're hitting it well.
15	4	479	200 -279y · -23ft	Slight dogleg left (19.6°)	LAYUP 479y par 4 with a slight dogleg. Treat as a three-shot hole unless you carry 280+ off the tee.
15	3	207	200 -7y · -23ft	Straight	Par 3 — pick the club that fits the full yardage, not one short.
16	4	485	360 -125y · +0ft	Straight	Straightaway — driver safe if you're hitting it well.
16	4	360	360 +0y · +0ft	Straight	Straightaway — driver safe if you're hitting it well.
17	3	205	411 +206y · -20ft	Straight	Par 3 — pick the club that fits the full yardage, not one short.
17	3	155	411 +256y · -20ft	Straight	Par 3 — pick the club that fits the full yardage, not one short.
17	4	417	411 -6y · -20ft	Slight dogleg right (21.3°)	Straightaway — driver safe if you're hitting it well.
18	4	414	363 -51y · +0ft	Straight	Straightaway — driver safe if you're hitting it well.
18	4	459	363 -96y · +0ft	Straight	Straightaway — driver safe if you're hitting it well.
18	4	401	363 -38y · +0ft	Moderate dogleg right (25.7°)	Favor the left side off the tee — opens the angle for your approach.
18	4	363	363 +0y · +0ft	Slight dogleg right (22.4°)	Straightaway — driver safe if you're hitting it well.
Total	199	19,099	Distances from OSM centerlines; elevation from SRTM (Open-Meteo).

Course by the Numbers

Calculated from 395 mapped features. Areas are measured directly from the polygon geometry.

144 bunkers

43,493 sq yd of sand — 8.0 bunkers per hole on average.

3974 sq yd

Largest bunker on the course — bigger than most tees.

1067 sq yd avg green

Classification: Massive greens (>8,000 sq ft avg) — links/championship scale. Enormous — expect many first putts from 50+ feet.

26213 sq yd

Largest green on the course — a three-club difference front-to-back is possible.

19.46 ha of fairway

Total groomed playing surface across 54 fairway zones.

25 doglegs

8 sharp, 17 moderate. Plotting a line off the tee matters more here than pure distance.

14 layup holes

Best played as three-shot holes for anyone outside single figures — chasing them turns pars into doubles.

Hole 13: 603y

The longest hole on the card — par 5. Know your layup number before you tee off.

144 bunkers · 52 greens · 54 fairway zones · 125 tee boxes · 1 water hazards.

About Bethpage Black

The Bethpage Black Course is a public golf course at Bethpage State Park on Long Island, New York. The course was designed by Joseph H. Burbeck, who was assisted by golf architect A. W. Tillinghast. It is the most difficult of Bethpage's five courses, and has a famous warning sign at the first tee, placed in the early 1980s, which reads "WARNING The Black Course Is An Extremely Difficult Course Which We Recommend Only For Highly Skilled Golfers". The course has hosted a number of important tournaments, including the 2002 U.S. Open, 2009 U.S. Open, 2019 PGA Championship, and 2025 Ryder Cup.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

What Should You Expect to Shoot?

These expected scores use the World Handicap System formula: your handicap index × slope ÷ 113, plus course rating. Use them to set a realistic target before you tee off.

Championship

Rating 74.5 · Slope 145 · Par 72 · 7,200 yards

Your Handicap	Course HCP	Expected Score	Over Par
5	9	83	+11
10	15	90	+18
15	22	96	+24
20	28	103	+31
25	35	109	+37
30	41	115	+43

Back

Rating 72.5 · Slope 138 · Par 72 · 6,700 yards

Your Handicap	Course HCP	Expected Score	Over Par
5	7	79	+7
10	13	85	+13
15	19	91	+19
20	25	97	+25
25	31	104	+32
30	37	110	+38

Middle

Rating 70.5 · Slope 130 · Par 72 · 6,200 yards

Your Handicap	Course HCP	Expected Score	Over Par
5	4	75	+3
10	10	81	+9
15	16	86	+14
20	22	92	+20
25	27	98	+26
30	33	104	+32

Forward

Rating 72.0 · Slope 128 · Par 72 · 5,400 yards

Your Handicap	Course HCP	Expected Score	Over Par
5	6	78	+6
10	11	83	+11
15	17	89	+17
20	23	95	+23
25	28	100	+28
30	34	106	+34

Scorecard

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In	Total
Par	4	5	4	4	3	4	4	3	4	35	4	4	3	5	4	4	3	4	5	36	71
Yards	394	550	388	457	216	428	414	175	411	3,433	433	440	165	564	427	415	183	441	588	3,656	7,089
Stroke Index	7	3	13	11	17	1	9	15	5		8	4	16	2	10	6	18	12	14

Holes That Decide Your Round

Hardest Hole · SI 1

Hole 6

Par 4 · 428 yards

Play for the fat of the green and take bogey off the table. Build your pre-round plan →

Longest Hole

Hole 18

Par 5 · 588 yards

Three good shots beats two heroic ones. Bogey here is a solid result for anyone above 10 handicap.

Scoring Opportunity

Hole 12

Par 3 · 165 yards

Attack the pin — if your wedge game is on, this is where strokes get gained back.

Easiest Hole · SI 18

Hole 16

Par 3 · 183 yards

Expected par or better. If you drop a stroke here, it's usually a mental mistake — which is trackable.

Pre-Round Checklist for Bethpage Black

Know your average distance off the tee — budget for 11 par-4 tee shots. Check 4 par-3 yardages — pick your go-to clubs now, not on the tee. Plan hole 6 (hardest) for bogey — don't chase birdie there. Hole 18 is long — know your layup number. Arrive 45 min early — 15 range, 10 short game, 10 putting, 10 to the tee.

Your Game Plan for Bethpage Black

The scorecard tells you the course. The Grand Plan assessment tells you you — which part of your game is actually bleeding strokes. Pair both, and you have a pre-round strategy tailored to this course AND your weaknesses.

Take the 2-min Assessment Try the App Free for 30 Days

Tee Sets

Championship

Yards:: 7,200
Par:: 72
Course Rating:: 74.5
Slope:: 145

Back

Yards:: 6,700
Par:: 72
Course Rating:: 72.5
Slope:: 138

Middle

Yards:: 6,200
Par:: 72
Course Rating:: 70.5
Slope:: 130

Forward

Yards:: 5,400
Par:: 72
Course Rating:: 72.0
Slope:: 128

Other Notable Courses near Farmingdale

Garden City Golf Club

Garden City, United States

Par 72 ·18 holes ·7,361 yd

Mapped Strategy

Quaker Ridge Golf Club

Scarsdale, United States

Par 70 ·18 holes ·7,008 yd

Mapped Strategy

Country Club of Fairfield

Fairfield, United States

Par 71 ·18 holes ·6,963 yd

Mapped Strategy

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the par at Bethpage Black?

Bethpage Black is a par 71 course with 18 holes measuring 7,089 total yards. Front nine par 35 (3,433 yards), back nine par 36 (3,656 yards).

What is the longest hole at Bethpage Black?

The longest hole is hole 18, a par 5 playing 588 yards.

Which hole is hardest at Bethpage Black?

Hole 6 has the lowest stroke index (1). It's a par 4 playing 428 yards.

What should I shoot at Bethpage Black?

Use the expected-score table above — it's calculated from your handicap and this course's official WHS rating and slope. A 15 handicap typically shoots mid-80s to low-90s depending on the tee set; a 25 handicap mid-90s to low-100s. Track your actual scores against these targets to see how your game travels.