Opinion & Analysis

How has Hoylake changed and who serves to benefit?

Published

10 years ago

Jul 16, 2014

The power of Tiger Woods appears to, at times, blanket all blemishes it encounters.

If you are looking for proof, click back eight years when Royal Liverpool, hosting its first Open Championship in 39 years, re-emerged dry, browned out, prone to powdery explosions following fairway strikes and a more convincing impersonation of a racetrack than a golf course.

One may have hoped that the purple flower bombs dropped on the final green that Sunday added a distinctive hue to the colorless layout, but the sizable remnants instead painted the course as an abandoned lot further tainted by loosely organized graffiti.

Yet, Woods’ merciless four-day assault on Hoylake became the main story for the week. The compelling narrative of golf’s dominant figure ironing the course into submission for an 11th major title covered up the damaging look of the layout brought on by unseasonably hot and dry weather. As Woods cried into caddy Steve Williams’ arms, no media were prepared to type up a scathing review of a course that was so baked out and such a fire hazard that spectator smoking was banned and the fire department was on hand throughout the event.

It’s 2014 now though, and Tiger’s fortunes have changed drastically in eight years—to the point that any hope he dominates the headlines this week with his play should be deemed quite unlikely.

But Royal Liverpool doesn’t need saving this time.

The course, affectionately known as Hoylake for the town it sits in, is almost unrecognizable from its 2006 incarnation. Sure, it only stands 54 yards longer, but the grass is lush and green, the balls aren’t running on the ground like…well this, and the rough has transformed from afterthought into bona fide hazard.

If you’re looking at the blueprint of how to play Hoylake from 2006, you might want to update a few things. These key alterations mean that players must be aware of how new factors change the strategy in attacking this course.

What exactly do these alterations mean for which parts of the game? We have a few thoughts here, including the players these factors favor at the end.

The Softer Conditions

Besides Tiger’s chances, the massive leveling down of the course’s firmness will be the prime story heading into the championship, and it already kind of is.

If it wasn’t enough for Rory McIlroy to be a media goldmine in terms of drama—significantly down campaign in 2013, lawsuit against his former agent, breakup of engagement with tennis star Caroline Wozniaki and winning days later—he gave the assembled press an expert rundown of what to expect at Hoylake.

As McIlroy pointed out, the biggest difference he noticed from 2006 (when he watched it on television with his parents), is the color of the course and what that means for the speed on the ground. With Hoylake’s lush and green look, balls are stopping almost immediately on fairways and greens, a stark contrast to what occurred in 2006.

These comments came 10 days before the championship’s start and McIlroy was quick to note that the course is likely being protected right now and should be significantly firmer and faster once tournament play starts.

But let’s be clear, we aren’t getting anything on the levels of 2006. Even as one of the few longest drivers in the game at the time, Tiger Woods and his 291-yard average off the tee hitting mostly irons and just one driver is absurd. For good measure, Chad Campbell hit a three-iron 330 yards during one practice round that week.

With the reduced firmness the course plays longer, something that usually falls into the hands of the bigger hitters. But the opposite should be true this week.

Hoylake simply isn’t a long golf course. It will stand at 7,350 yards for the Open Championship, compared to Augusta National’s 7,435 yards and Pinehurst No. 2’s max of 7,562. And these distances aren’t exactly analogous, as Hoylake remains significantly firmer than either of theose layouts.

The course’s four par-fives are reachable by all hitters in dry or wet conditions, so don’t expect softer fairways to offer the long bombers a sizable advantage here.

Instead, a less bouncy short grass forces the bigger hitters to move away a degree from the near-certain safety that long irons provide into the fading accuracy of fairway woods and drivers.

Of course there will certainly be plenty of irons on the driving ground this week, but the one-driver-every-72-holes strategy simply will not fly like it did eight years ago.

This little affects the Luke Donalds of the world, but the Bubba Watsons and Dustin Johnsons cannot hide behind their long irons quite as much as they could have last time around at Hoylake. They must pump out significantly more woods and drivers, and however confident they feel with those clubs, the bigger sticks don’t offer the same fairway confirmation as irons.

The short hitters, then, gain a bit more with a greener golf course.

All of this is assuming that the wind is not fierce and the forecast points a mild breeze. Whatever the case, the softer conditions aid in significantly reducing the long hitter’s advantage.

Rough around the Fairways

There’s no question what the biggest hazard is when you miss the fairway at Hoylake: the pot bunkers. The fear those virtually-guaranteed one-stroke hazards engender lead Woods to adopt his now famous strategy off the tee in 2006.

Those sandy caves of doom remain eight years later, but they are no longer Hoylake’s (largely) sole defense off the tee.

One of this biggest casualties of the heat wave the last time the Open came around these parts was the rough on the Hoylake layout. The lack of proper watering from Mother Nature allowed the thick grass to whither into a nearly non-existent nuisance for championship week.

Without the freak weather though, the rough has returned in 2014 and it appears to be some of the most luscious grass these pros have faced all year—er, or at least since Congressional two weeks ago.

McIlroy’s take on the tall grass was pretty interesting, as he cited the stuff as patchy and overall quite penalizing. You’re going to get very few chances to sky irons from the rough and land the ball softly on the green. Most of the lies, it seems, will allow you to advance it to the green, but keeping it on the dance floor is the big challenge. And good luck if you get it in one of those bad patches, where chipping out is really the only option.

This second line of defense off the tee has an obvious effect; driving accuracy will be even more of a premium at Hoylake than in 2006.

Aside from its tee boxes, there was very little green to be seen at Hoylake in 2006.

Keeping it in the fairway was already of paramount importance on this layout eight years ago, so the value of the short grass is at an astronomical level now. You could at least afford to be inaccurate if it meant hitting it in the rough back in the day of Tiger’s triumph.

That’s no longer true, although finding the rough remains preferable to a trip to the pot bunkers.

The softer and slower conditions necessitate more aggression off the tee, but if your longer clubs are wild here, you might want to lay back on drives, no matter how much it handicaps you.

The combination of uncompromising bunkers and tough and unpredictable rough (not to mention gorse as well) offers too much in terms of potential lost strokes for any player to hit 6 of 14 fairways and come off the course with a solid score.

Iron play will be quite important at Hoylake still, but as these two points illustrate, driving takes center stage for a player who has eyes for the Claret Jug.

Shots Around the Green

I think we can all admit that the average Open Championship set up minimizes the role of the flatstick. Hoylake is no different with its slow and mostly flat surfaces.

Yet, in this sport, putting and short game tend to get lumped together and that is a short-sighted move. This tendency leads people to predict Open favorites based on ball-striking prowess, wholly ignoring what the golfer offers (or doesn’t) from around the green and in.

That is a blatantly bad move. Much is said about the creativity links golf induces in shot making from tee-to-green, but the same occurs for strokes only a few yards off the putting surface.

Players can commit to all types of shots close to the green: bump-and-run, chip, pitch, flop or even a putt. There is a great existence of imagination that some tend to gloss over here and by doing so they outright miss the fact that the short game plays a massive roles in an Open’s outcome.

Hoylake was no different in this regard in 2006, and if you have any questions about that, I refer you to my man, Jim Furyk.

There is an added element this time though.

The being-talked-about rough is not singular to the fairways. Bunkers and run-offs were the real defenses around the green the previous time at Hoylake, and now we can add thick rough to this equation.

Once again, we turn to McIlroy, who referenced holes Nos. 12-to-14 containing heavy rough guarding the putting surfaces and potentially bringing nightmares to those less inclined in that area of the game.

And that’s not all. The toughest greenside rough might actually belong to No. 16, and, as McIlroy also alluded to, there are certain surfaces where missing on a specific side can be deadly. The places he was likely referencing were the thin sliver of rough before out of bounds right of No. 3 green, the thick patch of grass long and left on No. 7 and the nasty stuff short and left with the bunkers on No. 17.

With all of these dangers areas providing headaches with truly juicy rough this week, the underrated short game element becomes more magnified at this Open.

The thicker rough at Hoylake 2014 means more recognition for the short game, and it’s about time it got some.

The Players Who Benefit

As these changes have such sizable effects on certain parts of the game, some players gain significant good vibes.

The differences between 2006 and 2014 clearly aid players who register in the short-to-medium section on the driving-distance scale, those who are quite accurate off the tee and the competitors who possess a magic touch around the greens. Those who qualify significantly for two of these three factors, or all three, stand the most to profit off these changes.

Perusing through the field, the names that stick out on this end are, in no particular order: Jason Dufner, Ian Poulter, Chris Stroud, Matteo Manassero, Webb Simpson, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Luke Donald and Brendon Todd.

All eight of these players fit the criteria above, some in different ways than others.

Dufner and Todd are the only two on the list who absolutely nail all three factors. Dufner is solidly in the middle pack of players for driving distance, as he is a bit below average overall in that category, has one of the best combinations of driving accuracy and precision on Tour and is a great short game player.

No, seriously. As poor a putter Dufner can be at times, especially inside five feet, he’s very much capable around the greens. In the PGA Tour’s Proximity to Hole (Around the Green) statistic—a much better indicator of short game success than scrambling, which is just as much about putting as off the green work—Dufner is top 25 three of the last four years, including first in the category in 2012.

Todd is decidedly a short hitter with high-end driving accuracy and precision numbers (35th in accuracy and 15th in distance from edge of the fairway). He’s also currently top 30 in Proximity to Hole (ARG).

No players will be better suited for Hoylake’s transformation as these two, but the others on this list will still see a great net plus.

Stroud and Simpson are just moderately accurate and precise drivers, but both prove mighty skilled around the greens. Simpson’s finishes in Proximity to Hole (ARG) from 2012 to 2014 are: T7, T38, T30, and Stroud’s are T10, T16, 8. The duo is is below average in driving distance, sticking them firmly in two of three categories.

The same goes for Poulter, Donald and Manassero. They possess the same traits here as Stroud and Simpson except that all three are exceptionally short drivers. The short game prowess is real though, as Donald has placed top-five in the Proximity metric three of the last five years with Poulter not far behind at four top-15 placements in six years. Manassero doesn’t have this data because he’s a European Tour man, but his reputation as the heir apparent to Seve Ballesteros should quell all doubts here.

The final one of the eight players most likely to take advantage of Hoylake’s changes doesn’t fit in with the rest.

That’s a pretty apt deal for Jimenez, who has been immortalized for his one-of-a-kind personality. (And we can’t forget this.) We don’t have full data on Jimenez due to his European Tour affiliation, but the limited metrics there show him to be both a very short and highly accurate driver.

Like many of the others here, that puts him in line to be a significant beneficiary of two of these three changes. As for his short game, he’s generally considered a solid player from that area, even if there is no objective data to back it up (or disprove it).

To be clear, this is not a short list of favorites. What we have here are the eight candidates whose games most directly benefit from Hoylake’s new look in its eight-year downtime since its last Open.

Maybe one wins, maybe not.

In any case, it would be unwise to use the results of the 2006 Open to determine this week’s standings. It’s been nearly a decade and the course is entirely different.

And even if Hoylake is still criticized for its bland views, at least the singed property that met us in 2006 is a thing of the past.

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Courses

The BEST hidden gem links courses in the UK & Ireland

Published

4 days ago

Jul 23, 2024

Josh Post, Golfbreaks

Another Open Championship has come and gone and links golf was once again in the spotlight at Royal Troon! For those who have never played a links course (like myself), it sparks a desire to fly across the pond to experience it for ourselves. While a golf trip to the UK or Ireland is a bucket-list item, most people look to play the big-name courses (Old Course, Carnoustie, Lahinch, Royal Portrush,etc.), but don’t realize they can get a similar experience by traveling to some of the lesser known destinations where you will find some of the purest links courses in the world. With this in mind, here are our picks for the best hidden gem links courses you should play when you book a UK or Ireland trip:

IRELAND

Ballyliffin

We start our list off with a 36-hole club in the Northwest of Ireland, a remote area of the Emerald Isle that is known for its rugged terrain and spectacular scenery. Bordering the Wild Atlantic Way, Ballyliffin is relatively newer (est. 1947) but offers golfers one of the purest links golf experiences anywhere in the country. While not easy to get to, the two courses onsite (Old and Glashedy) are well worth the travel with large dunes shaping the fairways that overlook the North Atlantic Ocean and a myriad of pot bunkers everywhere you look. Even Rory McIlroy believes that “Ballyliffin’s two courses are a must play on any golf trip to Ireland.” and we tend to agree.

How to incorporate Ballyliffin in a golf trip:

Stay:Ballyliffin Lodge, Hotel & Spa

Play: Old Links & Glashedy Links at Ballyliffin, and Old Tom Morris Links or Sandy Hills Course at Rosapenna

Enniscrone

The next course on the list is in the Sligo area of the Northwest where we find Enniscrone, roughly 3 hours (by car) south of Ballyliffin. Like many links courses, Enniscrone was originally a 9-hole course when it was opened in 1918 before an additional 9 holes were added 12 years later. In 1970, Eddie Hackett was tasked with redesigning the course to help the two 9-hole courses flow effortlessly into one 18 hole layout. A big feature that can be seen throughout your round here are the towering dunes that shape the course and protect some holes from the ocean winds. Built right out of the landscape of the dunes bordering the sea, the course has a lot of undulation in the fairways and greens with some elevated tee boxes providing unreal views of the natural land.

How to incorporate Enniscrone in a golf trip:

Stay: The Glasshouse Hotel, Sligo

Play: Enniscrone, County Sligo, and Donegal

Additional Courses: Strandhill, Carne, and Narin & Portnoo

St. Patrick’s Links

Another fantastic gem on the Northwest coast of Ireland is the NEW (2020) St. Patricks Links at Rosapenna Hotel & Golf Links. The land was purchased back in 2012 which was already a 36-hole facility and Tom Doak was brought in to reimagine the property to the layout it currently is today. Large sand dunes shape the front 9 holes before heading back through some more subtle dunes back towards the clubhouse. The course offers elevation changes with some tee boxes sitting atop the dunes offering spectacular views of Sheephaven Bay and beyond. With two other courses and a fantastic hotel on property, this destination is all you could ever ask for.

How to incorporate St. Patricks in a golf trip:

Stay: Rosapenna Hotel & Golf Links

Play: St. Patrick’s Links, Sandy Hills Course , and Old Tom Morris Links (all at Rosapenna)

Island Club

For our last hidden gem in Ireland, we head 30 minutes north of the country’s capital, Dublin, to The Island Club. Built along rugged terrain and the highest sand dunes on the east coast of Ireland, the Island Club is situated on a small peninsula surrounded by water on three sides providing a difficult challenge, especially with the winds. Founded in 1890, the Island Club continues to be ranked in the Top 10 courses in Ireland and has held some Amateur Championships and Open Championship Regional Qualifiers.

How to incorporate The Island Club in a golf trip:

Stay: The Grand Hotel, Malahide

Play: Island Club, Portmarnock Old, County Louth

Additional Courses: Royal Dublin

SCOTLAND

Dunbar

Located along “Scotland’s Golf Coast” of East Lothian is where we find the classic links of Dunbar. Opened in 1856 with only 15 holes, this is one of the many courses in Scotland that Old Tom Morris had a hand in crafting. Laid out along rocky and rocky terrain, the course is only 6500 yards long and while not long by modern standards, the course requires shot making and proper club selection to play well. The course has held many national and international tournaments including a few rounds of The Open Final Qualifying.

How to incorporate Dunbar in a golf trip:

Stay: No. 12 Hotel & Bistro

Play: Dunbar, Gullane (No.1), North Berwick

Additional Courses: Craigielaw, Kilspindie, Gullane (No.2, No. 3)

Cruden Bay

The next course on our list brings us to the Scottish Highlands, one of the lesser traveled destinations in Scotland, but still home to some amazing links courses including Cruden Bay! Located 25 miles north of Aberdeen on the east coast of the Highlands, Cruden Bay was opened in 1899, although history would indicate golf has been played at the property since 1791. Another Old Tom Morris design, the course is consistently ranked in the Top 25 of courses in Scotland and it is easy to see why. At only 6600 yards, it is relatively short, but the natural lay of the land provides elevation changes, punchbowl greens, and some large, 3-story high dunes that offer spectacular views for a classic links experience.

How to incorporate Cruden Bay in a golf trip:

Stay: Leonardo Hotel Aberdeen

Play: Cruden Bay, Trump International Links, Royal Aberdeen

Additional Courses: Murcar

Brora

We head back to the Highlands just north of Dornoch to where we find Brora Golf Club. Similar to a lot of links courses, Brora opened as only 9 holes in 1891, but that only lasted for 9 years before an additional 9 was added in 1900 before a James Braid redesign in 1924. At just over 6200 yards, this is one of those courses that will make you appreciate links golf in Scotland with cattle and sheep roaming freely around the property. The course is a typical links routing with the front 9 going out and the back 9 coming back to the clubhouse. The defense of the course is the wind (naturally), but the greens are relatively small with pot bunkers standing guard to catch errant approach shots.

How to incorporate Brora in a golf trip:

Stay: Royal Golf Hotel, Dornoch

Play: Brora, Royal Dornoch – Struie & Championship

Additional Courses: Golspie, Tain

Nairn

Staying in the Scottish Highlands, the last Scotland links gem on the list is just outside of Inverness at The Nairn Golf Club. The narrow fairways are fast and firm leading to decent sized, tricky greens that roll true, but are guarded by devious pot bunkers. The first seven holes play right along the water and with not a ton of elevation changes, spectacular views across the Moray Firth can be seen throughout the course. With fantastic course conditions throughout the season, this fantastic links is an absolute must-play when visiting the Highlands.

How to incorporate Nairn in a golf trip:

Stay: Kingsmills Hotel, Inverness

Play: Nairn, Castle Stuart (Cabot Highlands), Fortrose & Rosemarkie

Additional Courses: Nairn Dunbar, Moray

Golfbreaks by PGA TOUR highly recommends you start planning your trip across the pond AT LEAST 12-18 months in advance in order to secure tee times and hotel rooms over the dates you desire. With more and more people taking up the game of golf, these bucket list trips have already become extremely popular and will continue to gain interest so make sure to start planning early!

Editor’s note: This article is presented in partnership with Golfbreaks. When you make a purchase through links in this article, GolfWRX may earn an affiliate commission.

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Courses

Open Championship courses you can play (and when the best time to book is)

Published

2 weeks ago

Jul 11, 2024

Josh Post, Golfbreaks

The final major of 2024 is nearly here as the top golfers head to Scotland’s southwestern coast to battle for the claret jug at Royal Troon. Golf’s original major dates all the way back to 1860 and has been played at 14 different courses throughout the United Kingdom (yes, this includes Northern Ireland) providing countless memories including celebrations, heartbreak, and unique moments that will never be forgotten (looking at you Jordan Spieth).

With The Open teeing off less than a week from now, we wanted to highlight some of The Open Championship’s finest links courses that should play when you make the journey to golf’s homeland:

Old Course at St. Andrews

Do we even need to say anything else? The “Home of Golf”, host of 30 Open Championships, the most coveted tee time in the WORLD, there are a million reasons to have St. Andrews on your links golf bucket list. From the double greens, to the tee shot over the Old Course Hotel, to the walk up 18th fairway with the town buildings framing a picturesque scene (especially at dusk), every golfer should make the voyage to St Andrews at least once in their life.

Carnoustie

Carnoustie – Championship Course

Roughly 25 miles north of St. Andrews lies the devious links of Carnoustie, often recognized by the large white Carnoustie Golf Hotel as the backdrop of the 18th green. While the course has only hosted The Open 8 times, it is considered to be one of the hardest layouts in The Open rota (just ask Jean Van de Velde) although not that long, playing just under 7000 yards from the tips.

Muirfield

Located right next to this week’s host of Scottish Open (The Renaissance Club), this fantastic links layout has hosted the prestigious Championship 16 times since 1892. The narrow fairways and penal rough requires precise shots off the tee while avoiding the devious pot bunkers is a must. The course is set away from the coastline so you won’t get the sweeping ocean views, but a round at Muirfield is one the premier tee times in all of Scotland (so make sure you book early – 12-18 months at least).

Royal Portrush

A view of the new 572 yards par 5, seventh hole designed by Martin Ebert on the Dunluce Course at Royal Portrush Golf Club the host club for the 2019 Open Championship in Portrush, Northern Ireland. © 2018 Rob Durston

Our next stop brings us across the Irish Sea to the northern coast of Northern Ireland and the popular Royal Portrush. Having hosted The Open only twice in its illustrious history, Royal Portrush is a golfer’s dream with 36 holes of pure links golf set against a gorgeous backdrop of the ocean and cliffs. The Open Championship will return to Portrush in 2025 and YOU CAN BE THERE to watch it all in person!

Royal Troon

TROON – JULY 26: General view of the ‘Postage Stamp’ par 3, 8th hole taken during a photoshoot held on July 26, 2003 at the Royal Troon Golf Club, venue for the 2004 Open Championships, in Troon, Scotland. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

The host of this year’s Open Championship, Royal Troon is home to one of the best par-3 holes in all of golf, “The Postage Stamp.” A downhill 125-yard tee shot to a minuscule green surrounded by bunkers on all sides makes it one of the more challenging holes. Another hole that adds to the challenge is the 601-yard par 5 that used to be the longest golf hole in Open Championship history. This year will be the 10th Open Championship held at Royal Troon, the first since 2016 when Mickelson and Stenson had a battle for the ages in the final round.

Royal Birkdale

For the next course on the list, we have to head down to the northwest coast of England just outside of Liverpool. Consistently ranked in the Top 10 courses in all the UK, this 10-time host of The Open has hosted many other prestigious events such as Ryder Cups, Women’s Opens, and more! The course is laid out with fairways running through flat-bottomed valleys surrounded by high dunes which provide many blind shots throughout the course. The Open returns to Royal Birkdale in 2026 so it won’t be long before it is back in the spotlight.

Royal St. George’s

For the final course on our list, we are staying in England, but heading across to the southeastern side of the country to Kent. Royal St. George’s is 4th on the list of most Open Championships hosted with 15 (1 behind Muirfield) the most recent being Collin Morikawa’s victory in 2021. RSG is the only active course on The Open rota in this part of the UK, but two former hosts (Prince’s and Royal Cinque Ports) are within 3 miles of the property. The expansive course is laid out with holes separated by dunes with heavy rough, undulating fairways, and deep pot bunkers to challenge your game. While it may not be mentioned in the discussions of St. Andrews, Carnoustie, and the like, Royal St. George’s is still a Championship layout that is worth the trip across the pond.

With these big-name courses in such high demand, it is important to note that if you want to play them, you need to start planning your trip early. Golfbreaks by PGA TOUR, the world’s #1 rated golf tour operator, suggests planning and booking your trip at least 12-18 months in advance in order to secure a tee time at the courses you want. The UK & Ireland specialists at Golfbreaks by PGA TOUR have the knowledge to help tailor the perfect golf trip for your group so you can play big-name courses and hidden gems you might not have heard of. If you’re ready to start planning your bucket list trip across the pond, make life easier and go with Golfbreaks by PGA TOUR.

Editor’s note: This article is presented in partnership with Golfbreaks. When you make a purchase through links in this article, GolfWRX may earn an affiliate commission.

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Courses

Ryder Cup 2025: Crossing to Bethpage – New York State Park golf, Part 1

Published

3 weeks ago

Jul 8, 2024

Ronald Montesano

The 2025 Ryder Cup matches will be held over the sprawling, bruising, Long Island acreage known as Bethpage Black State Park Golf Course. The course has hosted multiple national championships, most recently the 2019 PGA Championship. In September 2025, Bethpage Black will welcome teams from the USA and Europe to contest the 45th Ryder Cup matches. Team Europe, the defending champions, will be led again by captain Luke Donald. The U.S. PGA has not yet announced the name of its leader, yet all sources and speculations point to a 15-time major champion and an eight-time participant in the biennial event.

Bethpage Black will join Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester (1995) as the second Empire State course to host the event. The Ryder Cup matches were played in the metropolitan New York area once before, in 1935 at the Ridgewood Club, in Paramus, New Jersey. It’s fair to say that metro NYC is due to host this world-stage, golf event. I can’t wait. The USA’s loss to Europe in 2023 adds to the considerable drama.

What makes Bethpage Black an outlier in the world of championship golf, is its mere existence. It’s a state park golf course, one of five on property, each with a colorful name. The Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow join big brother Black as outstanding tests of golf in Farmingdale. Of the five, only the Green was not originally built as a state course. The Lenox Hills Country Club, designed by Devereux Emmet, opened in 1923. By 1932, the club had closed and the land had become property of the state. Its birth date made the Green the oldest of the five courses. New York State began to build on a series of adjacent parcels, guided by the hands of Alber “A.W.” Tillinghast, Joseph Burbeck, and Alfred Tull. The Yellow course, built entirely by Tull, was the last of the five to open.

State park courses just don’t hold major championships. Private clubs and elite resorts are the typical sites that receive the nod from the world’s golf bodies. It’s a testament to the lovers of Bethpage, the New York state government, and the PGA of America (among others) that Bethpage is as good as it is, and that it continues to improve. It’s a fitting site for the 2025 Ryder Cup matches, but the 2025 Ryder Cup matches need a beginning to their story. I’ll do my best to provide it.

: Bethpage Yellow Golf Course

: Bethpage Black Golf Course

: Bethpage Red Golf Course

: Bethpage Yellow Golf Course

: Bethpage Black Golf Course

: Bethpage Green Golf Course

: Bethpage Blue Golf Course

: Bethpage Red and Black Golf Courses

: Bethpage Green Golf Course

: Bethpage Red Golf Course

The quintet of courses near Bethpage, New York, is just the beginning of the New York state park golf course system. 19 parks in total offer golf from the tip of Long Island, to the shores of Lake Ontario, through the Catskill mountains, to my home town. I’m a Western New York guy. The Buffalo area has been my home for most of my 58 years on the golf ball known as Earth. I live two miles from the westernmost, state park golf course: Beaver Island. The Beav, as everyone calls it, was designed by William Harries. It opened the year I was born, which means that it is close to 60 years old! Unlike the Bethpage property, where topography is king, the Beav is a flat course, albeit full of enough interest to bring you back for more.

As I considered the magnitude of the state park system, I realized that golfers who frequent those 19 state parks can point to their home course and say, “You know, the Ryder Cup will be at a state park course next year.” I started to count on my fingers, the number of state park courses I had played: Beaver Island, Green Lakes (Syracuse), James Baird (Poughkeepsie), and the five at Bethpage, I realized that I had played eight of the 23 total courses, and had visited a mere four of the 19 parks.

Bethpage is the only, multi-course state park across the Empire State. Other venues range from pitch-and-putt, to nine-hole, to regulation 18-hole courses. The majority occupy nice tracts of land, and feature 18 holes of memorable, enjoyable golf. PGA Tour professionals Joey Sindelar and Mike Hulbert grew up on one of those courses, and Dottie Pepper spent a bit of time on another, near her hometown.

There will be many stories that trace the path to Bethpage and its 2025 Ryder Cup, and I look forward to reading and hearing them. This one is my own, and I’m proud (and a little frightened) to undertake it. I’ll visit each of the remaining parks over the next 16 months, and report in with images and words that tell the story of each park and its golf course.

The Ones I’ve Played

The Bethpage Five

As mentioned above, I’ve played eight of the 23 courses, but the majority of that number is owed to a 2011 pilgrimage to Long Island. The Black had just hosted its second US Open championship, and the ink for the 2019 PGA Championship was not yet printed. I spoke with a Bethpage caddy, in anticipation of the trek. I wrote a series of articles on the courses on my own site, BuffaloGolfer. Down the road of this, current series, I’ll discuss the most poignant piece that I connected with Bethpage. That’s a story for another time. After all, Bethpage is a five-course meal.

It’s safe to say the the Bethpage property is unlike any other, municipal, golfing space in the world (at least, those not named the Links Trust of St. Andrews!) The park encompasses nearly 1500 acres of wooded land and offers much beyond golf to its visitors. As pilgrimages go, Bethpage is it. For a New York state resident, on a weekend, it would cost a total of $257 dollars … to play all five courses. Even for those outside the state, the trip to Bethpage is worth consideration. Each course rambles over uneven, heaving land. Holes carry along falloffs and bend unexpectedly around corners. Greens are benched into hillsides and settled into valleys. All five courses remind you of the others, yet none of them says to you “You’ve played this course before.”

James Baird State Park

One of the hats that I wear, is high school golf coach. Each spring, golfers from my team travel to Poughkeepsie to play the James Baird State Park golf course. Pronounced “Bard,” the course was opened in 1948, after a middle-aged, Robert Trent Jones, senior, put pen to paper to lay out the course. Jones was about to become a household name, as he would offer renovation advice to many of the country’s classic clubs. He was most famously associated with the Oakland Hills Country Club near Detroit, the host site of the 1951 US Open. You know, the one where Ben Hogan purportedly gasped “I’m glad I brought this course, this monster, to its knees.”

Trent didn’t leave a monster in Poughkeepsie. What he left was something that locals call Baby Bethpage. The James Baird course is blessed with topography similar to its five-course cousin, but it offered a challenge that Bethpage does not: a huge expanse of marsh across the belly of the property. There was not going over nor through it, so Jones simply went around it. He created something that he never, ever did: a short par three. Jones was a fan of the brutish, 200-yard plus, all-carry, par three hole. For the third hole at Baird, he had all of 120 yards, and it was downhill! Jones placed a green in the marsh, connected to the mainland by an earthen bridge. He then turned north for a time, then returned south, outside the marsh. Trent Jones had another stretch of tricky land to navigate, this time, on the inward half. He brought a trio of holes (pars 4-3-5) through a challenging corner of the property, before returning to the open meadow that hosts the majority of the layout.

James Baird is a tremendous golf course, one that prepares our high school competitors well for the next step: the state federation championship at, you guessed it, Bethpage Black. Six golfers move on to compete against other, high school divisions, at the big brother of them all.

: James Baird State Park

: James Baird State Park

: James Baird State Park

: James Baird State Park

: James Baird State Park

: James Baird State Park

: James Baird State Park

: James Baird State Park

: James Baird State Park

: James Baird State Park

: James Baird State Park

: James Baird State Park

Green Lakes

The Baird course came to life 13 years after Trent Jones opened his first, New York state parks course. Originally from Rochester, New York, Trent ventured 90 minutes east to Manlius, near Syracuse, in 1935, to lay out one of his first ten courses. RTJ was gifted the magnificent land that abuts the two glacial lakes in central New York. The lakes are meromictic, which we all know means that surface and bottom waters do not mix in the fall and spring, as happens with dimictic lakes.

Trent Jones placed his clubhouse and finishing greens (9 and 18) in an interesting portion of the property. The ninth hole is an uphill, par five that plays fifty yards longer than its measured distance. Once home to upper and lower greens, the lower has been expanded and enhanced, and the upper is now abandoned. On the other side of the clubhouse, the sneaky 18th moves out of a corridor of trees, into the open space beneath the clubhouse. It’s a bit reminiscent of the 18th at Bethpage’s Green course. It’s not a long hole, yet when you walk off with five or six on your card, you wonder where you went astray.

: Green Lakes State Park

: Green Lakes State Park

: Green Lakes State Park

: Green Lakes State Park

: Green Lakes State Park

: Green Lakes State Park

: Green Lakes State Park

The front half of the course plays along a vast meadow, above Green Lake, the larger of the two, nautical bodies. The inward side forages among the tree above Round Lake, before finally emerging at the home hole. The apparent contrariety of the two nines is resolved through expansion of fairway corridors on the treed nine, and the constriction of playing paths with bunkers and doglegs, on the exposed side.

If you’re a walker, Green Lakes will make you a fit one. It will also demand all the clubs and shots that you can fit in your bag.

Beaver Island

“Tame” isn’t the proper term to describe Beaver Island, the state park course near my home. I believe that “calm” is a better term. It may seem ironic, given that the 1965 course occupies a tract of land at the southern tip of Grand Island, where the Niagara River splits east and west, before reuniting at the north end. When we think of the Niagara, we think of the mighty rapids and cascades near the brink and bottom of the falls. At the southern split of the river, however, you can throw a canoe in the water and have a paddle. Beaver Island knows that it is adjacent to the river, but you never get the sense that this golf course borders water. I’ve redesigned the park hundreds of times in my head, moving the golf course to the banks of the river, where the trails, beach, playground, and other amenities are currently found. In the end, not every great golf course can, nor should, be built.

William Harries trained under the famed competitor and architect, Walter Travis. Despite this exposure to the master, Harries went his own way with his golf courses. The most striking difference is in green construction. While Travis was extraordinarily creative and daring, Harries was the polar opposite. His greens are routinely flat and easy to navigate.

He designed a number in the western New York area, including Brookfield Country Club. Originally known as Meadow Brook, the club hosted the 1948 Western Open, won by the aforementioned, Ben Hogan. The majority of Harries’ work was in municipal courses, and he designed Sheridan Park for the town of Tonawanda. That course hosted the 1962 USGA Public Links championship.

: Beaver Island State Park

: Beaver Island State Park

: Beaver Island State Park

: Beaver Island State Park

: Beaver Island State Park

: Beaver Island State Park

: Beaver Island State Park

: Beaver Island State Park

On Grand Island, Harries traced his layout around three ponds. The massive, western one, comes into play on the second through fifth holes. The middle one plays games with the approach to the eighth green. The final one, on the inward side, forces golfers to carry their tee shot over water, to the 14th fairway. Beaver Island bears no resemblance to the topography of the other locales mentioned previously. There is no heaving, no tumbling, no turbulence, along its fairways. Beaver Island is more St. Andrews in its flattish presentation, which makes it an honest, what-you-see, sort of golf course. It’s an enjoyable walk in the park, a not-too-demanding one.

Part Two: south-central New York-Soaring Eagles, Chenango Valley, Indian Hills, and Bonavista