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Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy: Golf’s new rivalry?

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When Jordan Spieth lost in a playoff last week at the Shell Houston Open–possibly in part due to an ill-timed camera shutter on the first extra hole–it appeared the public had been robbed of the most appealing story from the event before the year’s first major.

Oddly, though, Spieth’s loss was the Masters’ gain.

If the 21-year-old had been victorious in Houston, he would have moved to No. 2 in the world a week before the big event at Augusta. Instead, Spieth placed runner-up and put his energy into a dominant performance at the Masters, an otherworldly victorious showing that allowed him to storm into that No. 2 spot with a force of youthful promise that we haven’t seen so powerful, well, since Rory McIlroy four years ago.

And speaking of Rory, he’s No. 1 and now Spieth’s No. 2. For the first time in McIlroy’s place at the top, he has a younger counterpart one spot behind him.

Rory and Jordan. No. 1 and No. 2. A combined 46 years of age and approximately a billion seasons between them before we should anticipate decline courtesy of Father Time. Are we being handed golf’s new rivalry for the foreseeable future?

It’s a tantalizing vision after the week that just transpired at Augusta. Spieth shook off a disappointing final round last year at Augusta, returning in 2015 to the tune of 18-under, absolutely obliterating a course that had not yielded a 72-hole total better than 10-under since 2011.

On a layout that has long been cast as a bomber’s paradise, he dominated the field without impressive power. Spieth, in fact, ranked 44th in driving distance among the 55 weekend competitors!

And this performance only reinforced a recent trend, as the 21-year-old entered the event coming off finishes of first, second and tied for second, not to mention his two other victories late in the 2014 season.

As for McIlroy, his week wasn’t as impressive, but didn’t exactly make us question his talent. After faltering to at least one big round in every Masters since 2011, the Northern Irishman finally broke the curse, posting a 71-71-68-66 finishing in solo fourth and six shots short of the Career Grand Slam.

Those numbers don’t do his work justice either.

The 25-year-old was 3-over through 27 holes of the tournament and below the projected cut line, and summoned all of his power to produce a final 45 holes that he played in 15-under. In a way, it was reminiscent of what Tiger Woods did in 2007 at Augusta when he briefly flirted with the cutline only to storm back to second place by the end.

In any case, Spieth and McIlroy performed at a high level, and with both now major championship winners in their earlier 20s, it seems based off these recent events that the two are guaranteed to dominate the sport together and fight vigorously for that top post.

But let’s not be premature here.

Spieth’s week at Augusta was as magnificent as his score suggests, and in a way it is actually underrated. His four-stroke triumph appears in the record books as a worthy but less than dominant performance. That’s kind of misleading, considering Spieth did this wire-to-wire, which only adds to the difficulty, and considering this aspect of his four-shot 54 hole lead:

But whatever Spieth says, his month of brilliance has not been his norm, and will likely be an extended peak to his usual play. He could keep up his series of wins and runner-ups for another week or two, but after that he’s likely to revert closer to his (highly enviable) average in the short term. It’s easy to anoint during a player’s peak, less simple to do so when time has passed and the player has regressed to his norm.

There’s also the harrowing issue of length off the tee. As I noted, Spieth pummeled Augusta without using much driving power, instead relying more on an all-around effort that was most potent in his putter. To an extent this is Spieth’s norm. For the past two seasons, he was remarkably average in driving distance on the PGA Tour finishing 80th of 180 in the category in 2013 and 89th of 177 in 2014.

Spieth has made remarkable improvement in club head speed in 2015 and that has shot him up the list to 55th, and his place among the above-average lot in power may be his true spot. Even if that’s the case, Spieth is nowhere near McIlroy’s top five rate in power, and that portends trouble.

Rory certainly has his flaws, his putting can be suspect and his accuracy off the tee can sometimes go awry, but those are defects that can be mitigated through extensive practice. A lack of elite power, though, is unfixable. And barring another pair of significant jumps in club head speed, Spieth will be forever saddled with this disadvantage.

McIlroy, then, will always have the upper hand when it comes to the tools to dominate and possess more leeway to employ flaws while retaining top-of-the-world status. That’s the sizable advantage long hitters profit from.

So maybe there are some reasons to cool off on an incoming Spieth-McIlroy rivalry hype, but that doesn’t mean I believe it won’t come to fruition.

A golfer doesn’t have to be a power hitter to challenge for the top spot; it’s just unlikely, not unprecedented. In fact, Luke Donald, a far shorter hitter than Spieth, kept his reign as the game’s best player for basically a full year. While Spieth’s recent play is probable to be classified as a peak, there’s no reason to believe he won’t reach more peaks in the future or that his average weekly performance won’t improve as he continues to gain experience on the professional circuit.

Spieth also appears to have the confidence and mental acumen to bulldoze any perceived disadvantages.

And how do we even classify rivalry in golf anyway? The distance issue may just be a red herring, as some have classified Woods-Mickelson a true rivalry despite its clear lack of near-equals.

The idea of a Spieth-McIlroy battle seems a foregone conclusion in the afterglow of this year’s Masters.

But let’s hold off for a bit on a definitive answer. Maybe give some time to view subsequent performances rather than handing over full control to recency bias.

I’m optimistic that we will see a robust rivalry between these two young superstars in the time to come, I’m just not willing to stamp it into certainty yet.

Whatever the case, this is an exciting time in golf. Let’s not ruin it by rushing into conclusions.

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Kevin's fascination with the game goes back as long as he can remember. He has written about the sport on the junior, college and professional levels and hopes to cover its proceedings in some capacity for as long as possible. His main area of expertise is the PGA Tour, which is his primary focus for GolfWRX. Kevin is currently a student at Northwestern University, but he will be out into the workforce soon enough. You can find his golf tidbits and other sports-related babble on Twitter @KevinCasey19. GolfWRX Writer of the Month: September 2014

18 Comments

18 Comments

  1. JordanJordanJordan

    Apr 15, 2015 at 3:17 am

    A good story for the near future. A nice way to hype us any Europe VS USA stories. The US needed this win!

  2. brian

    Apr 13, 2015 at 12:49 pm

    Way to soon to call it a rivalry.

    • Bobby

      Apr 14, 2015 at 11:28 pm

      Spieth is the real deal. Rory barely showed up this weekend. Not only that, Spieth is number 2 in the world. It’s a rivalry.

  3. bunty

    Apr 13, 2015 at 9:25 am

    Wont be much of a contest in hair growing in a few years time

    rory>spieth

  4. Jonny B

    Apr 13, 2015 at 9:16 am

    The “rivalry” won’t be created by the two players, it will be created by the media. It’s articles like these, and quips like the one from Jim Nance at the close of coverage yesterday that create them. I think the players (at least Rory and Spieth) have no interest in rivalries, they just try to be every single person they play against, not a specific one. So their rivals are actually all of their competitors, which makes any rivalry moot.

    Personally, I’d like to see some more trash talking and rivalry on the tour. It would have been refreshing to see Spieth take some digs at others after yesterday’s win, or even make some cocky remarks in general. I think that is missing from golf vs. other sports. Granted, it’s a gentleman’s game. But the humility and the political correctness of every winner week in and week out is why the viewership isn’t growing. People who don’t golf aren’t interested in watching it because it’s not entertaining. I don’t play football, or baseball, or basketball – but I watch because it is entertaining. There are plenty of heroes and villains in those sports, and true rivalries fueled by hatred of other teams and players. You just don’t have that in golf.

    Rory blasted Tiger yesterday by 7 strokes – wouldn’t it have been fun to hear him take some shots at Tiger’s “hurt hand” or something? Or when asked to comment on Jordan’s victory he would have said something like “come talk to me when he has 4 majors” or something like that.

    Wouldn’t it have been great if Jordan would have made some “Tiger who?” or “Rory who?” comment after a record win?

    • Fred

      Apr 13, 2015 at 2:55 pm

      That’s precisely the problem with many of the other sports. Too much drama. Why can’t you just enjoy the game and the excellence displayed by these great golfers? The need for drama queens and extra trash talk is very telling on your part. Go watch soap operas instead of sports. Nothing wrong with a bit of banter and going back and forth in a friendly and fun way, as I do with my friends. But come on man! People have in our modern day have lost touch. They feel this insatiable need to be “entertained” all the time. Just enjoy golf and enjoy life. Stop looking for drama. It doesn’t spice up life. It’s just needless and pointless.

    • Jafar

      Apr 15, 2015 at 12:21 pm

      Golf is a good place to get away from “everyone”.

      More people should watch it because they enjoy and understand the game.

      That kind of mentality doesn’t help boxing and it didn’t help Seattle win a Super Bowl two years in a row.

      Trash talk is for people who are too scared to let their skills do the talking. And doing it right after winning guarantees your quick downfall to reality.

  5. Ronald Montesano

    Apr 13, 2015 at 6:28 am

    I don’t know that the #2 ranking point is germane to the question, is this a rivalry? It’s trivial.

    The answer to the headline question is no, but feel free to disagree. Every golfer on every professional tour rivals her/his colleagues, so saying that any one-on-one is more important. To the best of my knowledge, Rory and Jordan have not gone head-to-head down the stretch in any professional tournament, nor has either expressed any outward dislike for the other.

    Sergio attempted to create a rivalry with Tiger in the late 1990s, but that failed due to the Spaniard’s performance. The media loves to create rivalries, as the mere headline tantalizes and creates argumentative discourse. I have no reason to elevate Jordan Spieth above any other, one-time major winner. He’s not even Dave Marr yet.

    • Rich

      Apr 13, 2015 at 9:52 am

      The media criticising the media. That’s funny.

  6. dapadre

    Apr 13, 2015 at 4:08 am

    This Masters brought forth and confirmed the following point for me:

    Golf has a new darling and Im a fan. Like how this kid carries himself in all areas.

    This is not a fluke. His record speaks for itself even before the Masters. Look at his top 10 finishes and other stats and well as wins or near wins. Keep in mind he tore up the Masters after its was Tiger-Proof.

    Distance is WAY overrated. If you can reach Par 5’s in two, whats the issue. Spieth is not a long hitter, TAKEN. but he is NOT short. His iron play and putting is lights out. The scary thing is that this is not the first time he has shown these qualities (strong iron play an putting). What many also fail to realize is that he is not that accurate off the tee. During the Masters he was better than usual, but even when is not he is in contention and that is scary. A player who is always in contention is going to do well.

    That Chamblee is a moron and clearly DOESNT know what he is talking about and his tirade on Tiger is strictly personal. Saw no YIPS from Tiger and for a guy who hasnt competed in while did quite well. His partner in crime Haney is Buthurt.

    That golf is Tee to Green, period.

  7. Nathan

    Apr 13, 2015 at 12:39 am

    I knew who wrote this story just by reading the heading.

    • Kevin Casey

      Apr 13, 2015 at 1:09 am

      I’m going to be optimistic and take that as a compliment. So, thank you, Nathan!

      • Scooter McGavin

        Apr 13, 2015 at 6:41 am

        You shouldn’t take it as a compliment.

        • Jack

          Apr 15, 2015 at 5:51 am

          He’s a college student. The whole world is ahead of him.

  8. MHendon

    Apr 12, 2015 at 10:59 pm

    I’ll take clutch putting, well above avg iron play, and avg distance off the tee over streaky putting, above avg iron play, and well above avg distance off the tee any day. In other words its about the putting. I think people confuse Tigers greatness with his distance but really it was his putting. Jordan reminded me of him on the greens today.

    • Kevin Casey

      Apr 12, 2015 at 11:16 pm

      I can see where you’re coming from there. And I don’t think it’s nearly out of the question that Spieth could be as good as or better than McIlroy. It’s just that the greatest players of all time (which McIlroy will be in if he continues on this trajectory) have a high majority of really long hitters.

      It goes to show that not having elite power makes it a lot more difficult to be an all time great. But certainly not impossible! And it’s a lot more impressive to see a guy without elite power on that list, because he has a clear disadvantage that he legitimately cannot fix.

      Spieth dominating a course that really favors big hitters is certainly a good sign for him, I’m just saying that the distance gap between him and McIlroy could be a looming issue. That extra power allows Rory to be less than stellar in other categories and still be at the top, whereas Spieth doesn’t have near as much margin for error here.

      You mention Tiger, and there’s no doubt putting has played a large role in his success. But his power certainly has also. It’s allowed him to dominate despite being absolutely abysmal when it comes to accuracy off the tee.

      I really like Spieth and certainly see a bright future ahead. I’d say he has a more polished game than McIlroy, and if anybody could make that distance gap a moot point, Spieth is near the top of the list.

      Just a looming issue, though, that I’m unsure of. We’ll have a better answer there a few years from now.

      • Jack

        Apr 15, 2015 at 5:57 am

        Spieth has been playing well for a while now, but his putter was just on fire it seemed this tournament. If he somehow maintains it, then he’s going to be a great. Tiger at his prime was awesome with his putter. Doesn’t matter if you drive it really long and then lob it, or drive it fairly long and then PW it. You’re going to score with a great putter.

        He killed it on Par 5’s, and if you can do that, then driving distance is enough. He struggled with it last year, and was pretty decent the year before that.

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Courses

The BEST hidden gem links courses in the UK & Ireland

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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 DornochStruie & 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!

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

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

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

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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.

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.

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.

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.

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

https://www.rydercup.com/ PGA of America Ryder Cup Trophy

Ryder Cup Trophy @ Bethpage – Photo courtesy of PGA of America

 

 

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