Opinion & Analysis

Did Jason Day just have the best putting year of any Tour pro ever?

Published

8 years ago

Nov 12, 2016

Jason Day was ranked No. 1 in Strokes-Gained Putting for the 2016 season. His average Strokes Gained on the field per round was an incredible 1.13 strokes (4.52 strokes per event). For context, this is the largest advantage recorded over the 13 years for which Strokes-Gained Putting is now available. This article explains how his performance was superior, and why I believe it is the best ALL TIME.

What is Strokes-Gained Putting?

The PGA Tour added its new Strokes-Gained Putting analysis in 2011. It was a revolutionary breakthrough in analysis, and a huge departure from the myopic, one-dimensional putting stats of yesteryear (number of putts per round and number of putts per GIR’s).

Simply stated, Strokes-Gained Putting places a numeric value on each putting opportunity based on distance from the hole. The result of the shot (or putt) is: [Start Value – Number of Putts to Hole Out]. The starting distance values on the PGA Tour are based upon the average performance on Tour since 2004 when ShotLink was implemented. My company, ShotByShot.com, uses start values that are based on the average performance of all of the “Scratch” rounds recorded in our system since 2003 (Scratch = 0 differential from Slope Adjusted Course Rating).

Start = 8 ft. Value = 1.50 (A Tour player will make this putt 50 percent of the time).

# Putts: 1; SG = 0.5 (1.5 – 1.0 = 0.5)

# Putts: 2; SG = 0-.5 (1.5 – 2.0 = -0.5)

Here’s an example of how Strokes-Gained Putting works. Let’s say a golfer has an 8-foot putt, which the stats say a player should make 50 percent of the time. The putt is given a value of 1.5. If the golfer makes it, he/she gains 0.5 strokes on the field. If the golfer misses it, he/she loses 0.5 strokes on the field.

There is a complete explanation of Strokes Gained and its history on my website: ShotByShot.com.

Back to J. Day

I have conducted a detailed study of the No. 1-ranked player each year since 2011. The results provide valuable perspective for the Tour players with whom I work. Because the Tour now produces this analysis as far back as ShotLink was collecting the data, I can now include players from 2004 forward.

Strokes-Gained-Putting-1

P.S. I found it worthy to note that Ben Crane was the best putter on Tour for two consecutive years and Luke Donald for THREE!

Jason Day vs. the No. 1s

I was immediately curious to see what Day did to overshadow all of the prior No. 1s. Could it be that he three-putted fewer times than the other 12? No! Day’s 2.4 percent rate of three-putts per holes played was actually the second highest among his No. 1 peers.

Side Note: For the benefit of the rest of us, the average 10-handicap’s three-putt avoidance is 8.5 percent, or almost three times that of the Tour’s 3.04 percent average.

And no, Day also did not one-putt with greater frequency than the other No. 1s. It was his unusual consistency that set him apart.

We all have our good and bad days on the greens AND, so do the best putters on Tour… except Day in 2016. In 16 events this year where Strokes Gained was measured, he never had a negative Strokes-Gained Putting result. None of the No. 1s had ever done that.

Have a look at the numbers in the graph below. Only Tiger came close in 2004 with only one negative Strokes-Gained event.

Jason Day vs. 2016 Tour Average

Finally, I looked into exactly what separated Day by 1.13 shots every round from the rest of the Tour in 2016. Only 18 percent of the difference resulted from fewer three-putts (see three-putt avoidance above). The remaining 82 percent resulted from increased one-putts, particularly Day’s very high standard in the range of 6-to-15 feet.

My research showed me long ago that on Tour the range of 6-10 feet separates the good putters from the pack, while the range of 11-20 feet determines the winners. Day’s putting no doubt played a major role in his three wins, ten Top-10s, $8+ million earned and his No. 1 ranking.

Is Jason’s 2016 putting season the best EVER?

We can easily agree that it is the best since 2004. The numbers are clear. And I don’t believe that there could have been a better putting season prior to 2004, because there have been too many important advancements in technology and agronomy in the past 14 years.

Technology: The quality and consistency of the balls and putters has dramatically improved, and so have the instruction tools. Further, with vastly improved analysis by distance ranges, players have much better information on exactly where they need to work to compete.

Agronomy: Putting surfaces are simply much better. Improved strains of grass and dramatically improved maintenance equipment and practices produce consistently smoother putting surfaces.

We will never know for sure, but I am confident that Day’s performance, at least as captured by ShotLink, is the best ever. It will be fun to see if it can be topped in the years to come.

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Peter Sanders

In 1989, Peter Sanders founded Golf Research Associates, LP, creating what is now referred to as Strokes Gained Analysis. His goal was to design and market a new standard of statistically based performance analysis programs using proprietary computer models. A departure from “traditional stats,” the program provided analysis with answers, supported by comparative data. In 2006, the company’s website, ShotByShot.com, was launched. It provides interactive, Strokes Gained analysis for individual golfers and more than 150 instructors and coaches that use the program to build and monitor their player groups. Peter has written, or contributed to, more than 60 articles in major golf publications including Golf Digest, Golf Magazine and Golf for Women. From 2007 through 2013, Peter was an exclusive contributor and Professional Advisor to Golf Digest and GolfDigest.com. Peter also works with PGA Tour players and their coaches to interpret the often confusing ShotLink data. Zach Johnson has been a client for nearly five years. More recently, Peter has teamed up with Smylie Kaufman’s swing coach, Tony Ruggiero, to help guide Smylie’s fast-rising career.

25 Comments

Tony Wright

Dec 13, 2016 at 1:59 pm

Peter congratulations on an absolutely terrific article!

Reply Report comment
adam

Nov 14, 2016 at 7:10 pm

I think the stat could be further enhanced by adding the difficulty of a putt, in addition to the distance. The pro average on a straight, 8-foot uphill putt is going to be substantially better than 50%. Wouldn’t be surprised to see downhill, 8-foot sliders come in at 20%.

The good player will, of course, leave himself with easier putts. So, perhaps Day has the wedge control to dial in an 8-foot, uphill putt on a consistent basis. Does this make him a better putter, or just a better wedge player. Hmmm.

Reply Report comment
- Tal
  
  Nov 15, 2016 at 12:47 am
  
  That’s the next stage of SG putting. Taking break angle and severity into account! That would be awesome! Although even the best wedge players in the world can’t leave themselves a straight uphill putt all the time. So Day’s good putting is unlikely to be as a result of always leaving himself straight putts. If he could do that, he may as well just drop the ball off in the hole every time. TV distorts our view of why pro golfers are better than even top amateurs. It’s little improvements in all areas that make the difference. They can’t choose exactly where to leave the ball on the green.
  
  For perspective, his total SG tee to green (including .375 strokes per round around the greens) was .987 strokes per round. He gained 1.310 strokes per round putting. Despite gaining strokes around the greens, this shows his putting was more valuable to him than his short game, proving his putting stats are down to his putting like the author said.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - adam
    
    Nov 15, 2016 at 12:06 pm
    
    He’s a good putter, no doubt. However, every player with a wedge in his hand is trying to create a favorable putting situation (while minimizing risk). When you can move the ball and control trajectory and distance, you’re going to leave yourself with easier putts. Isn’t that the basis of Striker’s game? Of Furyk’s?
    
    However, I think the stat isn’t all that helpful at present. You’d need much more sophisticated data gathering and analysis. This has to be the next step for the stat to be truly meaningful.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Tal
      
      Nov 16, 2016 at 6:00 am
      
      I think it’s a very complete stat. There is room for improvement for sure, but it’s better than any other putting stat we have. Like you said, every player is looking for the best putt and again, these guys aren’t as accurate as tv makes them look froom 100 in. For this reason, SG is still able to measure pure putting skill better than any other stat we have. (It does take uphill and downhill into account too, by the way)
      
      Reply Report comment
- Peter
  
  Nov 16, 2016 at 3:30 pm
  
  Adam,
  I actually started with SG Putting 28 years ago and worked with quite a number of LPGA players (easier to get to know). My observations and limited testing did NOT reveal meaningful differences in relative difficulty. When MIT got into the SG game in 2010, they agreed that an 8 ft. putt is valued at 1.5 regardless of up down or sideways.
  Finally, on that point, imagine the added complexity of data entry – a major barrier to usage.
  
  Reply Report comment
mark

Nov 14, 2016 at 10:00 am

All I have to say is Jordan Speith’s putting in 2015 was the best Ive ever seen along with Tiger when he was on top. I don’t care what stats say.

Reply Report comment
- Uhit
  
  Nov 14, 2016 at 11:04 am
  
  They shot some outstanding putts, several times shown in the highlights of the tour…
  …but the (unspectacular) average was not shown, nor remembered.
  If I would collect all my spectacular shots in a best of…
  …you would assume, that I have to be the best player ever…
  …just like most of us, if we only look at our highlights. 😉
  
  …but if we look at our stats (if we would collect them…), you see, that we are far away from the top.
  
  Reply Report comment
- ian
  
  Nov 14, 2016 at 1:23 pm
  
  Yup
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Tal
    
    Nov 14, 2016 at 5:39 pm
    
    Spieth is an awesome putter for sure! His approach play and highly efficient driving were the keys to his great 2015 season though. His putting didn’t account for all of his winning advantage.
    
    Reply Report comment
Uhit

Nov 13, 2016 at 1:08 pm

“Strokes-Gained Putting places a numeric value on each putting opportunity based on distance from the hole”

Is a chip from 30 ft to a hole also a putting opportunity, if the player could use a putter?
Is a put from outside the green from 30 ft to a hole also a putting opportunity?
Or has a putting opportunity to be on the green?

A close chip and a additional put from 30 ft distance, is the same as two putts from 30 ft distance?
…and independent whether both strokes happened on the green, or not?

…and a three put from 60 ft on the green vs. a 40 ft chip plus a 18 ft put plus a additional 2 ft put?

Maybe Jason Day just knew better than most, how to play the last approach shot (to get in a better position) for the following put?

I think there still are many variables left, and SG is just another try to quantify something, that is barely quantifyable in a correct manner.

Reply Report comment
- Tal
  
  Nov 13, 2016 at 6:45 pm
  
  Only putts on the green count. Everything else around the green is accounted for by the strokes gained short game stat. It can be broken down further though.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Uhit
    
    Nov 13, 2016 at 8:01 pm
    
    Ok, but then, it makes not that much sense, to look at the putting SG isolated…
    
    …because the outcome is also depending from the short game.
    
    If Day successfully tried to achieve uphill putts with his short game, he had an advantage for his putts – if the rest of the field did not take that opportunity in the same way.
    
    It is hard to tell, but anyway, Day was really good, and maybe even the best around the hole – more often than others during the season.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Tal
      
      Nov 13, 2016 at 8:17 pm
      
      SG accurately (enough) demonstrates skill in individual areas compared to the field average. It also somewhat nullifies variables such as rough length and course condition by building a database of millions of shots over time.
      
      You’re right though; having the best SG putting stats doesn’t mean you scored the best. If you’re constantly hitting the ball to 3 feet then you’d be the best iron player in the world, but we’d learn little about your ability to putt. The SG stat system only works as a whole. I think the reason people over-analyse SG putting is because they’re still clinging to the idea that putting is the most important part of the game. SG data shows this to not necessarily be the case.
      
      Reply Report comment
      - Uhit
        
        Nov 14, 2016 at 4:28 am
        
        Yes, you are probably right, that maybe the strive to see the putting as the holy grail of golf is a part of the over-interest in putting stats…
        …and I can understand this, because if you have a 10´ birdie put on a par five, it is hard to accept, that you can make more than one put to finish the hole…
        …3 strokes for 550 yards and 3 strokes for 10´ is hard to accept…
        …especially with the same club in hands.
        A 70 year old golfer can be a better putter than a 17 year old.
        Putting is for everyone – long driving is not.
        
        Putting is the hope for the not that gifted player…
        …no matter what stats you are using.
        
        Reply Report comment
        
        Tal
        
        Nov 14, 2016 at 5:20 pm
        
        I totally agree. It’s hard to accept hitting an approach to 5 feet and missing the putt. People confuse the missed birdie opportunity because of a missed putt with the fact that putting is more important to scoring, simply because it’s the last thing you remember.
        
        Reply Report comment
- Peter
  
  Nov 16, 2016 at 3:35 pm
  
  Uhit,
  On Tour, only putts on the putting surface count as putts. In ShotByShot.com, I recommend that players count those shots from just off the green or on the fringe to be putts. If counted as Chips, their chipping results will be artificially improved. At the same time, shots that are truly chipping opportunities ARE chips even if the putter is the club of choice.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Uhit
    
    Nov 17, 2016 at 3:30 am
    
    Thank you Peter for the clarification.
    
    It is always a compromise, where to draw the line between (partly) interchangeable things.
    I remember a player, that chipped on a green, over a spike mark, into the hole (Garcia?).
    The SG stats are similar to a score card…
    …one don´t see the quality of the single shots, but you get a good idea, how well someone played –
    which is exactly the case in this article, where the SG stats help to identify a outstanding putting performance of a single player.
    
    Reply Report comment
Hans

Nov 13, 2016 at 4:07 am

First, thanks for doing the research into how consistency was the real difference (that’s what makes this article interesting). That said, it does at the same time beg the question of what makes for the “best” putter. If some guys stats are lower because he putted worse when he was out of contention, does that make him a worse putter or simply less focused when he mattered less and money when it did matter. And we might care about the latter more, than the former. Still, a nice result by day to stay above average every single event, it says sthg good about his method.

Another thing tho, it makes me wonder how much the distribution of the types of putts a player has affects the SG stat. For instance in a day one player might have more 5-10 footers than other players. Etc for other distances. And there might be certain distances where players have a better chance of getting positive SG over the field. As an example, I could imagine if you give some guys a combo say 25-30 foot putts all day that they lag close, plus tap ins fro, from chips, that their strokes gained might not have a lot of room to be very high unless his name is spieth. But you give the same dude a bunch of 10 footers and his ability to turn a good putting day into extra strokes on the field becomes much stronger, simply because you can affect the make percentage more. Not saying that those are the distances where that would happen, but more that there might be some critical distances where you can push your SG ahead the most (or lose the most) and so what distances you putt from could affect your ability to move the SG needle.

Reply Report comment
- Tal
  
  Nov 13, 2016 at 8:33 pm
  
  On your point about distribution of putts, that’s exactly what SG is for. It’s superior to simply counting putts as it takes both distance to the hole and how well you performed from that distance relative to the field. Let’s say you hit every shot from 150 in to 1 foot. Your SG putting would show nothing special but you’d be the greatest iron player in history and assuming your driving wasn’t horrible, you would win every tournament you played in.
  
  Day’s superior putting performance is down to just that; superiorly consistent putting because the SG stats show that ignoring all other factors (i.e taking SG putting in isolation) he outperformed the field by over 1 stroke per round. That’s a MASSIVE advantage. His driving and approach play added further strokes to his advantage.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Peter
    
    Nov 16, 2016 at 3:36 pm
    
    Well Said Tal. Thanks!
    
    Reply Report comment
- Tal
  
  Nov 13, 2016 at 8:49 pm
  
  SG isn’t the same as just counting putts. If you hole an 8 footer, you gain more strokes to the field than holing a 2 footer. So, if Day was only ever putting from very close to the hole due to great chipping, his SG putting wouldn’t show anything special, but his SG short game would. This article has only taken putting in isolation though, so maybe putting and short game were strong for Day last season. SG though, measures pure putting skill in a way that no other stat can. If you’re interested, you should read ‘Every Shot Counts’ by Mark Broady. It answers all these questions.
  
  Reply Report comment
K dawg

Nov 12, 2016 at 7:49 pm

Sorry but Speith’s putting the year before is the best ever. If the stats don’t identify that…then they aren’t measuring correctly.

Reply Report comment
- Tal
  
  Nov 13, 2016 at 8:35 pm
  
  You’re basing this off of television highlights.
  
  Reply Report comment
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Courses

The BEST hidden gem links courses in the UK & Ireland

Published

2 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

2 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