Opinion & Analysis

Bag Chatter: An Interview with Potters Putting

Published

7 years ago

Dec 26, 2017

Bag Chatter is a series of interviews that spotlights brands around the golf industry and the people behind them. We’re looking to make this a regular thing, so please comment and share through your medium of choice. If you have a brand and are interested in participating in these interviews, you can email [email protected] for consideration. This interview is with Marcus Potter of Potter’s Putting.

I’m going to switch this up a little bit and give you a tiny bit of an introduction. I know Marcus Potter as the guy behind @potters_putting on Instagram. If anyone reading this is not following him yet, please go rectify that and come back for the rest of this article. Now that that’s out of the way, Marcus, tell us about Potters Putting.

Well, Potters Putting is an Instagram account and website that I started to spotlight putting specifically, as opposed to most accounts similar to me that focus more on full swings. It all started when I was in college. I played golf at San Jose State University and one of my buddies was playing poorly in a Golden State Tour event. I watched him on the practice green and gave him a few pointers. The next day, he shot 8-under par with 25 putts. After that, we had a 10-hour drive back and my buddies were like, “You know, you’re a good putter and you’re also really good at teaching people how to putt. You should start an Instagram account or something.” So, I was kind of like “What the heck? Sure why not,” mainly because I don’t think many other people were focusing solely on putting. So, I literally started the Instagram account on the drive back and just started posting content. I just posted videos of tour pros putting well and explained what made them great at putting. This was in March of this year (2017).

Talk to me about how it evolved into over 21.7K followers on Instagram in just a few short months?

Well, shortly after this whole thing started, I happened to be graduating from college. Things were kind of hectic at that point and I took almost all of May off. Then I got back into it, started posting like 2-3 videos a day and it really took off after that. Somewhere around July is where it kind of exploded, so to be honest, most of the growth has come in the last three or four months. The website came about to give people a way to reach me because I was getting completely overloaded through Instagram and I also wanted to be able to give online lessons.

Tell me about some of your personal putting heroes. Do you have anyone in particular that jumps to the front of your mind? What about them sticks out to you?

Tiger Woods comes to my mind first. His stroke is my personal favorite, but also I watched him make so many putts under pressure when I was growing up. It was remarkable. Yes, his mechanics are great, but his confidence and mental strength are just remarkable and those things are so important to putting I don’t think it could be overstated. Bobby Jones also sticks out to me. The things he talked about and the mechanics of his stroke are still relevant today and he was putting on greens that were like a 4 on the stimp.

Great view of @tigerwoods warming at the Hero World Challenge. You’ll see a beautiful setup, with the ball off his left heel to promote hitting the ball with a slightly upward motion. You can also see a very subtle forward press, but it gets his hands starting at the ball. I see WAY too many people with hands way behind the ball at address, massive compensation required for that. Overall great to see ???? back with some from. How do you think his 2018 goes on the course?? ????: @shortgamegod

A post shared by Marcus Potter (@potters_putting) on Dec 7, 2017 at 3:11pm PST

How do you explain the exceptions to the rule, if you will? By that, I mean there are a lot of very unconventional strokes that make it out on tour. Isao Aoki is always the first that comes to my mind. Bobby Locke is widely considered one of the greatest putters of all time and he did not have what most would consider to be a textbook putting stroke. What gives?

Well, about Bobby Locke specifically, if you’ve ever spent time trying to recreate his stroke, you’d notice that it does put a very good roll on the ball. I think the biggest key for people in that camp, though, is that their strokes worked for them. Before anything, I think putting is really all mental. If you really only care about visualizing the putt and starting the ball on line with a true roll and the right speed, then having the “perfect” stroke doesn’t really matter too much per se. There are fundamentals to great putting and they’re almost universally helpful, but if you spend a bunch of time trying to become someone you’re not, you’re not becoming a better putter at that point.

Talk a little more about the space between the ears when putting. When it comes to things like confidence, state of mind, strategy, etc., how would you break that down for the average golfer looking to get better?

It’s hard to adequately put into words, that’s for sure, but your state of mind plays such a huge role. For example, if I have a 10-foot birdie putt as opposed to a 10-foot par putt, it’s easy to think about those differently in your mind. With the birdie putt, I’m hoping I can pick up a shot. With the par putt, I’m doing everything I can to avoid dropping a shot. Those are two very different things.

I think routine is a huge deal when it comes to your mental approach to putting. I say that because it gets you in the right mindset (or at least a good routine should do that). Whatever your routine is (reading putts behind the hole, behind the ball, below the hole, whatever), when you lock it in and do it the same way every time, you aren’t focusing on anything outside of this one putt (including any pressure you may be under to make it). You’re in the moment because you’re focused on this putt, but you’re not focused on the pressure of the moment, which generally frees you up to roll the ball more effectively.

Lastly, make sure you don’t get static over the ball. This gives time for bad thoughts to creep in. When you’ve finished you’re routine and are standing over the ball, don’t just stand there. Some people take one last look at the hole right before firing. Some people use a forward press, which is also very effective. What you do is kind of up to you, but again just make sure you’re not standing still over the ball and thinking because that won’t end well.

So, after you’ve gone through your routine, read the putt and gotten set up, you have to swing the putter. I know each putting stroke is unique, but in your opinion what are some keys or fundamentals to a good putting stroke?

I would have to start by saying it’s always preferable to have an equal length backstroke and follow through (which varies depending upon the length of the putt, of course). That really helps with distance control.

Also, any kind of loop in the transition from back stroke to follow through is death. Seriously, it just kills a good putting stroke. The reason I say that is because once you do that, you immediately have to compensate after that. You went from being in a good position to now having to overcorrect to square the face of the putter again. It creates a lot of wasted motion, which there isn’t much time for in such a short swing. Also, if you do loop in the transition, very rarely will you loop the same way every time, so your timing will be off as a result. There’s just a lot of stuff that can go wrong. One of my favorite drills to combat the loop in transition is to take the putter back, hold it for a couple seconds, and then follow through to the ball. Sort of like a Hideki Matsuyama putt, if you will.

Also, don’t get too fast during the transition. It’s pretty subtle, but you need to smoothly go from taking the putter back to swinging it through the ball — not jerk it. The stroke needs to be fluid. Don’t try to hit or jab the ball. Just swing the putter and almost forget that there’s a ball in the way.

Lastly, I know we’ve already addressed this, but don’t be someone you’re not. If you have a unique stroke, but it works, own it. If you try to make yourself have a “TV” stroke, you might ruin yourself. Stick to what’s good for you, not necessarily what works for Tiger. The more natural you are over the ball, the better of a putter you’ll be.

Video of the pause drill used to improve timing and combat loop in the transition

That feels like a good place to transition over to talking about putters specifically, so I’ll start there. Do you think how well a putter fits your eye plays into this? Can you be confident and find a groove with a hideous putter?

Absolutely it plays a role. You can find a groove with a putter you don’t like the look of, but it will be a forced groove and therefore its effectiveness will be somewhat limited. It’s not the most important thing when purchasing a putter by far, but it does mean something. I’m fortunate to say that David Edel is a friend of my family’s and I’ve been custom fit by him personally. One of the things he says (which is kind of an extension of what we’re talking about) is that everyone lines up to different shapes differently. If I hand the same guy an Anser-style blade, a mid-mallet, and a Spider (for example), he will set those putters down on the ground differently and he will use them to frame the ball differently. Your alignment can be wildly different between different putters and that doesn’t even address how well it may or may not fit someone’s stroke. The shape of a putter and how well it fits your eye is definitely a big deal.

How often do you think people should switch their gamer?

That’s hard for me to say. I think you have to notice that most of the best putters will stick with their main squeeze for a very long time (Ben Crenshaw and his 8802, Stricker and his Odyssey #2, and so on). I’ve putted with the same putter since I was like 13 years old. It’s a Bobby Jones Edel putter. It’s one of like 8 putters that he got permission from the Bobby Jones family to use the name. It’s been very good to me over the years and at this point, I just trust it a lot, so I won’t mess with it.

Marcus Potter’s personal Edel putter

You’re obviously really active on social media. Present company excluded, who do you think are some of the best accounts to follow for golfers?

@shkeengolf is a teacher up in Canada who posts a lot of good instructional content. Andrew Rice (@andrewricegolf) is another teacher on Instagram that comes to mind. I guess what I like about those guys is that the way they explain what they’re teaching really makes it sink in. It’s not like WebMD like a lot of people where you’re chasing random symptoms and find out you may have testicular cancer or something. The stuff they post is meaningful and is explained in such a way that it really clicks.

If you could only have one mastered and struggle with the other, would you rather have perfect speed control or perfect line? Why?

Speed. All day long. If you hit a well-paced putt on a poor line it will only go so far offline. If you hit a putt on the right line with terrible pace, you’ll wind up farther away from the hole every time.

If today was your last day on earth, what would you have for dinner and where would you play golf?

If today was my last day on Earth, I would definitely play the Old Course. It’s No. 1 on my bucket list and if I knew I was not going to be around tomorrow, I would drop everything and go play it. I don’t care what I eat for dinner at that point. It could be McDonald’s for all I care.

Here’s your time for shameless promotion. Lay it out there. Tell people where to find you, what’s coming up next, what to look for, etc.

Well, we’ve mentioned the Instagram handle. I think the thing to talk about here is the website, which is www.pottersputting.com. The big thing with the website is that through there, I can conduct online putting lessons with anyone regardless of their location. Most people don’t know that I do that as well. I get inundated through Instagram, so going through the website is definitely a better way to reach me. To do an online lesson, I need a face-on and a down-the-line view of you putting and I can do my lessons from anywhere. I do need to see your full body (head to toe) in both videos so I can accurately work with you. I have different lesson packages available and also an at-home practice guide. My main philosophy is that putting is really not as complicated as some people make it out to be. I try to keep it simple and free people up to become better putters in their own way.

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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