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Good to know. Did you have to camp in your car to get a spot to play, like the black?

it's great to see how far back the facility has come.  Condictioning wasn't the best for a number of years.  I played the black just after the announcement of the 1st open.  While you could tell it was a fantastic course, there was considerable repair necessary.  (washed out walking paths/bunkers, overgrown trees, shrubs in bunkers etc).  In addition to highlighting public golf courses, the USGA prompted substantial investment in the entire facility by selecting bp black as an open site. 

Played the Black from the tips on Cinco de Mayo. Good gracious it took me for all I was worth. Heck of a place!

It is great that a public venue can be kept as well as any Country Club. Gives the average guy a great walk.

One of these days I'm going to get to Bethpage...

I played the Black 20 years ago in the fall. It was in good condition and you could see why they had so many local championships played there. It was a great layout, tough and I'd never seen rough like that on a public course. If the grass laid the direction of your shot, it was no problem; however, if it laid against you, you might get the ball to fly 100 yards. I've always wanted to go back to see how it has changed since the USGA got involved. Had I decided to drive to the FJA Invitational, I would have trekked to Long Island to make BP Black one of the courses to play on the way home.

Bethpage Black is formidable test from the mere mortal tees for most. The strength of the course lies in the excellent routing and numerous risk/reward challenges: to cut a bit more off a dogleg or go for a par five in two. Contrasting these risk/reward temptations, there are several holes where a perfectly busted drive leaves you with long iron or hybrid in hand and 200+ yards remaining to the green. The sea breeze from the southwest blows into your face on the final holes: 15 through18  - Lovely way to finish a round! Greens with a couple of notable exceptions (15 and 17) a subtle breaks that will bedevil you when greens are fast - And course conditioning since the USGA Opens ensures that greens and fairways are typically in great shape. It isn't Augusta quality fairways, but certainly in the top 1% of all tournament venues. I come back to BP Black as one of the best courses - and clearly the best value for NY State resident greens fees - heck, at the $125 or so for out-of-state greens fees it is still a fantastic golf experience. All of the other courses at BP have been held to similar standards of greens keeping, one of the true benefits of turning BP Black into a professional tournament venue.  

With a little work the Red could be a better course than the Black. The Black is hard but the Red is a lot more fun and a more complete golf course.