Breakfast Ball #87: Brutal Bethpage

Now that was a fun weekend of golf. Ryder Cup prep also goes on. That means a big newsletter! 1500 words, 8 minutes of reading.

In This Week’s Newsletter:

What should we expect from Bethpage Black? Week Two of Ryder Cup Preparations

Last week we reviewed the storied history of the people’s country club, Bethpage Black. You can read all about that here.

Now, attention turns to the current state of the course.

Bethpage Black: What makes it unique?

Last week we learned that famed architect A.W. Tillinghast was retained as a consultant for Bethpage Black, but had little influence on its original design. That work fell primarily to Joe Burbeck, the superintendent of Bethpage State Park. When Tillinghast later reviewed the layout, he made clear what Burbeck’s ambitions were:

“It was Burbeck's idea to develop one of these layouts along lines which were to be severe to a marked degree. It was his ambition to have something which might compare with Pine Valley as a great test.”

There are a number of ways different architects have made golf courses difficult. Donald Ross relied on complex greens with sharp run off areas that made approaches and putting extremely hard. Alistair McKenzie focused more on strategy and precision, both off the tee and in your approach to the green. Burbeck made it pretty simple at Bethpage: hit good golf shots, and make sure you can hit them far.

Bethpage Black stretches to 7,468 yards from the back tees, and will likely be longer for the Ryder Cup. For most recreational golfers, the average par 4 here would feel more like a par 5. Length is its defining characteristic — and it matters. According to DataGolf, among all the courses in their database, driving distance is the single most reliable predictor of success at Bethpage Black. At the 2019 PGA Championship hosted at Bethpage, the top two players, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson, were also the top two players in strokes gained: off the tee.

You may be thinking, “well, that’s not very unique.” But to focus only on the yardage would undersell what Bethpage Black really demands. Length is just the beginning. Deep, penal rough chokes the fairways. Vast, steep-faced bunkers guard nearly every miss and encircle the greens. Add in dramatic elevation changes that evoke the great links of Britain and Ireland, and you have a course where every shot feels like a test. At Bethpage, survival requires more than just distance — it requires precision, patience, and resilience.

The most obvious example of this is the 484-yard par-4 15th, the toughest hole on the course. Players must find the fairway or be forced to hack long irons out of thick rough to a small, elevated green. A large bunker guards the front of the putting surface to gobble up any shots that come up short, while a back-to-front sloped two-tier surface awaits those who make it. It was the hardest hole in all three of the majors hosted by Bethpage to date.

However, the crew setting up the course are not expected to tune the difficulty up too much. “We’re going to have more birdies than bogeys,” said Mike Hadley, Bethpage Black’s course superintendent, during a Metropolitan Golf Writers Association gathering at the course. “That’s what this tournament really is. It is all about more action. So I’m excited about it because, for every other tournament we’ve had, it’s the players are trying to beat par, and I’m trying not to let them beat par.”

Therefore, the Bethpage we will see in a few weeks is likely going to be different to any iteration of the course from the past. Even more advantage for the home team.

What are the holes to watch?

While some holes at Bethpage certainly test strategy, others just present as they are: hit great golf shots, or else. One of those is the 478-yard par-4 5th. Meandering between a large waste bunker and a dense tree line, it is one of the most difficult fairways to find on the course. The penalty for missing the fairway is extremely harsh at an average of 0.59 strokes.

Finding the short grass is clearly important, but finding the right side of the it is even more so. Players who are on the left side will be forced to hit a blind shot into a green that is found in regulation just 34% of the time. However, find the right side of the fairway, and you will have a great angle into a relatively flat green to attack the pin and make birdie. Coming off the par-5 4th hole, the easiest on the course, the 5th offers a stern examination that can set the tone for a push to the back nine of a Ryder Cup match.

Not all great golf courses make great match play venues. One of the defining features of a true match play course is a closing stretch that delivers both risk and spectacle. Bethpage Black has the potential to offer exactly that.

The jewel in its crown is the par-4 18th. Any Ryder Cup match that reaches the final hole will face a gauntlet: bunkers flanking both sides of the fairway, followed by an approach to a green perched on a natural amphitheater. The scene will be electric — grandstands packed with roaring fans, the same stadium that frames the iconic first tee.

This is where the Ryder Cup’s magic will unfold. Memories will be forged. Dreams will crumble. Legends will rise.

Bring it on.

McIlroy Produces Moment of Magic to Win the Irish Open for the Second Time while Team USA wins the Walker Cup

This time last year, Rory McIlroy came agonizingly close to an Irish Open win at Royal County Down, losing out to Rasmus Højgaard by one stroke. Needing an eagle at the last, his putt slipped by the hole and the Dane took home the spoils.

Yesterday at the K Club, it seemed like McIlroy was destined for the same fate. He trailed Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren by two strokes coming down the par-5 18th, but a strong approach gave him a chance at an eagle.

As McIlroy stroked the putt, shouts of “get in the hole” and “come on Rory” emerged from the crowd. Then, when the ball was about two feet from the hole, silence. Surely it couldn’t be the same fate as last year?

Before the 29-foot bomb sent the local crowd into raptures.

Three playoff holes later, McIlroy added an Irish Open title to an outrageous list of achievements in 2025.

“I feel just so lucky that I get to do this, I get to do this in front of these people. The support has been absolutely amazing all week,” remarked an emotional McIlroy at the back of the 18th green.

“I thought it was going to be a nice homecoming, obviously coming home with a green jacket and all that, but this has been absolutely incredible. This has exceeded all of my expectations. Just so, so happy I could play the way I did this week for all of them and get the win.”

The only thing that could make this year better for Rory? A Ryder Cup win away from home. But first, Wentworth.

Team USA won the Walker Cup for the fifth time in succession with a 17-9 victory at Cypress Point Golf Club in Northern California. While the Great Britain & Ireland side held their own in the foursomes portion of the event with a 5-3 scoreline, the U.S. dominated in singles, winning the final session 8-2.

The Walker Cup is an amateur event that features the stars of tomorrow along with some of the best mid-amateurs in the world. The U.S. was led by Jackson Koivun, who has already earned his PGA Tour card through his play in college, but will return to Auburn University for another year. He defeated England’s Tyler Weaver 3&2 in the lead singles match on Sunday. Niall Shiels Donegan, who made waves at the U.S. Amateur earlier this summer, won 2 points for the GB&I side in his first Walker Cup appearance.

Coming up on tour this week:

• 🇮🇪 The BMW Championship at Wentworth is the premier event on the DP World Tour Calendar

  • Sepp Straka is the only European Ryder Cup player not in the field

• 🍷 The Procore Championship in Napa Valley is the first event on the PGA Tour Fall series and many of the U.S. Ryder Cup players will be in attendance

  • This is a change in strategy from 2 years ago when most of the U.S. team did not play competitive golf for 5 weeks before the event

If you have any feedback for the newsletter or would like to get in touch, I would love to hear from you! Email [email protected] or message us on Twitter/X at @BlueHorizonGolf. Thank you for reading!