What Is The Nassau Players Club?

Not for the first time in its history, Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York, takes center stage in the golf world, this time as the host venue of the 45^th Ryder Cup.

Previously, the course, which opened in 1936, held two editions of the US Open, in 2002 and 2009, and the 2019 PGA Championship.

Following the Ryder Cup, it will also host another Major, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, in 2028 and the PGA Championship again five years later.

Even though the staging of such high-profile contests makes the course one of the most famous in the US, at its heart is its worth to the local community as an affordable public course.

In that spirit came Nassau Players Club, which is based at Bethpage State Park and is also the location of the Yellow, Green, Blue and Red courses.

Nassau Players Club was formed in 1993 by golfers who regularly traveled to Bethpage State Park to take on the Black Course and became friends. The bonds became so strong that, eventually, the golfers began seeing themselves as a club.

Per Golf Digest, that became official thanks to one of the players, Sean McGowan, who held a meeting at his mother’s house to discuss applying to the USGA and Metropolitan Golf Association to become a “club without real estate.”

The golfers paid a $20 membership fee and named themselves Nassau Players Club after New York’s Nassau County, where many of them lived.

The club grew through the years, particularly with Bethpage Black’s hosting of the 2002 US Open. That led to an official application process to join, with hopefuls needing a sponsor and four members who would vouch for them.

Six years later, Nassau Players Club was reported to have the lowest average Handicap Index of any public of private club in the US, and by the 2019 PGA Championship, it had more than 100 members.

Nowadays, Nassau Players Club has a board of directors, while there’s a constitution and bylaws. Its members also adhere to a code of conduct.

It also has a website, which explains it hosts a “full calendar of tournaments, events, and outings throughout the year,” while it “prides itself on the friendships formed and the traditions upheld, creating an experience that extends well beyond the scorecard.”

It also states that “we remain committed to celebrating the game we love, honoring the legacy of our home course, and continuing to grow a club where golfers of all backgrounds can feel welcome.”

The influence of Nassau Players Club is not lost on US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, either.

Ahead of the Ryder Cup, he explained just how much the venue means to the members, saying: "There's a group of players called the Nassau Players Club that they only play Bethpage. They won't play any other course.

"You talk to them what Bethpage means to them, it's not only the golf course, but it's their dad taught them to play there, then their grandfather taught them to play there, they caddied there.

"It's much more than a golf course to a lot of these people. When you add all these things up, you're going to get fiery fans."