How to get a game at Baltusrol… or maybe Bethpage Black

How to get a game at Baltusrol… with difficulty it would seem, so why not head a similar distance east of New York and take on the 2019 USPGA venue

Treading the same Baltusrol fairways as this year's USPGA competitors may be beyond the realms...
(Image credit: Getty Images)

How to get a game at Baltusrol… with difficulty it would seem, so why not head a similar distance east of New York and take on the 2019 USPGA venue?

How to get a game at Baltusrol, venue for this year's USPGA Championship? Unfortunately, with great difficulty it would seem as an American acquaintance from our Top 100 panel confirmed to me. He had had the good fortune to play there recently when he was hosted by a Baltusrol member, which is apparently one of the only ways that you can play the courses there.

“The other ways to get onto the courses at Baltusrol are either through a charity auction (often members will donate rounds to help local organisations) or through a tournament that the course hosts,” he continued. Hmmm… I’m not exactly local and sadly hadn’t made it into the world’s Top 100 in time for this year's USPGA Championship.

Treading the same Baltusrol fairways as this year's USPGA competitors may be beyond the realms...

Treading the same Baltusrol fairways as this year's USPGA competitors may be beyond the realms...

“Otherwise, I believe you would be hard-pressed to get a game there,” he rounded things off. “But as you know, that is the model that most private courses in the US use to run their club.” Okay, so barring a chance meeting with a Baltusrol member, it looks like a bit of a long shot. So where to play next time you’re in New York and fancy taking on a Major venue?

The obvious answer is probably Bethpage Black, the famous AW Tillinghast layout on Long Island 45 minutes the other side of Manhattan to Baltusrol, which was restored to its former glory for the 2002 and then 2009 US Opens, and has since hosted the 2012 Barclays. Now that it’s been rediscovered, it seems the organisers of golf’s premier events just can’t get enough of this fabulous layout – the toughest of the five golf courses in Bethpage Park – with the USPGA Championship slated for 2019 and then the Ryder Cup in 2024.

As an alternative, try Bethpage Black the other side of New York - host venue for the 2019 USPGA Championship

As an alternative, try Bethpage Black the other side of New York - host venue for the 2019 USPGA Championship

Despite being notoriously difficult, its two US Open champions – Tiger Woods and Lucas Glover – did manage to get in at three- and four-under respectively, but it would probably be wise not to expect to get too close to your handicap on your first outing, as a sign on the 1st tee politely points out that “The Black Course is an extremely difficult course which we recommend only for highly skilled golfers.”

We're not sure where the boundaries of "highly skilled' lie, but you can't say they didn't warn you!

We're not sure where the boundaries of "highly skilled' lie, but you can't say they didn't warn you!

Unlike Baltusrol, Bethpage State Park’s five courses are all public, with green fees ranging from $38 midweek for the Green, Blue and Yellow courses up to $130 midweek for the Black ($150 at weekends) with a midweek twilight rate of just $78 for what many consider to be one of America’s very finest courses.

Jeremy Ellwood
Contributing Editor

Jeremy Ellwood has worked in the golf industry since 1993 and for Golf Monthly since 2002 when he started out as equipment editor. He is now a freelance journalist writing mainly for Golf Monthly. He is an expert on the Rules of Golf having qualified through an R&A course to become a golf referee. He is a senior panelist for Golf Monthly's Top 100 UK & Ireland Course Rankings and has played all of the Top 100 plus 91 of the Next 100, making him well-qualified when it comes to assessing and comparing our premier golf courses. He has now played 1,000 golf courses worldwide in 35 countries, from the humblest of nine-holers in the Scottish Highlands to the very grandest of international golf resorts. He reached the 1,000 mark on his 60th birthday in October 2023 on Vale do Lobo's Ocean course. Put him on a links course anywhere and he will be blissfully content.

Jezz can be contacted via Twitter - @JezzEllwoodGolf


Jeremy is currently playing...

Driver: Ping G425 LST 10.5˚ (draw setting), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 55 S shaft

3 wood: Ping G425 Max 15˚ (set to flat +1), Mitsubishi Tensei AV Orange 65 S shaft

Hybrid: Ping G425 17˚, Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro Orange 80 S shaft

Irons 3-PW: Ping i525, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Wedges: Ping Glide 4.0 50˚ and 54˚, 12˚ bounce, True Temper Dynamic Gold 105 R300 shafts

Putter: Ping Fetch 2021 model, 33in shaft (set flat 2)

Ball: Varies but mostly now TaylorMade Tour Response