Bethpage State Park (Black) • Farmingdale, Ny • Par 71 • 7468 Yards

Sporting an Iconic Warning Sign on the First Tee, the (Black) Course at Bethpage State Park Is the Most Difficult of the Five Courses Located on the Property. Founded in 1936 This Historic Course Is a Perfect Starting Locale for the 2016 Playoffs. It Has Hosted Two Us Opens (2002, 2009) in the Past and Is Scheduled for Future Events Such as the 2019 Pga Championship and 2024 Ryder Cup.

We Do Have Some Course History Stats from the Last Barclay’s That Was Hosted on This Course in 2012. It Is Not an Optimal Amount of Data but Can Be at Least Utilized as a Guideline.

Hole by Hole Analysis

Note: Images Are from Google Earthformat Notes: Tee Shots (Drive/Approach) = 290/150, (Landing Width)Green (Width/Depth) = 25/25Elevation: Distance in (Feet) of Elevation Change Uphill(+), Downhill(-)Direction: the Direction That the Hole Plays Towards. New Stat! Scoring: I Will Be Showing Scoring Percent per Hole Based on Under-Par, Par, over-Par. Under(Xx. X%), Par(Xx. X%), Over(Xx. X%)All Other Measurements in Yards. the Displayed Shot Markers Markers on the Images Are for “Tee Shot 1” for Each Respective Hole.

Hole #1: Par 4 • 430 Yards • Rank: 14

Referred to by Some as the Worst Opening Hole a Golf Course Can Have, This Hole Is a Tricky Downhill Dog-Leg Right. If a Player Manages to Miss to the Right on This Hole It Quickly Becomes a Nightmare to Get Through a Mess of Jungle to Recover the Hole. the Green Is Also Protected by a Steep Green-Side Bunker. It Is Still a Very Manageable Hole from the Fairway with Most Players Using No More Than a Wedge into the Green. This Is the Fifth Ranked Hole for Birdies (17 per Round).

Hole #2: Par 4 • 389 Yards • Rank: 13

With a Well-Placed Tee Shot Players Have a Rather Steep Uphill (30 Feet) Approach to a Blind Pin Position. Some Players May Even Hang Back to Around 250 Yards off the Tee to Have a Full Shot into the Green. Just Like the Opening Hole This One Can Be Scored on with a Tee Shot in the Right Place It Ranks Sixth Best in Birdies (16 per Round).

Hole #3: Par 3 • 230 Yards • Rank: 1

Playing as the Hardest on Hole the Course This Long Par 3 Is Quite a Formidable Challenge. the Green Angles Away from Players as It Plays Slightly Downhill. the Pin Position Can Dictate the Scoring from Day to Day, but the Hazards Around This Green Make Gaining Par Very Tough. There Aren’t Many Double Bogeys Scored on This Hole but It Touts the Most Bogeys on the Course (31 per Round) and Fewest Birdies (6 per Round). Taking a Par and Moving on Will Be in the Minds of Most Players. a Back Left Pin Position and Get Upwards of 250 Yards from a Back Tee Location as Well.

Hole #4: Par 5 • 517 Yards • Rank: 17

Immediately Following the Hardest Hole, Players Get the Second Easiest. This Is a Reachable Par 5 but Requires a Well Placed Second Shot to Get One of the Three Eagles per Round. Forty-One Percent of Scores on This Hole Are Under Par So It’s Safe to Say Your Guys Better Not Screw This One up Because Every Par Loses One Fantasy Point Against the Field. the Tee Shot Plays Slightly Uphill (+15 Feet) and the Approach Plays Significantly Uphill (+35 Feet).

Hole #5: Par 4 • 478 Yards • Rank: 3

This Third Toughest Hole Is a Medium-Long Par 4 Where Long Hitters Can Pick up an Advantage. It Only Plays a Few Feet Downhill off the Tee with Another Uphill Approach (+25 Feet). This Is a Straight Hole as Far as Shots Go but from the Tee Will Appear Like a Dog-Leg Right Followed by a Dog-Leg Left Approach. the Green Is Surrounded by Trouble and Slopes Back Towards the Players Coming In. Twenty-Five Percent of Scores on This Hole Are over Par So a Birdie Here Will Pick up Strokes and Fantasy Points Against the Field.

Hole #6: Par 4 • 408 Yards • Rank: 12

A Decision Holes Where Players Can Go Nuts and Drive the Ball off of a Hill That Starts Between the Fairway Bunkers and Collects Around the 310 Yard Mark with a Short Approach to the Green. Obviously the Image Shows This Comes with Risk So Some Players Will Hang Back on Top of the Hill Around 240 Leaving 170 Yards on Approach. There Aren’t as Many Birdies per Round (12) as You Would Think and That Is Mostly Due to the Tight Landing Area Players Need to Hit for That Easy Wedge onto This Well-Protected Smallish Green.

Hole #7: Par 5 • 553 Yards • Rank: 18

This Hole Plays as a Par 4 for Major Championships, but Lucky for the Players and for Our Fantasy Teams They Get to Take It on as a Par 5. That Means That Scoring Will Be Plentiful, Averaging Four Eagles and a Whopping 58 Birdies per Round, the Fantasy Goodness Will Come in Bunches. Even Though This Hole Has the Largest Landing Zone, I Highly Doubt Players Will Want to Be Far Left or Miss Right. Going Left Adds Distance Quickly and Hanging out to the Right Means There Will Be Tree Problems. at a Whopping Sixty-Three Percent of Under Par Scores, Pars and Bogeys Are Not Friendly to Your Fantasy Teams on This One.

Hole #8: Par 3 • 210 Yards • Rank: 5

The Distance Isn’t So Much of the Difficulty on This Hole as Is the Fact That It Plays at Moderate Length but 25 Feet Downhill to a Green That Slopes Back Toward the Players. That Makes Club Selection Paramount for Players and It Gets Even Tougher If the Winds Start Swirling Around the Gaps in the Trees Near the Green. Also When Hitting Downhill into a Green That Slopes Towards You It Is Much Tougher to Gauge How the Ball Will Spin When It Lands. It’s a Perfect Recipe for over Cooking One and Backing It Way Up. Only 11% of the Players Make Birdie Here and This Hole Ranks First in Double Bogeys (4) per Round.

Hole #9: Par 4 • 460 Yards • Rank: 6

Rounding up the Outward Nine Is Another Difficult Hole from Tee to Green. Most Players Will Choose to Stay Right of the Fairway Bunker That Guards a Shortcut to the Green. Long Hitters Though Get a Very Respectable Bump of the Fairway with a 300 Yard Carry They Can Easily Cut the Corner and Have an Excellent Approach. the Fairway Does Angle to the Left and Many That Try to Bomb It Will End up in the Right Rough, Which Has No Obstructions Other Than the Tall Grass, So the Trade-off Is Would You Rather Shoot from the Rough at 140Ish Yards or the Fairway at Upwards of 190? Worse Yet, Those Unfortunate Souls That Find the Deep Fairway Bunker Will Be Struggling to Make Par.

Hole #10: Par 4 • 502 Yards • Rank: 2

Continuing the Tough Stretch of Holes That Started at Eight, This One Gets Even Worse. on Top of Being One of the Longest Par 4S on the Course This One Gets Tricky on and Around the Greens with Some Awkward Sloping That Can Bring the Three Putts into Play. on the Bright Side They Aren’t Hitting Uphill on the Approach Shot So the Players Can Actually See the Flag. You Can See by the Percentages That One Player in Every Grouping Will Average Bogey or Worse on This Hole.

Hole #11: Par 4 • 435 Yards • Rank: 8

Players Have to Keep up the Grind for the Fourth Hole in a Row Now Even Though This Seem Like Is Should Be an Easier Par 4 Based on Length. the Fairway Is Guarded on Both Sides by Bunkers That Bottleneck Right in the Landing Zone of 270 to 290 Yards from the Tee. Keeping It on the Short Grass Can Be Rewarded and Missing the Fairway Once Again Will Make Gained Par Very Tough. This Is Another Hole Where a Double Bogey Can Come into Play from the Tee and/or from the Approach.

Hole #12: Par 4 • 501 Yards • Rank: 7

If a Player Has Managed to Survive the Previous Four Holes Unscathed They Still Have to Grind out Another 500 Yard Monster. Unlike Hole 10, It Only Takes a 270 Yard Drive to Cover the Bunker in the Fairway, but Reaching the Green Is Almost Impossible from the Rough That Far Out. It Is Made Even Worse by Some More Bunkers That Block Any Poor Shots Coming In. There Are More Pars Scored on This Hole Compared to the More Difficult Tenth.

Hole #13: Par 5 • 608 Yards • Rank: 16

Any 600 Yard Hole Has to Be Tough Based on Length Alone, It Even Sounds Scary Saying It. Tour Pros Seem to Make Light Work of It and Just Play Their Game Here and Score with a Short Wedge. of the Par 5S Though This One Can Be Where You Gain Some Separation in Fantasy Games. Unlike Holes Five and 7 This One Only Gives up Birdie or Better 30% of the Time and in 2012 There Were No Eagles Scored. with Only One of Every Three Golfers Making Birdie, Getting One Here Is a Nice Boost to the Score. as a Side Note, Without Anyone Reaching This in Two Shots It Makes It More of a Strikers Game on This Hole Playing 3 Quality Shots to the Green to Gain the Birdie.

Hole #14: Par 3 • 161 Yards • Rank: 15

The Identity of This Hole Will Be the Pin Placements from Day to Day. the Scoring Can Change Quite Drastically If Placed in Certain Locations of This Green. Also, If Any of Your Guys Hit the Ball into the Front-Right Bunker Say a Quick Prayer for Them Before They Hit Their Second Shot Because They Will Need All the Help They Can Get to Save Par from There. This One Can Also Be Considered a Semi-Scoring Hole Almost Reaching the 20% Mark in Under-Par Scoring.

Hole #15: Par 4 • 478 Yards • Rank: 9

The Tee Shot on This Hole Is Fairly Wide Open but Players Need to Be in the Short Grass for the Uphill Approach into the Crazy Sloping Green. Referring Back to Playing This One in a Video Game, Putting on This Green Can Get out of Hand If Players Don’t Leave Their Ball Below the Pin in Almost Any Location of This Green. Even Mr. Digital Tiger Woods Can Make a Double Bogey Here from the Rough! or at Least with My Assistance He Can. If Any Short Hitters Don’t Find the Fairway Here It Will Begin a Journey for Them to Save Par.

Hole #16: Par 4 • 490 Yards • Rank: 10

It Seems Like They Could Find Another 10 Yards of Tee Box Just So They Could Boast Having Another 500 Yard Par 4 on the Card. This One Is a Little More Manageable Since It Plays Almost 60 Feet Downhill off the Tee. a Straight Drive Even from Shorter Hitters Will Gain a Good Bit of Extra Distance Because of This.

Hole #17: Par 3 • 207 Yards • Rank: 4

Heading Towards the Clubhouse Players That Birdie This Hole Will Be Stealing One from the Field. It Is Around a 1:3 Ratio, Under to over Scoring Here. the Green Is Not Very Deep and There Is Trouble All Around It.

Hole #18: Par 4 • 411 Yards • Rank: 11

The Home Hole Gives Players a Decent Chance at a Closing Birdie. This Hole Does Bring Some Excitement to the Closing of a Tournament Since It Is One of Those Middle of the Road Holes I Referred to a Few Weeks Back. What That Means Is the Under and over Scoring Are Somewhat Similar and the Par Percentage Is Not over 70%. I Usually Would Like for Them to Be More Like 25/50/25 to Call Them a Split but This One Is Close Enough for a Finishing Hole. Players Need a Well Struck Tee Shot to Set up an Uphill Approach with a Wedge. the Trick to This Hole Is That It Plays Almost 40 Feet Downhill off the Tee Then 30 Feet Back Uphill to the Green. That Seems to Be the Theme for This Course. Long Hitters Can Airmail All Those Bunkers with About 310 Carry but That Seems Manageable Since It Is So Far Downhill.

2012 Stat Averages for All Players T10 or Better: Average Drive: 297.1Driving Accuracy: 64.278Gir: 66.44%Putts (Per Gir): 1.744Eagles: (.6)Birdies: (15)Pars: (45.2)Bogeys: (10.7)Double Bogey and Db+: (.6)Average Compiled Fantasy (No Placement or Bonuses)

Bethpage State Park (Black) Course

By James H. Sterling

• Oct 9, 2026 • 15 min read

Direct Answer • Key Takeaway

Battling Through a Grueling Season, the Players That Have Fought Hard Enough Will Finally Have Their Shot at the Very Handsome Reward of the Fedex Championship. This Field Is Composed of the Top 125 Players in Point Rankings from the Entire Season. That Means We Should Get a Field of Players That Don’t Randomly Drop an 80 and Destroy Our Fantasy Teams, or So We Hope. from Here on out to the End of the Season the Field Average Will Keep Getting Tougher and Stronger.

James H. Sterling

Environmental Science & Climate Journalist

James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.

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