Play Bethpage Black Online, Free
Bethpage Black is the most famous public golf course in the United States. Owned by the State of New York and open to anyone willing to brave its difficulty, it became the first publicly owned course to host the US Open in 2002 and has since hosted two more major championships. The warning sign on the 1st tee is not a gimmick — this course will test every club in your bag. Now you can play all 18 holes free in your browser, with fairway layouts and hazard placements generated from real geographical data.
Click here to play Bethpage Black now →
History and Setting
Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, New York, sits on Long Island about 40 miles east of Manhattan. The park contains five golf courses — Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Black — all built during the Great Depression as a public works project. The Black Course was designed by A.W. Tillinghast, one of the golden age architects also responsible for Winged Foot, Baltusrol, and San Francisco Golf Club. Tillinghast created Bethpage Black as a championship test that would rival any private club in the country, and he succeeded beyond anyone's expectations.
For decades, Bethpage Black was a local secret — a brutally difficult course available to any New York resident for a public course green fee. That changed in 2002 when the USGA brought the US Open to Bethpage, making it the first publicly owned venue in the championship's history. Tiger Woods won that tournament by three strokes, and the New York galleries created an atmosphere unlike any previous US Open. The course hosted the US Open again in 2009, won by Lucas Glover in a rain-soaked week, and the PGA Championship in 2019, when Brooks Koepka dominated the field with a seven-stroke victory. Bethpage Black proved that a public course could stand shoulder to shoulder with the most exclusive private clubs in championship golf.
Every Hole, Measured
Across 18 playable holes, this Bethpage Black layout totals par 71 and 68 mapped bunkers. Nothing in this table is transcribed from a published card — the figures are measured from our own polygons.
Direct distance means the straight line from tee marker to pin. On a dogleg that is shorter than the route you would actually walk, so treat it as the carry the hole asks of you, not a card yardage.
A dash means we could not measure that hole reliably — 1 of the 18 fall into that category here.
| Hole | Par | Direct distance | Bunkers | Water | Green |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 386 yd | 3 | 0 | 454 yd² |
| 2 | 4 | 341 yd | 2 | 0 | 616 yd² |
| 3 | 3 | 209 yd | 3 | 0 | 720 yd² |
| 4 | 5 | 506 yd | 4 | 0 | 538 yd² |
| 5 | 4 | 417 yd | 2 | 0 | 525 yd² |
| 6 | 4 | 373 yd | 3 | 0 | 561 yd² |
| 7 | 5 | — | 4 | 0 | 595 yd² |
| 8 | 3 | 174 yd | 0 | 1 | 883 yd² |
| 9 | 4 | 431 yd | 4 | 0 | 650 yd² |
| 10 | 4 | 494 yd | 6 | 0 | 591 yd² |
| 11 | 4 | 413 yd | 4 | 0 | 654 yd² |
| 12 | 4 | 499 yd | 2 | 0 | 759 yd² |
| 13 | 5 | 587 yd | 6 | 0 | 511 yd² |
| 14 | 3 | 145 yd | 2 | 0 | 561 yd² |
| 15 | 4 | 413 yd | 3 | 0 | 580 yd² |
| 16 | 4 | 449 yd | 2 | 0 | 553 yd² |
| 17 | 3 | 170 yd | 5 | 0 | 633 yd² |
| 18 | 4 | 339 yd | 13 | 0 | 516 yd² |
| Total | 71 | 6346 yd | 68 | 1 | — |
The distance total covers only the 17 holes with reliable measurements; the par total covers all 18.
Hole Maps
These 18 plans are not illustrations; they are the actual course geometry drawn flat. Pale shapes are putting surfaces, sand-coloured ones bunkers, blue ones water. Every hole points the same way, tee at the foot, pin at the head.
Water is in play on 1 of the 18 hole here.
How This Course Was Built
Every outline traces back to OpenStreetMap. Running Bethpage Black through our converter produced 18 holes containing 68 bunkers and 1 water hazards.
Because the source is surveyed rather than stylised, hazard edges come out irregular. See about the project for the conversion pipeline and its limits.
Course data © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database Licence.
Questions About This Layout
Which hole plays longest?
Hole 13 is the longest at 587 yards tee to pin (par 5), and hole 14 the shortest at 145 yards (par 3). That is a spread of 442 yards across the layout.
Which hole has the most bunkers?
Hole 18, with 13 separate bunkers on it. The layout carries 68 in total across 18 holes, an average of 3.8 per hole, and each is drawn as its own traced outline rather than a generic circle.
What size are the putting surfaces?
The average mapped putting surface measures roughly 606 square yards. The largest belongs to hole 8 at about 883 square yards.
Is the whole course playable?
Yes — all 18 holes of Bethpage Black are here, totalling par 71. Mapping coverage was complete enough to match every green to its tee box with confidence.
Do these distances match the published card?
No. They are straight-line tee-to-pin measurements taken from our own geometry — the distance the game asks you to cover. A real card measures along the intended line of play, so published numbers for Bethpage Black will read longer wherever a hole doglegs.
Standout Holes
The 4th hole is a massive par 5 stretching over 500 yards with a bunker-lined fairway that narrows as it approaches the green, making the second shot a critical decision point. The 5th hole is one of the most feared par 4s in the northeastern United States — a long, uphill hole with a blind tee shot over a ridge and an approach to a severely sloped green surrounded by deep bunkers. The 12th hole is a short par 4 that looks inviting from the tee but features a small, heavily contoured green that rejects anything but a precisely struck approach. The 15th hole, a long par 4 with an elevated tee, offers a panoramic view of the course before demanding a laser-straight drive and a long iron approach to a well-protected green. The 17th, a par 3, plays over a deep ravine to a narrow green, and has been the site of dramatic moments in every major held at Bethpage.
Where Scores Go Wrong
- The warning sign. The 1st tee features a sign reading "WARNING: The Black Course Is an Extremely Difficult Course Which We Recommend Only for Highly Skilled Golfers." It is not an exaggeration.
- Championship length. At over 7,400 yards from the back tees, Bethpage Black demands length off the tee on nearly every hole.
- Deep Tillinghast bunkers. A.W. Tillinghast's bunkers are steep-faced and strategically placed to penalize both conservative and aggressive play.
- Severe elevation changes. The course rolls through hilly Long Island terrain, creating uphill approaches, downhill tee shots, and sidehill lies throughout the round.
- Thick rough. During major championships the rough is grown to US Open standards, but even day-to-day the rough at Bethpage Black is punishing.
How to Play
Drag backward from the ball in the direction opposite where you want to send it — like pulling back a slingshot. The farther you drag, the more power you apply. A trajectory arc previews your shot while you aim. Works on desktop (click and drag) and mobile (touch and drag).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I play Bethpage Black online for free?
Yes. This page hosts a free, browser-based 18-hole recreation of Bethpage Black. There is no download, no sign-up, and no payment required. Click the Play button at the top of this page to start.
Is this the official Bethpage Black golf game?
No. Let's Golf Online is an independent fan project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Bethpage State Park, New York State Parks, the USGA, or the PGA of America. The real-world course reference is used descriptively. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.
What major championships has Bethpage Black hosted?
Bethpage Black hosted the US Open in 2002, won by Tiger Woods, and in 2009, won by Lucas Glover. It also hosted the PGA Championship in 2019, won by Brooks Koepka with a commanding seven-stroke victory. It was the first publicly owned course to host the US Open.
What does the warning sign at Bethpage Black say?
The famous sign on the 1st tee reads: "WARNING: The Black Course Is an Extremely Difficult Course Which We Recommend Only for Highly Skilled Golfers." It has been on the tee since the course opened and is one of the most photographed signs in golf.