Bethpage Red Course
99 Quaker Meetinghouse Road Farmingdale, NY 516-249-0700
Weekends: $39, $21 (twilight); no senior discounts. Description:
The infusion of cash the USGA provided Bethpage to get the Black in U.S. Open condition in 2002 and 2009 benefitted all five of the park's courses, none more so than the Red.
Over the last four years the Red has become a certifiable beast, particularly from the back tees, now measuring nearly 7,000 yards.
There is no more difficult opening hole on the Island than the Red's, an uphill 460-yard par-4 that even low handicappers struggle to reach in regulation.
The Red came in at No. 3 on SI.com's most recent "Top 10 Most Underrated Courses in America" list, no surprise to Long Island golfers, who in greater numbers each summer have been making the course a choice destination. The Red still is not as punishing as the Black . . . but it's close.
Course: 18 holes, par 70 Distance: Blue: 6,868
White: 6,555
Red: 6,206 Scorecard: Bethpage Red scorecard and layout Slope: Blue: 127
White: 124
Red: 126 USGA rating: Blue: 72.2
White: 71.2
Red: 75.0
