101st PGA Championship |
Written by Brett Cyrgalis Admin |
Friday, 04 January 2019 21:35 |
It is apt timing for Bethpage Black to get another major, the 2019 PGA Championship set to take place in May being the first major held at A.W. Tillinghas’ts venerable Long Island design since the 2009 U.S. Open, unceremoniously won by Lucas Glover. Since then, the Black has faded to the background. It has held two FedEx Cup playoff events, in 2012 and 2016, both unmemorable. It has also shimmied its way down the lists of golf course rankings, with Golf Digest placing it No. 37 on its biannual list of the country’s Top 100 courses that came out early in 2019. What that signifies is twofold: 1) The rankings are partly a popularity contest and Bethpage has fallen in popularity; 2) Shot values are not weighted as heavily as they should be. When David Fay bestowed the first U.S. Open to a fully public golf course for the 2002 U.S. Open, the hype was immeasurable. The histories were written about its opening in 1936, about Tillinghast, and about the possibility of superintendent Joseph H. Brubeck actually designing the course. There was fawning over “The Open Doctor,” Rees Jones, coming in to do the renovation. People came out in droves to proclaim their love for what used to be an empty, rock-hard piece of bureaucratic neglect. Then the two soggy Opens came and went, Tiger Woods winning the first in the dark and Glover winning the second after hitting a 6-iron off the 72nd tee. Bethpage had returned to glory (although it really was a new-found glory). But this public golf course had a personality that was rough around the edges, never quite fitting in with the high-society blue-bloods on atop the rankings. If Pine Valley, Augusta National and Cypress Point were having a party, they wouldn’t even ask for Bethpage’s address to send an invitation. You could also feel those places scoffing as they looked down to see blue-collar Bethpage ranked No. 26 in 2008. Of course, golf courses aren’t people. But the raters who compile these lists are, and scoff they did. Every ranking is meant solely to inspire debate — just look at our list of the Top 30 public courses in the area (Page 12), topped by Bethpage. But what has taken over these national lists is the raters’ overemphasis on the ambiance of a golf club rather than just the golf course. The experience while playing a golf course surely has to be taken as a big factor for determining the best in the country. If the 16th hole at Cypress Point played over a Texas prairie instead of the rugged cliffs of the Pacific Ocean, it’s not the same hole. Just as it should be factored in that Augusta National treats their guests like royalty — which you might be, if you’ve been invited. Just as it should be weighed heavily that the glass-like greens at Oakmont run around a 13 on the stimpmeter for regular member play. But in terms of pure golf, considering the strategy of each hole and the excitement of each shot, Bethpage is woefully under-recognized. In the Golf Digest rankings, it’s average shot-value of 8.0622 is good for 18th in the country. It shot-value was better than Los Angeles Country Club (8.0591, still ranked 19th overall in the country) as well as another local favorite, very-private Friar’s Head (8.0453, ranked No. 15 overall). Are LACC and Friar’s Head both better clubs, both nicer venues to play golf? By far. But when every shot is evaluated, Bethpage still comes out on top — as it should. So hopefully this PGA Championship will be a reminder to the golfing world just how good Bethpage really is as a golf course. Oh, the glory of the glacier bunker on No. 4, or the cape-like tee shot on No. 5, or the table-top green on No. 6! Oh, the terror of the cross-bunker on No. 12, or the uphill second shot from the fairway (god forbid the rough) of the ranch hole on No. 15! Oh, the joys of the amphitheater around No. 17, and the wonder of that short little devil of a closing hole! Everyone holds out hope for the weather to be good enough in May that course is ready for the primetime. And then everyone will be chomping at the bit for the 2024 Ryder Cup. Maybe by then, Bethpage Black will have returned to getting the respect it deserves. |
Last Updated on Tuesday, 22 June 2021 19:02 |