The Black course at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, New York, will host the 45th Ryder Cup on 26-28 September 2025.

When the Black course opened in 1936, it became the third of five courses at Bethpage State Park, all of which begin from a central clubhouse area. Park superintendent Joseph H. Burbeck led the project, with AW Tillinghast, who also designed the Red and Blue courses that opened the previous year – as golf course architect. In the mid-1990s the New York Parks commission hired Rees Jones to oversee renovation work to prepare the course to host the 2002 US Open, the first to be played on a public course in the United States. Jones has remained as design consultant to this day, during which time the Black has also hosted the 2009 US Open and 2019 PGA Championship, and is now primed for golf’s biggest contest, the Ryder Cup.

As the European and US team captains assemble their teams and fine-tune their strategies for taking on the “extremely difficult course which we recommend only for highly skilled players” as the club’s famous sign reads, we spoke with Jones about his 30-plus years of work on the course.

Rees Jones has been the consulting architect at Bethpage Black for more than 30 years (Photo: PGA of America/Gary W. Kellner)

How did you come to work at Bethpage Black and what was your original brief?

I had previously worked with the USGA on several pre-US Open projects such as The Country Club of Brookline, Hazeltine, Pinehurst No. 2, Baltusrol Lower and Congressional Blue. So, when they were funding the Bethpage Black restoration, it was only natural that they would reach out to me. The renovation costs were covered by the fee the state received for providing the course for the championship. I also was a friend of Bernadette Castro, who was the New York Parks Commissioner at the time.

Our objective was to elevate the golf course to the modern standards of conditioning and design. The course had become run down over the years and a lot had to be done to restore its character and improve the original challenge. We brought bunkers in closer to fairways, moved bunkers farther down the fairways, changed fairway lines and added new tees. Tillinghast had a philosophy of building a course with elasticity and fortunately he left the opportunity to lengthen the course.

It is a true championship golf course, an ultimate test of golf, and that is why it is a great fit for the Ryder Cup.

What changes have you overseen since the 2019 PGA Championship, in preparation for the Ryder Cup?

In recent years we have worked with Kerry Haigh, the chief championships officer for the PGA of America, on various tweaks.

In December 2022, we completed work to add a new tee on hole one for the Ryder Cup. The tee is forward and left of the main one. The PGA of America requested this so they could create a massive grandstand to service hole one and the eighteenth green. A portion of the grandstand will cover the main tee.

Jones has added a new tee to the first hole as a grandstand will cover the main tee (Image: Rees Jones Inc.)

Between December 2023 and March 2024, we oversaw work on hole five. The right bunker was reshaped to widen the floor at the far end of the bunker and to effectively intercept runoff from the slope above (on the right) from entering and washing out the bunker.

During this period, we also worked on the thirteenth’s first landing area. That work included eliminating the front-left fairway bunker, filling in the area and converting it to rough – the bunker was not in play for the pros and slowed pace of play for the everyday golfers. We also reshaped what was the ‘long’ fairway bunker to shorten and soften the grass fingers and also elevate the sand floor. And, we added a new ‘long’ bunker that angles slightly into the fairway.

Between December 2023 and March 2024, Jones oversaw tweaks to bunkers on the fifth (left) and thirteenth holes (Image: Rees Jones Inc.)

What complications will hosting the biggest golf event bring to Bethpage?

I don’t think there are any complications. The Park’s prior hosting of two US Open Championships, the PGA Championship and multiple PGA Tour events have provided valuable insight regarding overall infrastructure logistics, transporting spectators to and from the site, and gallery movement throughout the course and overall tournament campus.     

Bethpage State Park is the perfect size to host such a major event. The practice range has been located on the Yellow course’s first hole, and the chipping area is on Yellow course’s ninth. The space for the grandstands and hospitality is almost unlimited. The park offers excellent traffic flow and adequate parking is available.

What holes or aspects of the design do you think will prove pivotal in the matches?

Bethpage Black’s greens have been there forever, have settled and contours have changed so there are little nuances, little elevation changes that make it harder for the golfers to read. There will be some short putts missed.

Bethpage has a natural ebb and flow. Its continuous 18 will spread out the crowds, giving fans the chance to see more golf than if the holes had returning nines. The Black course features a mix of formidable tests, pivotal swing holes and a few very gettable holes. The setup will offer plenty of scoring chances, with the stretch from nine to twelve posing a stern challenge before the two very birdie-able holes. From there, fifteen, sixteen and seventeen can produce plenty of drama, and the eighteenth requires a lot of thought right off the tee.

Watch: the Ryder Cup’s hole-by-hole video of Bethpage Black.

In the July 2025 issue of Golf Course Architecture, Jones spoke about how he came to work at Bethpage Black.