Bethpage State Park

GeographyEdit

The park is not located in Bethpage as its name suggests, but is rather located almost entirely within the hamlet of Old Bethpage, despite having a Farmingdale postal address from the day it opened in 1934. The clubhouse and most of the area of the park where the golf courses are located is also within the boundaries of the Farmingdale Unified School District.

Bethpage State Park's name reflects the locality names that existed at the time of its creation. Old Bethpage was known as Bethpage prior to 1936, when the adjacent hamlet of Central Park changed its name to Bethpage. Following this name change, the hamlet originally called Bethpage resisted suggestions that it merge with the new Bethpage, and got approval from the post office to change its name to Old Bethpage, though it did not have its own post office until 1965.

HistoryEdit

In 1912, Benjamin Franklin Yoakum, a wealthy railroad executive, acquired 1,368 acres (5.5 km²) of land along the northern edge of the Village of Farmingdale extending into what is now Old Bethpage. Yoakum hired Devereux Emmet to design and build an 18-hole golf course on the land, which opened for play in 1923, and which Yoakum leased to the private Lenox Hills Country Club. At this time part of Youkum's estate, located adjacent to the golf course within Farmingdale Village was subdivided for residential use. This is the Old Lenox Hills neighborhood of Farmingdale Village.

When Yoakum died in 1929, there was conflict over usage of the leased lands. The State of New York, under the auspices of the Long Island State Park Commission, expressed interest in obtaining the lands, and purchased an option on the property in 1931. New York was able to assume management of the Lenox Hills Country Club through a lease agreement with the private owners in 1932, however Bethpage State Park was not officially purchased by the state until May 1934. Jesse Merritt of Farmingdale, Nassau County Historian, had convinced Robert Moses to name the park "Bethpage State Park" after the 15-square-mile (39 km²) tract of land purchased by his ancestor Thomas Powell in 1695 from three Native American tribes.

The original golf course became the Green Course; by 1936, three more courses opened, designed by A. W. Tillinghast under contract to the Park Commission; a fifth (the Yellow Course) was designed by Alfred Tull and opened in 1958. The park has picnic facilities, bridle paths, playing fields, a polo field, tennis courts, cross-country skiing trails, and hiking and biking trails including one leading south to Massapequa, but it is best known for its golf facilities.

Bethpage State Park also has a four kilometer and five kilometer cross country course.

Golf at Bethpage State ParkEdit

The park has five eighteen-hole golf courses, named (in increasing order of difficulty) the Yellow, Green, Blue, Red, and Black Courses. In 2002 the Black Course became the first publicly owned and operated course to host the U.S. Open. The tournament was won by Tiger Woods, being the only golfer to score under par for the tournament. The Tournament was seen as one of the most difficult and exciting U.S. Opens in history, breaking attendance records and creating a boisterous atmosphere for the U.S. Open. Bethpage Black also hosted the 2009 U.S. Open, which was won by Lucas Glover.

Prior to 2002, all U.S. Opens had been staged at private golf or country clubs or at privately owned resorts that, while open to the public, were very expensive for the public to play, with greens fees of several hundred dollars per round. The USGA's choice of Bethpage was seen as an egalitarian move; as of 2010, Bethpage Black's weekend price for 18 holes was $75 for New York State residents, and $150 for non-residents. There are a number of ways for golfers to secure a round on the always popular Black Course. To register for a tee time, guests must have their driver's license on file with the park's reservation system. Note that New York residents can reserve a tee time seven days in advance, while out-of-state residents can only reserve tee times starting at 7:00 pm Eastern Time two days before the intended date of play. Walk-ups are also accepted, although this option often requires that golfers wait in line in the parking lot through the night.

The logo for the entire golf complex is a profile of a boy caddy carrying a golf bag with three golf clubs sticking up from it. It is based on the images carved into the black exterior window shutters on its clubhouse.

RankingsEdit

In its July 2008 list of America's greatest golf courses, Golf Digest ranked Bethpage Black #26 overall, #6 in the state of New York, #6 of America's 50 toughest courses, and #5 in its list of America's greatest public golf courses. It is also the top-ranked course in the Golf Digest list that is operated by a governmental entity. The PGA lists Bethpage Black as one of the "World's Most Beautiful Courses".

PoloEdit

The Polo Grounds at Bethpage State Park offers a 900-by-400-foot (270 by 120 m) field with bleacher seating. The field was built in 1934 and has seen both high and medium goal polo. "Polo at the Park" is hosted by Country Farms Polo Club every Sunday from June through September. The 1994 U.S. Open Polo Championship was hosted by the Meadowbrook Polo Club and the finals were played at Bethpage State Park.