I am expecting live updates in this forum ...

It may be crazy, but I know it'll be worth it!

Play well,
Abby

Team Titleist Staff

Chris,
Looking forward to your posts and pics. Enjoy the experience!!

Barry

I am tuned in and envious.
Enjoy your time and play well with your guys.
...looking forward to your picture posts.

See you in a few hours, Chris! Should be an awesome experience.

And thanks again for leading the advance team to hold the spot!

Have a great time! You drove right by me; I'd have joined you guys for sure!!

So jealous. Have fun and hopefully you get "a little something for the effort".

Play Well.

Tyler

Can't wait to hear all about it!!

Have a great time and take some pics!

We made it through the night and we'll be the first group out on the Black Course today. Can't beat a sunrise at Bethpage!

Enjoy!!! Looks like an amazing sunrise!!!
Played Bethpage Black prior to the redesign...It was a real dog track back then.
Hit them Straight!

Cheers,
Dr. K

Keep the updates coming!

Mike & Chris,
You're killing me....it's raining here with no let up in sight, so no golf today!

Enjoy your round, it looks like you have great weather for it.

$130 for a weekday out-of-towner green fee is way more than I am willing to pay to play on any golf course. Sorry New York state.

DV

Looking forward to seeing the posts. I am playing 3 courses in Scotland in September, all bordering Royal Troon (which is closed for refurb) and will post pics also

A trip to remember and what an amazing experience.. First I want to thank Mike D. and Rich T. for joining me.. Not only is their game solid but hands down some of the funniest guys to be around with. Lots of good laugh and just great company...

Ok on to Bethpage Black. Let me tell you it didn't disappoint one tiny bit and well worth the money to play this course... It's the home of the 2002 and 2009 US Open, hosting the Barclays in a few weeks and also hosting the PGA Championship in 2019 and Ryder Cup in 2024...

NOTES:
- We had to spend the night in the car. There's a long history about this and won't explain it on here so feel free to google it and you'll see why we did this and the only way to get a solid tee time... It was a lot of fun hanging out with other golf nuts like us and learning the tradition since a few of them have done it a lot..

- We barely slept 1-2 hours if that and didn't help that Rich's car alarm went off while trying to sleep.. Bravo! :) It was pretty funny actually. Sleeping in the car was tough, not going to lie. One of the golfers that’s been doing this for years brought a sleeping tent and a nice comfy sleeping bag. Slept like a king.. An idea for next year!

- 4 a.m. alarm clock goes off. I get up and there’s Mike checking his emails. Now, that's a hard working man right there.

-4:30 a.m. an employee from the course comes around and hands us tickets. And since we were numero uno, we were first in line to reserve our tee time..

- Headed over to the check in area, showed our tickets to the man at the front door who by the way didn’t look happy, must’ve been a tough night for him but anyways, checked in, paid and 7:36 a.m. tee time reserved for me, Rich and Mike.. First.One.Out.. Does it get any better than that???? No...

- All of this was done by 4:45 a.m. What to do now? Well it was either go back to sleep or grab something to eat. We hopped in my car and went to Bagel Boss about 10 minutes away and grabbed some coffee and a bagel. It was good!!!

- Sat on the patio at Bethpage behind the clubhouse to watch the sunrise over the 1st hole.. It was dreamy…..

- 6 a.m. we went to the car and got changed. Since the Barclays was in a few weeks we were not allowed to use the locker room to shower.. Didn’t understand that part but oh well. For future reference, they do have locker rooms and can take a shower there for $5.

- Got changed and headed to the driving range. The range is pretty weak and you have to pay for a bucket which wasn’t too bad. So we split a large bucket. Another thing about the range, no driver.. Just irons and fairway woods…

- Headed to the putting green. Beautiful greens but no cup.. So put a tee down and that’s your target..

- 7:20 a.m. we checked in with the starter…

- 7:36 The starter called us out.. Man oh man was I nervous on the first tee.. All the groups watching behind you.. But thinking about it, this is the same tee box and the only tee box were the Pros hit from on the first tee. It was awesome…

- This course DID NOT disappoint.. You read all the hype online and it's ten times more.. I really can't describe just how beautiful this course is.. I've played TPC Boston and Bethpage BLOWS IT AWAY. Period.. And to have the stands up through-out the whole course in preparation for the Barclays, PRICELESS..

- This is the toughest course I have ever played. If you’re not in the fairway, you’re hitting wedge outta the rough.. I have NEVER seen roughs like this before.. If you’re trying long iron, ha! Good luck.. We spent a good amount of time as well looking for our golf balls.. .

- The putting greens was amazing. True roll and fast.. LOVED IT! And it was the SOFTEST greens I have ever played…. Balls weren’t moving at all.. When they landed, it landed….

- No carts allowed on this course. Basically carry your own bag, push cart or get a caddie.. This is a tough course to walk, about 8 miles of up and down hills.. We were told by some of the locals, an easy 5 hour round.. Not for us, we were done 4:35.. Could’ve been sooner if we didn’t hit the roughs so much  Big key is to stay hydrated..

- How did we shoot? I shot 91, 1 birdie, a few pars, a few bogeys and quite a few doubles.. And I only lost one ball to the ONLY WATER on the course.. haha.. So I was happy with that.. Mike shot 80s and played really well and Rich.. Well he's a great golfer to begin with but to shoot 78 with 4 birdies and one triple was insane.. This was probably the BEST I've ever seen him play.. It was a lot of fun watching him..

- The 19th hole was well deserved and couldn’t stop talking just how nice this course was… Bethpage Black is a MUST for every golfer out there.. put it on your bucket list, spend the night in the lot and have a great time…

- After the 19th hole, we headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest.. The next morning we woke up at 5:30 a.m. and headed to Pound Ridge Golf course. Another gem and worth checking out. It’s pricey but worth checking out….

Yes I will be playing this again next year and CANNOT WAIT!

A few tips if you wanna play:
Bethpage Black reserves the first hour for golfers spending the night in the lot. It’s a big tradition that they continue to stand by..

Yes you can call for tee times. If you know a NY residents, beg him/her to play with you. They must be present or you’re not going out. They can call 7 days in advance. If you’re out of state, you can apply for a number and try to make a tee time but it’s 2 days in advance. I tried and had NO LUCK. We knew this would happen.

Spending the night in the car and what we were told, if you’re going to play weekday, showing up between 4-5 p.m. the day before will be good for the first 6 groups. Weekends show up between 11-12 the day before. Weekends are VERY busy.

If you’re not in the first 6 group, no worries. Every hour they have a spot open for the walk on/overnighters.

If you have any other questions feel free to shoot me a message..

If you’re still reading this, thank you for taking the time.. I hope it was enjoyable to read…

here are some pics.. We took a ton but only going to show a few.. enjoy

Christopher, I play it regularly living area! Glad you enjoyed it. I feel it is one of best tracks around! Pix are great! Be interesting to see the pros at the Barclays!

Chris,
Sounds like a very fun outing. Sleeping in your car (or at least trying to sleep) is certainly a part of the experience you'll never forget. Great pics! Thanks for sharing.

Simply an epic write up. I can't wait to join you knuckle heads next year.

Thanks bud and already looking forward to next year with you and the original handsome boys...