The first thing you notice when playing Bethpage Black is the price. At $78 for the Instator, it might be the best bargain in golf.
of Number 2 What you notice is the volume. Bethpage Black is only open about 200 days a year, but during those 200 days, the golf never stops. Golfers tee off from dawn until dusk, smashing through the grass in a mind-boggling constant procession. Maintenance staff often joke that Bethpage Black golfers are “like airplanes at the airport,” but the analogy makes more sense when you consider the mornings spent taxiing for takeoff on tee boxes and greens while golfers clog the jetway in front of them.
For many years, the only real mystery about the Black Course was how you were able to get a tee time. Rumors abounded at Fairway about “family friends” who could get you a tee time whenever you wanted, while the transition to an online tee time system could be hacked with only rudimentary knowledge of coding. In the first few years of the online system, tee times disappeared in milliseconds. Depending on your worldview and Python knowledge, this reflects either the inherent demands of Bethpage or the system being infested with malicious actors.
But now that seems to be changing. On Tuesday afternoon, the New York State Parks Department sent an email to golfers announcing the creation of strict new procedures for tee time reservations aimed at weeding out “bots” and other bad actors. The new changes, which go into effect on Thursday, October 9, will enforce new “two-factor authentication/reservation code” requirements, effectively guaranteeing that all golfers who book tee times through the online system are real people.
Under the new system, everyone who wants to play one of Bethpage’s five public courses must enter a code emailed to them at the time of booking to secure their time. A new booking code will be required for each new booking and will be sent to you via email.
This change marks the second time in 2025 that Bethpage has tightened security around its tee time system. In April, the park announced stricter cancellation policies and prepayment of reservation “fees” (previously a portion of greens fees paid at the time of play) to discourage customers from making multiple reservations at once. These changes had a noticeable positive impact on tee time availability (even by Bethpage standards) even in the midst of a historically busy playing season leading up to the Ryder Cup.
Still, some critics argued that the reservation and cancellation changes that went into effect in April weren’t enough to cut off bots and other nefarious actors. Under the new system, bots will make you lose motivation, But it wasn’t actually removed until the park instituted a “ReCaptcha” or two-factor system that ensured all reservations were human.
Now, in October, Bethpage has arrived at just that change, with the implicit goal of removing as many bots from the platform as possible and giving “People’s Country Club” back to the people.
The timing couldn’t be better. Bethpage just finished a historically busy playing season, even by its bloated standards — with overnight waits and tee times in the Black Course parking lot. two daysthe longest in the memories of many Bethpage residents.
Of course, the international attention was part of the appeal of hosting the Ryder Cup at Bethpage. The tourism revenue this event brings to the state is and will continue to be significant.
But in other words, spiderman, With great quantity comes great responsibility. Even on the black course. And perhaps especially so on the Black Course.
