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The 2025 Ryder Cup is coming to the world-renowned Bethpage Black Course, which makes us curious to examine some of the facility’s on-course performance data. As we get into the stats (provided by Shot Scope’s performance tracking users), Bethpage Black is perpetually one of golf’s top-rated courses. And it comes with a posted caution sign to golfers: “WARNING. The Black Course is an extremely difficult course which we recommend only for highly skilled golfers”. Just what you need to read before heading to the first tee! Here are five interesting things you should know before the Ryder Cup visits Bethpage:
The 7th hole can make or break your score
The long, par-5 7th hole experiences the most significant fluctuation in scoring based on tee shot results. In layman’s terms, depending on where your tee shot goes, you either have a chance at making birdie or looking at a bogey, double, or worse.
7th Hole Tee Shot Stats
| Tee Shot Result | Left Miss | Fairway | Right Miss |
| Score to par | +1.2 | -0.3 | +1.5 |
For amateurs, the 7th is a long par 5 – pros can play it as a par 4 – with sandy scrubland to the right and thick rough to the left. Missing the fairway makes it almost impossible to go for the green in two. Find yourself in the sandy scrubland, and you’re practically guaranteed to drop strokes. Even if you dodge the sand, but are too far right, you’ll still be blocked from a direct line to the green. Finding the fairway on your drive is essential to scoring well on this hole.
Easy For the Amateur, Hard for the Pros
The par-3 3rd for an amateur typically plays 146 yards, and players have roughly a 2-in-3 chance of finding the dance floor. But for pros, things are somewhat trickier. The tee box is moved back 90 yards, making it an eye-watering 232-yarder with little space to the rear of the green and bunkers swallowing up shots that come up short. If amateurs played from this tee box, their chances of hitting the green plummet to 1-in-50.
The Hardest hole for Shot Scope users is the 5th Hole
Another tricky tee shot on the front nine, the 5th hole favors a fade, but beware: The further right you go, the longer the carry to cover yet more sandy scrubland. Similar to the 7th, the tee shot is one of the most important shots here, and players must be brave because a drive missing left will make a shot into the green almost impossible. Those missing the fairway left typically play the hole 1.6 strokes over par. Those who go right, one stroke over par.
So, all you have to do is hit a nice baby fade about 285 yards through the air to cover the scrubland and have a good line in. With the challenge of the tee shot being too fierce for most players, it’s no surprise that only seven are successful in every 100 attempts at hitting the green in regulation.
The Back 9 is the Harder of the Two Nines – Playing 0.7 Strokes Harder
By comparison, the back nine plays 0.7 strokes harder than the front – not a huge difference, but still statistically harder. Players typically hit one fewer fairway on the back and two fewer greens, meaning they must get up and down. A tougher back nine can only be a good thing for spectators, right?
If you Hit One Green All Day, Make it the 11th
Shot Scope users find the 11th hole the hardest to get up and down on when missing the green. That’s because it’s one of the course’s more undulating putting surfaces, with bunkers flanking the sides and most of the front. The green slopes front-to-back and also sports a false front ready to penalize anyone coming up short.
The countdown is on to September 26th when the 2025 Ryder Cup gets underway.
How do you think you would handle the challenge that is Bethpage Black? And what do you think the winning score will be?
