Quote:
Originally Posted by tomwed
When the subject of Beth Page Black comes up the story below is what I have heard for 20 years. It's an honor and a privilege to play that course but it's not easy.
"I'm a NJ resident and have played the Black 4 times so far. Each time I've stayed in my car in the parking lot overnight and have had no issues getting out in the morning. Depending on the day you are planning on playing (weekday vs. weekend), you don't even really need to get there that early the night before. Aside from that, the starter comes around very early (pre-6am if I recall) and gives you a ticket. Good luck!"
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Let me share a short story from Bethpage. Between the years 1974 and 1980 I played the course easily 300 times. The process back then was to buy a ticket, bring it to the starter to sign in. Waiting time at the other 4 courses there averaged 3-3 1/2 hrs, but the Black was 2 - 2 1/2 hrs. The sign in the ticket office read "The Black course is an extremely difficult course not recommended for beginners" About 1977 they changed the sign to read "The Black course is an extremely difficult course recommended only for highly skilled golfers" You guessed it---the waiting time climbed to 4 hrs