It’s the “People’s Country Club,” and that’s the challenge: tons of people want to play it. So how do you land a tee time at Bethpage Black, host of this week’s Ryder Cup, when demand is so much greater than supply?
Let us count the ways. (Hint: all of them involve advance-planning, luck or some combination of the two.)
The online option
In another lifetime, when people still relied on rotary phones and there was such a thing as busy signals, you could actually call (and call, and call) in the hopes of speaking to a staffer with a tee sheet spread before them. Not anymore. Like most everything, the booking system has moved online.
To use it, you first have to register for an account with the Bethpage State Park Reservation System, which you can do here. New York State residents get discounted rates and (slightly) earlier access to online times. But you can only enjoy those privileges if the system recognizes you as a verified in-state resident. For that, you need one of two forms of ID — a New York State driver’s license, or a New York State Non-Driver ID — which you can present online or in person at the Golf Office at Bethpage State Park.
Got it? Good.
Now, for the actual booking. If you’re a verified resident, you can make a reservation seven days in advance starting at 7 p.m. ET. Otherwise, you can book five days in advance starting at 7 p.m.
Unsurprisingly, the openings get snatched up quickly, sometimes suspiciously so, as bad actors using bots have been known to grab bookings as soon as they appear, depriving the general public of a fair crack at the tee sheet. To address this issue, Bethpage announced earlier this year that it would begin charging a $5 nonrefundable reservation fee while limiting the number of cancellations allowed per month. Anecdotal evidence suggests that these bot-deterring measures have helped. But online reservations still go fast, especially for a foursome. It helps to be quick on your computer, and adaptable with your plans. The fewer players in your group — yes, you can book as a single — the more likely you are to snag a time.
Online cancellations
Life happens. Plans change. Golfers cancel. If you tried — and failed — to book a tee time in advance, you can always log on the day before you hope to play in search of last-minute cancellations. No guarantees. But it often works. Be advised: you’ll likely have to click the refresh button frequently, and you’ll have to act quickly if an opening appears.
Camping out in the parking lot
It’s golf’s other tradition unlike any other: sleeping in the parking lot at Bethpage. Throughout the season, the first six foursomes of the day are set aside for walk-up play, and the line for those slots starts forming the day before, filled with golfers so eager to play the Black that they’re willing to spend the night in their cars.
