A.W. Tillinghast designed the Bethpage Red Course and opened it for play in 1935, a full year before the Black Course that would eventually consume all the oxygen in every conversation about Bethpage State Park. The Black has since claimed two U.S. Opens, a PGA Championship, and a Ryder Cup. The Red carried on doing what it was built to do: providing world-class public golf to anyone willing to navigate Long Island traffic and a state parks reservation system.
If this course sat in any other municipality in America, it would be the undisputed crown jewel of public golf in that region. It plays 6,921 yards from the Blue tees through rolling parkland and sandy dunes, features classic Tillinghast bunkering, and costs New York residents $43 on a weekday. But it shares a parking lot with the most famous public course on the planet, so it gets treated as the backup plan. The locals know better. They call the Red “Baby Black,” and they play it by choice, not consolation.
Where the Trees End and the Sand Begins
The Red Course takes the golfer through three distinct moods. The opening seven holes wind through heavily forested, hilly parkland where tree-lined corridors force precision off the tee. At the 8th, the property opens into a flatter, exposed stretch where coastal wind and sand complexes dictate play. The closing holes climb back into the dramatic, elevated terrain near the clubhouse, finishing with a flourish that rivals anything on the property.
Tillinghast designed the Red to reward shot-shaping. The doglegs come at the player from both directions. Draws are mandatory on some holes. Fades are mandatory on others. Straight hitters survive here. Players who can work the ball in both directions thrive.
The 1st hole (par 4, 471 yards from the Blue tees) is the third-hardest hole on the card. The tee sits on an elevated perch near the clubhouse with the Black Course’s 18th visible to the right. The fairway dips into a valley before climbing steeply to a small green sloped back to front and defended by deep bunkers. Most players struggle to reach this green in regulation. The smart play is below the hole; a downhill putt here is a three-putt waiting to happen. Local wisdom holds that the hardest opening hole on the entire Bethpage property belongs not to the Black and its infamous warning sign, but to the Red and this silent brute.
The 4th hole (par 3, 181 yards from the Blue tees) is the “Red Redan,” a short hole that demands precise distance control over a valley to a perched, circular green with a severe back-to-front slope. A deep bunker guards the front, swallowing anything short. The standard miss is a chunked iron into that bunker, followed by a sand shot that rolls back down the slope into roughly the same place. Players who understand the hole take one more club than they think they need and aim center-right, letting the green’s natural contours feed the ball toward the pin.
The 13th hole (par 4, 400 yards from the Blue tees) is the architectural centerpiece. Tillinghast deployed his “Great Hazard” concept here: eight bunkers clustered in the center of the fairway at the 220-yard mark, splitting the landing zone into two distinct fairways. The narrow left side offers a superior angle to the green. The wider right side offers safety but leaves a blind approach over sand. Every tee shot is a confession of intent. The aggressive player commits left and earns a short iron in. The cautious player bails right and faces a recovery mission.
The greens throughout are classic Tillinghast: small, circular, subtly quick with back-to-front slopes. Unlike the Black, which demands high spinning approaches, the Red’s greens are mostly open in front, accepting low running shots. The Black forces players to carry every hazard. The Red lets them think their way around trouble.
Conditions are honest municipal golf. The rye grass fairways are lush and well-maintained, the second-best conditioned surface on the property. The rough is thick and penal. The fescue-lined dunes that the Red shares with the Black will swallow golf balls without remorse. Five-hour rounds are standard on weekends. It is the price of world-class design at state-park prices.
Planning the Trip
The Bethpage reservation system is competitive but navigable, especially for the Red. All bookings run through the New York State Parks online system, which requires free registration.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Green fee, NY resident (weekday) | $43 |
| Green fee, NY resident (weekend) | $48 |
| Green fee, non-resident (weekday) | $86 |
| Green fee, non-resident (weekend) | $96 |
| Twilight, NY resident (weekday) | $26 |
| Golf cart rental | $40 |
New York residents with a valid state ID can book seven days in advance, with the window opening at 7:00 PM. Non-residents book five days out. The Black Course tee sheet fills within seconds. The Red is dramatically less stressful, and walk-up availability is viable on weekdays. The smartest strategy for out-of-state visitors is to target the Red deliberately rather than settling for it after losing the Black Course lottery.
From Manhattan, the Long Island Rail Road runs from Penn Station to Farmingdale in 50 minutes, followed by a short ride to the clubhouse. Drivers should budget 50 to 75 minutes via the Long Island Expressway. JFK is about 25 miles southwest; Republic Airport, for private aviation, is less than three miles away.
| Lodging | Rate (approx.) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hampton Inn Farmingdale | $160+/night | Breakfast included, 2.5 miles from course |
| Courtyard by Marriott Republic Airport | $150+/night | Free parking, 3 miles from course |
| Extended Stay America Bethpage | $100+/night | Budget-friendly for multi-day trips |
When to Go
| Window | Why |
|---|---|
| Jan–Mar ❄️ Avoid | Course closed or frozen; dormant turf, unpredictable weather |
| Apr 🌤️ Good | Spring conditions emerge; wettest month, but course is greening up |
| May–Jun ☀️ Prime | Lush turf, warm temps, long daylight for late twilight rounds |
| Jul–Aug ☀️ Prime | Peak conditions; high humidity makes walking strenuous, fescue fully grown |
| Sep ☀️ Prime | The best month: clearest skies, perfect temperatures, firm conditions |
| Oct–Nov 🌤️ Good | Autumn golf with fewer crowds; frost delays begin in November |
| Dec ❄️ Avoid | Winter conditions, limited playability |
Aeration schedules vary by year. Avoid planning a trip during major events on the Black; corporate hospitality infrastructure commandeers the Red’s opening holes, and recovery takes months.
What Else to Play
The ideal Bethpage itinerary sequences the courses in ascending order of punishment. Day one: the Red, to acclimate to Bethpage’s rye rough, green speed, and bunkering scale. Day two: the Black, the walking-only gauntlet that earns its warning sign. Day three (if the legs hold): the Blue, with a brutally hilly front nine that eases on the back, or the Green, the original Devereux Emmet layout with shorter, quirkier character.
Beyond the park, Montauk Downs State Park sits 90 minutes east on the tip of Long Island, a windswept Robert Trent Jones Sr. design that ranks among the state’s best public courses. The Long Island golf ecosystem extends further into the private domain at Shinnecock Hills, National Golf Links of America, and Fishers Island, three of the most celebrated courses in the country, all within two hours of the Bethpage parking lot.
Why the Red Deserves the Trip
Bethpage Red will always live in the shadow of the Black. That is not a flaw. It is a feature. The Black draws the spotlight, the championships, the five-hour overnight camping lines. The Red draws the golfers who want to play thoughtful, strategic, beautifully designed Tillinghast golf without being physically dismantled in the process. The Black makes golfers suffer. The Red makes golfers think. Both are legitimate expressions of what public golf can be when the architecture is world-class and the green fee is measured in tens, not hundreds. The difference is that players leave the Black Course saying they survived it. They leave the Red saying they want to come back.
