Bethpage State Park facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bethpage State Park
Clubhouse at Bethpage State Park
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Type	State park
Location	Old Bethpage, New York
Area	1,477 acres (598 ha)
Created	May 1934 (1934-05)
Designer	Devereux Emmet (Green course) A. W. Tillinghast (Blue, Red and Black courses) Alfred Tull (Yellow course)
Operated by	New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Visitors	647,118 (in 2020)
Open	All year
Website	Bethpage State Park

Bethpage State Park restrooms and playground area

Bethpage State Park is a huge park in New York, covering about 1,477 acres (6 square kilometers). It sits on the border of Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island. This park is famous for its five golf courses, especially the Bethpage Black Course. This course has hosted major golf tournaments like the U.S. Open in 2002 and 2009, and the 2019 PGA Championship in 2019.

Besides golf, Bethpage State Park offers lots of other fun activities. You can find tennis courts, picnic spots, and areas for playing sports. There's even a polo field! It's a great place for outdoor adventures.

Park History: How Bethpage State Park Began

The story of Bethpage State Park started in 1912. A rich railroad executive named Benjamin Franklin Yoakum bought a large piece of land, about 1,368 acres. This land is now part of Old Bethpage, New York. Yoakum hired a designer named Devereux Emmet to create an 18-hole golf course. This course opened in 1923 and was leased to a private club called Lenox Hills Country Club.

After Yoakum passed away in 1929, the land's future was uncertain. The State of New York became interested in buying the property. In 1931, they bought an option to purchase it. By 1932, New York State began managing the golf club. Finally, in May 1934, the state officially bought the land, and Bethpage State Park was created.

A bike trail and power lines in Bethpage State Park

A local historian, Jesse Merritt, convinced Robert Moses to name the park "Bethpage State Park." This name came from a large area of land that Thomas Powell had bought from Native American tribes way back in 1695. The original golf course became known as the Green Course. By 1936, three more courses opened, designed by A. W. Tillinghast. A fifth course, the Yellow Course, designed by Alfred Tull, opened in 1958.

Today, the park still offers many activities. You can enjoy picnic areas, horse riding trails, sports fields, tennis courts, and trails for hiking and biking. In winter, some trails are used for cross-country skiing.

Park Location: Where is Bethpage State Park?

Even though it's called Bethpage State Park, most of the park is actually in a place called Old Bethpage. When the park was created, there wasn't an Old Bethpage post office, so it used a Farmingdale address. It still uses that address today. The main clubhouse is near the Lenox Hills area and is part of the Farmingdale School District.

The park's name reflects how places were named a long time ago. Before 1936, Old Bethpage was simply called Bethpage. Then, a nearby area changed its name to Bethpage. To avoid confusion, the original Bethpage changed its name to Old Bethpage. This happened even though Old Bethpage didn't get its own post office until 1965.

Golf Courses at Bethpage State Park

Bethpage State Park is famous for its five 18-hole golf courses. They are named Yellow, Green, Blue, Red, and Black, in order of how difficult they are. The Black Course is the most challenging.

Bethpage Black Course: A Public Golf Legend

The Black Course made history in 2002. It became the first publicly owned golf course to host the U.S. Open. This was a big deal because usually, the U.S. Open is held at private, very expensive golf clubs. Hosting it at Bethpage Black showed that top-level golf could be played on a course open to everyone. Tiger Woods won that tournament, being the only golfer to finish with a score under par. Many people remember it as one of the most exciting U.S. Opens ever.

The Black Course also hosted the U.S. Open in 2009, which was won by Lucas Glover. In 2019, it hosted the 2019 PGA Championship, won by Brooks Koepka.

Playing on the Black Course is very popular. New York residents can book a tee time seven days in advance. People from out of state can book five days ahead. Many golfers even wait in line overnight in the parking lot to get a chance to play! The park's golf logo shows a boy caddie carrying a golf bag. This image is carved into the clubhouse's black window shutters.

Bethpage Black Course Rankings

Experts agree that Bethpage Black is one of the best golf courses. In 2008, Golf Digest magazine ranked it #26 overall in America. It was also listed as the #6 toughest course in the country and #5 among America's greatest public golf courses. The PGA even calls Bethpage Black one of the "World's Most Beautiful Courses."

Major Golf Championships Hosted

PGA Tour Events Hosted

Year	Tournament	Winner	Score	To par
2012	The Barclays*	Nick Watney	274	−10
2016	The Barclays*	Patrick Reed	275	−9

International Golf Events

The Ryder Cup, a major international golf competition, was hosted at Bethpage Black in 2025. This was the first time the park hosted this exciting match play event.

Polo at Bethpage State Park

Bethpage State Park also has a special field for polo, a sport played on horseback. The Polo Grounds field is very large, about 900 by 400 feet (274 by 122 meters), and has seats for spectators. It was built in 1934. The Country Farms Polo Club hosts "Polo at the Park" every Sunday from June through September. In 1994, the U.S. Open Polo Championship finals were also played at Bethpage State Park.

See also

• List of New York state parks