"Ryder Cup nerves tend to trigger blurry sensations on the 1st tee. That area has been shortened slightly through necessity; namely the installation of a huge grandstand. There is a dog leg to the right from an elevated tee. Any drive leaking right will have an approach blocked out by trees. Those who cut the corner with drivers will have only a flick for their approach, towards a green that is well protected by bunkers."
"This is also, like the 1st, a Bethpage rarity in terms of being a short par-four. The key here is hitting the fairway, meaning players are unlikely to hit drivers from the tee. There is a large bunker to the right of the green and a smaller one short and left. The raised green, which is 74ft from front to back, falls off sharply on the left side."
The opening holes combine elevated tees, doglegs and reduced teeing areas due to spectator structures. The first tee is shortened with a right dog-leg; drives that leak right have approaches blocked by trees while cutters face a short flick to a bunker-protected green. The smallest putting surface at Bethpage Black slopes severely and punishes shots left short. The second hole begins raised and turns left; it is a short par-four where fairway position matters more than distance, with large bunkers right, a smaller bunker short-left, and a raised green that falls off sharply. The 210-yard third is a narrow, heavily bunkered par-three that visually plays tight and punishes long shots. The fourth is a picturesque, relatively short 517-yard par-five reachable in two if tee accuracy carries over bunkers to a left-tilting fairway, with prominent bunkers and a raised green atop an approximately 40-foot incline.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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