The Ryder Cup 2025

Golf at Bethpage goes back to the great depression and for decades has been a famous golfing destination for New Yorkers. It was one of those city secrets as it is so close to the Big Apple, however the gaze of the global golfing world turned to the course in 2002 and the secret was out. That year the US Open was held at Bethpage Black and only one player managed to end the week under par, Tiger Woods.

The crowds that week were incredible, those New Yorkers again, and it created a tremendous atmosphere. This led to the return of the event in 2009 and had everyone talking about the difficulty of Bethpage Black. Since then the course has become more and more infamous to the point where it now has a firm place on the PGA TOUR schedule.

In 2019, the newly rescheduled PGA Championship was held at the Black Course and was won by Brooks Koepka. That week the course didn’t look so difficult for Brooks as he posted the lowest 36-hole score in championship history with a 63 and a 65, there’s something for you to aim to match. He would go on to win that week by two shots and take his fourth major.

There is no doubt that this will be an outstanding US Ryder Cup venue. One factor that will be important is the Team USA captain and the players he has to choose from. Ryder Cup rules say that the home captain can set up the course however he wants. Usually, in the US, that means an even tamer set-up than the usual PGA TOUR which means barely any rough and plenty of room to miss.

If this happens, it will make the course much more playable but will make for a less characterful Bethpage Black. Ideally the course will be configured more along the lines of a US Open. This would mean narrow fairways and high rough. It would mean that match play ties would require nerves of steel and holes could be lost quickly. Here’s hoping that is what we will see.

One of the big factors of a Ryder Cup near New York will be the rowdy fans. The Europeans can expect a really tough time from the New Yorkers as they egg on their men to lift the Samuel Ryder Trophy.

New York is one of the easiest cities in the world to get to so this is a great venue for European fans to experience an American Ryder Cup. From the city it is just a short trip out to Long Island and to Bethpage Statepark.

You can fly to New York from most large airports in the UK so you will have plenty of options when it comes to planning your trip.

• London to New York City

  8 hrs

• Destination Airport

  JFK or EWR

• Times Square to Brooklyn Bridge

  15 mins

• Brooklyn Bridge to Bethpage

  45 mins