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Play Bethpage Black Course Free
Few golfers get the chance to play a PGA Course for free. But now the USGA is giving players with any level golf handicap this rare opportunity using their computers. You can play Bethpage Black, the site of the 2009 U.S.
Open Championship, for free until June 21 by going to the United Stages Golf Association's Web site (usgaopen.com) and clicking on the Virtual U.S. Open link. All you need is your browser.
Playing the Virtual Open is a great golf lesson. You get a chance to play Bethpage Black under championship conditions. Plus, you get a chance to win a spot in the U.S Virtual Championship round on June 22.
The winner of the championship will be a guest of the USGA at the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. The Virtual Open is free to enter, and you can play as often as you like. Below are some golf tips on how to play the course's toughest holes.
Hole: Number 4 (517 yards)
This hole isn't an especially long par-5, but it's tricky. The drive isn't bad, but on your second shot, you have to deal with a huge diagonal bunker running from left to right and up the fairway.
Plus, the hole's overall design creates a blind shot to the green. Going for it in two takes nerve, because you have deep bunkers short and left. Over the green is a a five-foot drop to a chipping area. Go beyond that and you're in no man's land. So be careful!
Hole: Number 5 (478 yards)
This hole is a challenge-no doubt about it. The hole isn't that long for a par-4, but for weekend players with high golf handicaps, it's a good lesson in playing to an elevated green.
You can see the flag from the fairway, but not the green, elevated some 20 to 30 feet and surrounded by bunkers. The elevated green makes the approach shot a tough one. Also, you need a good drive. Pull it left and your angle to the green is blocked by a cross bunker and trees.
Hole: Number 10 (508 yards)
One of the prettiest holes on the course, this par-4 veers away from the normal holes design into a links style hole. You face dunes on the left and trees on the right, which outline the hole. The rough is deep, so if you end up there, you're in real trouble.
Forget about a miracle shot. Just hack it out with a wedge and try to set up your next shot. Your drive is the key to this hole. Keep it out of the high grass and you'll be okay.
Hole: Number 12 (504 yards)
Another challenging par-4, this hole will eat you up, if you're not careful. The tee shot's a killer. There's a bunker on the left that players with low golf handicaps and professionals often try to carry.
Again, be careful here. The bunker's deep, so you may want to lay up. Fortunately, groundskeepers have removed the rough between the bunker and the fairway that was there before. Now, it's all fairway to the green. Play it safe to the right of the green and you have about 230 yards to the green.
Hole: Number 15th (459 yards)
They call this hole, "Heart Attack Hill"-and with good reason. What makes the hole so difficult is the long second shot to the green. It's all carry, then you're walking up 60 feet to the green.
Stay away from the front bunker. It's about 8 to 10 feet in elevation to carry the front lip. The bunker is a great place to hold a golf instruction session on how to get out of high-lipped bunkers.
There's a few golf tips to help address Bethpage Black if you play in the Virtual U.S. Open. Check it out when you have a chance. Play it as often as you like and have fun with it. It provides a great mental golf lesson regardless of your golf handicap or how you do. And you never know, you might just end up at the 2010 U.S. Open as a guest of the USGA.
Jack Moorehouse is the author of the best-selling book How To Break 80 And Shoot Like The Pros. He is NOT a golf pro, rather a working man that has helped thousands of golfers from all seven continents lower their handicap immediately. Free weekly newsletter available with the latest golf tips, lessons and instructions.
By Jack Moorehouse
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