Travel Trouble

From Hollis Wineland of Blackwood, NJ: I know it's very hard to get a tee time on Bethpage "Black". It seems to me I read somewhere that a person could submit your name to Bethpage on the Internet and they would put it on a list. When your name came up they would inform you what day and time to be there. You should be ready on short notice. Like they would inform you say Tuesday evening to be there Wednesday morning. Or did I just dream this? Thanks.

Hollis,

Thank you for your e-mail. My guess is you weren't dreaming, you were just traveling down a conscious dark path in order to try and get a tee time to play the Black. I don't blame you. I ranked it my favorite public course I played in 2008 in a recent blog. However, I've looked into your question and I suggest you turn around and go back the other way.

"No way. Not true at all. You have to make your reservation through us," said a spokesperson for Bethpage. "What you're referring to is not really legal and we do not permit this."

From what I understand, people get tee times and then try to sell them through the Internet. This is why you have to be ready on such short notice. Out of state residents can only book a time two days in advance. In state residents can book up to one week in advance. If someone gets two or four spots, they try to sell the extra spots to you or other unsuspecting fans of the Black. The person who gets the tee time would have to be present and play with you in your group and my guess is, you'll be paying more than the $54 weekday rate for New York state residents, or $104 for out of state residents if you go the route you were referring to.

For more legal and accurate information about how to get a tee time to play the Black, click here.

Trust me, the Black is hard enough. The last thing you need to be thinking about as you swing out of your soft spikes trying to reach the 10th fairway is the authorities.

--Matty G.

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