Bethpage State Park Golf Course (The Yellow)

Overview: At Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, the Yellow Course presents a public parkland layout of 18 holes. Alfred H. Tull designed it as a par-71 course that measures 6,288 yards from the championship tees, with additional tee positions for a broader range of players. Its tree-lined corridors, changing slopes and compact green targets give the round a distinctly different rhythm from the longer Bethpage courses. The Yellow is a useful part of a Long Island golf itinerary because it combines the character of the Bethpage property with a more moderate overall scale.

History: The Yellow opened in 1958 as the fifth and final course in the Bethpage complex. New York State Parks credits Alfred Tull with the design and notes that elements from the earlier Bethpage work remained in the evolving park layout. The course’s history therefore sits between the original Tillinghast era and the later expansion of the state park’s public-golf offering. It has remained a full-length 18-hole course in its own right, rather than merely an overflow layout for the better-known Black and Red courses.

Did You Know? The Yellow is the shortest of Bethpage’s five 18-hole courses from its championship tees. That does not make it a simple round, because its slopes and tree-lined corridors can turn position and approach angles into the central challenge.