4th Hole, Bethpage, Black Course, 2002 U.S. Open Championship

In 2002 golf history will be made, as the United States Golf Association has selected, for the first time, a publicly owned course as the venue for the U.S. Open. Bethpage Black-one of five outstanding courses in the Bethpage State Park golf complex on New York's Long Island-was designed by the legendary golf course architect A.W. Tillinghast and completed in 1936. It was, in fact, Tillinghast's very last design-a fitting capstone to his remarkable career and an excellent setting for the 102nd Open. 

In its character and aesthetics, Bethpage Black embodies Tillinghast's design philosophy to perfection. "It seems to me," he wrote, "that he who plans any hole for golf should have two aims: first, to produce something which will provide a true test of the game, and then [to] consider every conceivable way to make it as beautiful as possible." The beauty of Bethpage Black is considerable