Not for the first time in its history, Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York, takes center stage in the golf world, this time as the host venue of the 45th Ryder Cup.
Previously, the course, which opened in 1936, held two editions of the US Open, in 2002 and 2009, and the 2019 PGA Championship.
Following the Ryder Cup, it will also host another Major, the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, in 2028 and the PGA Championship again five years later.
Even though the staging of such high-profile contests makes the course one of the most famous in the US, at its heart is its worth to the local community as an affordable public course.
In that spirit came Nassau Players Club, which is based at Bethpage State Park and is also the location of the Yellow, Green, Blue and Red courses.
Nassau Players Club was formed in 1993 by golfers who regularly traveled to Bethpage State Park to take on the Black Course and became friends. The bonds became so strong that, eventually, the golfers began seeing themselves as a club.
Golfers who used to wait in the parking lot of Bethpage State Black for a round at the Black Course formed Nassau Players Club
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Per Golf Digest, that became official thanks to one of the players, Sean McGowan, who held a meeting at his mother’s house to discuss applying to the USGA and Metropolitan Golf Association to become a “club without real estate.”
The golfers paid a $20 membership fee and named themselves Nassau Players Club after New York’s Nassau County, where many of them lived.
The club grew through the years, particularly with Bethpage Black’s hosting of the 2002 US Open. That led to an official application process to join, with hopefuls needing a sponsor and four members who would vouch for them.
Six years later, Nassau Players Club was reported to have the lowest average Handicap Index of any public of private club in the US, and by the 2019 PGA Championship, it had more than 100 members.
Nowadays, Nassau Players Club has a board of directors, while there’s a constitution and bylaws. Its members also adhere to a code of conduct.
It also has a website, which explains it hosts a “full calendar of tournaments, events, and outings throughout the year,” while it “prides itself on the friendships formed…
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