Bethpage Red is more fun than Black and I'll fight you about it

[TeeTimeTina]

Played Red for the third time this year on Saturday. $58 walking, 7:10 tee time, back in the car by 11:15. My last Black round took 5 hours 40 and I lost four balls in fescue that I am still annoyed about.

Here's the take nobody wants: Black gets all the love because of the sign and the trophies, but Red is a better round of golf for about 95% of the people who show up there. Same architect. Red's greens have more internal movement and tilt than people give them credit for, and you actually get to hit scoring clubs instead of a 4 iron into every par 4. The par 3s are sneaky good, the 3rd and the 14th especially. I've watched guys walk off 18 on Red smiling. On Black they're just relieved.

I know the counter. Black is the test, it's historic, it's the one you brag about. But there's a whole thread on here about how brutal the place is and half the replies are people quietly admitting they were miserable.

https://usagolfers.com/threads/bethpage-black-first-time-public-beast-real.1535

Miserable isn't the same as good. And this isn't a Bethpage thing either. It's the same energy as Torrey Pines South, where you pay a pile of money to get beaten up and then call it a great day. I'd rather shoot 78 on a course I can actually play and still enjoy my sandwich at the turn.

So, Red gang, where are you. And if your response is that I just need to play Black from the right tees, I did that. From the whites. Still five plus hours.