Bethpage Black vs Torrey Pines
Two munis that host majors, two pilgrimages, two completely different trips. Bethpage Black is the people's beast of Long Island, fresh off the 2025 Ryder Cup, still 160 dollars or less for a visitor who can win the booking game. Torrey Pines is golf on the cliffs of San Diego, easier to book, kinder to play, three times the price. Here is the honest head to head.
Photograph: Bethpage Black, Martin McCrory, via Google
The verdict, up front
Bethpage Black wins for the golf purist; Torrey Pines wins for the golf trip. The Black is the sterner examination and the better story: A.W. Tillinghast's 1936 giant, walking only, a warning sign on the first tee, a 2025 Ryder Cup where Europe won 15 to 13 in front of the loudest crowds in golf, and all of it for a non resident fee of 140 to 160 dollars. Nothing in American public golf matches that ratio of test to price.
But Torrey Pines is the one most groups should book. San Diego weather is playable all twelve months, the South Course's clifftop setting over the Pacific is the postcard the Black cannot offer, booking 90 days out beats queueing in a parking lot overnight, and the surrounding trip, from Aviara to Maderas to the coast towns, is simply better. You pay for it: 246 to 306 dollars plus a 52 dollar reservation fee. For a buddies pilgrimage built around one brutal round, fly to New York. For a vacation that happens to include a US Open venue, fly west.
Head to head
| Bethpage Black | Torrey Pines South | |
|---|---|---|
| The course | A.W. Tillinghast, 1936; par 71 state park muni stretched past 7,300 yards for the 2025 Ryder Cup; walking only | William P. Bell, 1957, reworked by Rees Jones; par 72 city muni on the Pacific bluffs; carts available |
| Championship record | US Opens 2002 and 2009, PGA Championship 2019, Ryder Cup 2025 (Europe won 15 to 13) | US Opens 2008 and 2021, the Farmers Insurance Open every January |
| Visitor green fee (2026) | $140 weekday, $160 weekend non resident; twilight $88 and $100; $5 booking fee | $246 weekday, $306 weekend non resident on the South |
| Booking | Non residents book 5 days out at 7 p.m.; Black limited to once per 28 days; or join the overnight car line for day of times | Non residents book 8 to 90 days out with a $52 per player advance reservation fee, paid on top of the green fee |
| Weather window | April to October realistically; Long Island winters close the season | All year; San Diego is the most reliable golf climate in mainland America |
| The wider trip | New York City 40 miles west; Long Island's elite private golf stays private | San Diego: Aviara, Maderas, Coronado, beach towns, year round resort scene |
| Difficulty for visitors | Severe; long carries, deep rough, no carts; the first tee sign means it | Tough but manageable; length matters more than terror, and you can ride |
Fees verified June 2026 from state park, city and course sources; indicative and seasonal. Always confirm directly before booking. Check tee time availability.
Who picks which
Pick Bethpage Black if the round is the point. It rewards the golfer who wants to walk the same fairways the Ryder Cup crowds shook in September 2025, who treats the first tee warning sign as a dare, and who finds the overnight parking lot queue part of the story rather than a deterrent. Go in shape: the Black is walking only, the carries off the tee are real, and the par 71 plays every inch of its yardage. The value is absurd by championship standards, and pairing it with the Red Course next door, profiled in our Bethpage Red guide, makes a proper 36 hole state park day.
Pick Torrey Pines if the trip is the point. January, when the Farmers Insurance Open is in town, or any month at all: the South Course over the Pacific, hang gliders off the cliffs, the North Course as the friendlier warm up, and a week of San Diego golf around it that our San Diego guide maps in full. The premium is honest. You are buying certainty of booking, certainty of weather and a setting the East Coast cannot print. Couples and mixed groups will not regret the choice once.
Have us plan either trip
Tell us which giant you are chasing, or let us argue the case. One concierge handles the booking windows, the hotel base and the supporting tee sheet, on Long Island or in San Diego, and costs the trip to the head. We reply within one working day, with no obligation.
Bethpage vs Torrey questions
Which is harder, Bethpage Black or Torrey Pines South?
Bethpage Black, and it is not close for the everyday golfer. The Black is walking only, relentlessly long at par 71, and famous enough for punishing visitors that a warning sign on the first tee recommends it only for highly skilled golfers. Torrey Pines South is a brutal championship test from the tips, but you can take a cart, the fairways are wider, and the setup most days is gentler than a US Open.
How do non residents book Bethpage Black?
Non New York residents can reserve online five days ahead, with times released at 7 p.m., a 5 dollar booking fee per player, and Black Course reservations limited to once every 28 days. The famous alternative is the overnight queue: numbered spots in the parking lot the evening before for a share of the day of times. Non resident fees are 140 dollars weekdays and 160 dollars weekends in 2026, twilight 88 and 100 dollars. Always confirm directly before booking.
How do non residents book Torrey Pines?
Non residents can book 8 to 90 days out for a 52 dollar advance reservation fee per player, which does not count toward the green fee, paid on the day: 246 dollars weekdays and 306 dollars weekends on the South Course in 2026. Shorter notice times also open at lower or no booking premium but go fast. It is far easier to plan than Bethpage, which is part of what you are paying for. Always confirm directly before booking.
Can I play both on one trip?
Not realistically: they sit on opposite coasts, on Long Island and in San Diego, about as far apart as American public golf gets. Treat them as anchors for two different trips. Bethpage pairs with the New York metro area's other public golf, while Torrey Pines anchors a San Diego run with Aviara, Maderas and the coast. We can route either, or build the two trip plan that gets both played in a season.
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Researched and written by the GolfForKings editorial desk. Course facts and indicative fees verified June 2026. Last reviewed June 2026.