‘I really don’t like Bethpage’: ex-US Captain Blasts Ryder Cup Course, calls it ‘wrong’

The famous Bethpage Black Course of New York is dressed and ready for the 2025 Ryder Cup. But a former captain, Paul Azinger, thinks that the PGA of America has chosen the wrong course to organize the event.

But Azinger went much further with his criticism in a recent appearance Trey Wingo’s “Straight Facts Homie!” podcastSaying that he “couldn’t stand” Bethpage Black and claimed that the US Ryder Cup players “Don’t Love” and “Don’t know” the beloved municipal course on Long Island.

Paul Azinger tears Bethpage Black, host of 2025 Ryder Cup

Azinger has earned the right to give his opinion about the US Ryder Cup team. After all, he was a star player in his Prime and was later the American team for the victory in the Ryder Cup 2008 in Valhalla.

And on Wingo’s podcast, he talks. Under the Hot Takes the former captain who was offered, was a destructive criticism of this year’s guest course, the Black Baan in Bethpage State Park.

Designed by Court Architecture Legend AW Tillinghast, Bethpage Black is number 34 on the top 100 jobs of Golf in the American list and 60th on the top 100 courses in the world list.

But Azinger has no love for the famous course, in which he missed the cut during the US Open 2002.

“This golf course, I am like you. I couldn’t stand it,” Azingo told Wingo. “I played my practice rounds, I did my two rounds and I think I was 18 days for two days there in the US open. The media loved it because it was a public course. What are you going to do if they open the US there every five years? I think I will take off every fifth year.”

He continued to criticize specific design aspects that for some people represent the strategic genius of the course. But Azinger doesn’t feel like them.

“I really don’t like Bethpage Black.” It’s just difficult and you can’t get around there. “

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Azinger claims that the American Ryder Cup team does not know Bethpage Black

The US Ryder Cup captain of 2008 did not limit his criticism to his own personal feelings about Bethpage Black. He also claimed that it was a “mistake” that grant the Ryder Cup course because the American players “are not familiar with the course. In this way, Azinger argued, the American team does not use playing the Ryder Cup there.

“No, not at all. We don’t know the course,” said Azinger. “I think one of the biggest mistakes that the American Ryder Cup team always seems to make, or the PGA of America, that they go to courses we don’t know.”

Many of the players know the course and have played a large championship there. Bethpage Black organized the US Open in 2002 for the first time and again in 2009. While those tournaments were before the careers of many current players started, the Black recently organized the PGA championship 2019.

It also organized the Barclays PGA Tour event in 2012 and 2014. But the knowledge of the team of the course continues.

The American captain Keegan Bradley regularly played the course at the university and team member Cameron Young, a New York resident, won the New York State 2017 Open 2017 at the Black Course.

Earlier this summer at the Tour Championship, Young claimed his love for the course.

“I have just always loved it. It’s just a simple golf course with a big boy. There is just not much funky left. The greens are not crazy, the fairways are not really narrow. It’s long, but it’s not the longest place in the world,” Young told East Lake. “But it’s just simple, it’s hard. That is the kind of Golf that I like.”

But Azinger argued that opposite and claimed that he could ‘guarantee’ that the American players do not like Bethpage Black.

“I feel that Keegan should get these guys on a mission and quickly and a shipment should be quickly and determined to find out how you can fall in love with Bethpage Black. I guarantee that they don’t like it either. I and you don’t like it. They don’t like it,” said Azinger. “Europe doesn’t care what the course is. Our boys can.”

Later in the performance of the podcast, Azinger offered another reason that the US has no benefit on the Black Course by claiming that Captain Bradley has no control over the preparation of the course.

“I know that none of the teams are now in control of the course,” said Azinger. “Europe has always checked the course about us. I am the only American captain who ever was – the first captain was to control the course in a certain capacity and so I don’t know if they have lost that ability to do that, but I see no benefit.”

He also repeated a recent point of conversation from the European captain Luke Donald about the fans of New York. Azinger believes that if the US is playing badly, the audience could call in the American team.

“Even the crowd. I feel that if the US is a bad start, even the crowd there can be fleeting,” said Azinger. “That’s why I told Keegan directly from the gate, friend, you have to win the audience.”

Azinger says we have to prepare Europe

Despite all his criticism of the host course of 2025, Azinger also expressed trust in the American captain and the preparation of the team, which contrasted with a lack of preparation for the Ryder Cup 2023.

“We were founded the last time, and I don’t think we were overpowered this time,” said Azinger. “Our boys play inside, they didn’t play for five weeks in a row and entered the Ryder Cup in Italy, which was a disaster.”

He continued: “They have just destroyed us in that Ryder Cup. There is no shortcut for success, you will not hope for it or wishes in it. We have the 12 best Americans, and they just have to prepare the Europeans, in a nutshell.”

Towards the end of the interview, Azinger repeated that he thinks Captain Bradley “knotted” everything. But he offered one last advice for the American captain from 2025.

“I would not play videos of people like Michael Jordan who wish them happiness and the president who wish them happiness, so you just want to vomit,” said Azinger. “It doesn’t help me. I already know they want us to win. It never helped me, I hated it. It made me more nervous.”

The first games of the 2025 Ryder Cup are starting Friday morning September 26.