“WARNING! The Black Course Is An Extremely Difficult Course, Which We Recommend Only For Highly Skilled Golfers.” The disclaimer is written on a bright red board, visible to anyone who enters the course. Bethpage Black has long been one of the most feared courses in golf. Nicknamed “The Beast,” the course was once known for punishing rough, narrow fairways, and relentless length — a true test of skill. Excitement was high when it was selected for the 2025 Ryder Cup, but recent changes had stripped away much of its challenge. Now, those alterations are drawing sharp criticism as the event unfolds.

The course at Bethpage Black has seen a dramatic transformation since hosting past majors like the U.S. Open and the 2019 PGA Championship, where legends like Tiger Woods and Brooks Koepka struggled to find their footing. Back then, the rough was brutally thick, the fairways were narrow, and the layout demanded precision on every shot. Now, for the 2025 Ryder Cup, the rough is noticeably shorter, the fairways are wider, and even the overall length has been reduced compared to its usual public setup.

These changes have created a far more forgiving test for the highly anticipated USA vs. Europe showdown, encouraging aggressive play, bold risk-taking, and generating significantly more birdies than in past championships at Bethpage. The adjustments were intentional, made by the PGA of America to suit the match-play format of the Ryder Cup, which thrives on drama and momentum swings rather than punishing, defensive golf.

As Viktor Hovland explained before the tournament, “If you get lucky and have a nice lie, you can easily make birdie from out of position here.”

The setup changes have made the Ryder Cup more thrilling and entertaining, delivering the drama and excitement needed for an event that only happens every two years. With 50,000 fans in attendance, the course needs to offer something unique beyond the four majors played each year — something memorable and distinct.

As Captain Luke Donald put it, “Bethpage is a tough course, but it’s certainly not set up like a U.S. Open.” JJ Spaun’s winning score of 1-under at Oakmont, a course often called “the hardest fair course,” shows just how punishing major setups can be in comparison.

Bethpage Black is playing much shorter and more forgiving for this year’s Ryder Cup. The rough has been trimmed to below ankle height, and Thursday’s rain softened the greens, making birdies far more common than during past majors. As Harris English put it, “This is not the normal Bethpage Black. You’re going to see a lot more birdies out there than you normally would in the PGA or the U.S. Open.”

And he was absolutely right to predict that. Through the early sessions, birdies have been plentiful. Friday’s matches produced high birdie counts in both foursomes and fourballs. Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood combined for seven birdies in a single foursomes match. So did Robert MacIntyre and Viktor Hovland in their 1-up win over Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley on Saturday’s foursomes.

So yeah, the aim for which the course was modified, it surely did achieve that. But fans across social media were not satisfied. For many, a more challenging course would have added extra competitiveness to the course. As of now, the PGA of America has simply made it easier for both teams.

Did the PGA of America make the Ryder Cup easy? Fans speak out

Well, with the current score of 11.5 – 4.5, it’s debatable how it was made easy, at least for the USA. But the fans were unabashed in their remarks. Past recollections and comparisons with other courses gradually filled social media posts. Let us take a look at some of them.

“To be clear, Bethpage is a fantastic major-worthy course. Any criticism is that the PGA neutered it by shortening the course, widening the fairways, and chopping down the rough. The winning score here at the 2019 PGA was -8. If it were a regular tourney this week, it’d be -22 or so,” said one user. The 2019 PGA Championship saw Brooks Koepka win the title with a score of 8-under par. This was one of the lowest winning scores at Bethpage Black in a major tournament. To put into perspective, only six golfers in the entire field finished below par.

Along the same lines, another fan wrote, “Only 6 golfers were under par that week, and it took Brooks setting the course record and 36-hole record and then hanging on for dear life to even get to -8. Can’t believe we wasted Bethpage for a Ryder Cup.”

Contrast that with the 2002 US Open, when Tiger Woods famously became the only golfer under par, finishing at three-under. This Ryder Cup, as we have seen in the last two days, failed to reflect such challenges.

The PGA of America suffered a brutal blow for the way it modified the course. Renovation happens all the time, but the current modification deleted the ‘it’ factor of the course. Someone said, “Dude, these are the flattest, easiest greens I’ve ever seen. This course is all media hype. There is absolutely nothing special other than a few nice sand dunes.”

Here’s what has been changed. In 2019, for the PGA Championship, Bethpage Black played at 7,459 yards with fairways about 26 yards wide and thick, punishing fescue rough that severely punished wayward shots. But for the Ryder Cup, the PGA of America shortened the course to about 7,352 yards, including holes like the first and seventeenth reduced by 25 yards each. The rough was cut down to about two inches in height. “I just don’t understand why you would take the rough completely out of it. US doesn’t gain that much by having it down,” one fan noted.

Even Bryson DeChambeau was unable to recognise the course, lamenting the changes. “The golf course was a beast.”

Most of these changes were also done to favor the home team. But the current scoring proves that the calculation and strategies miserably failed. They also ignored the historical playbook. At the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits, the U.S. won a home blowout by using a more difficult setup. Similarly, Europe used course setup to their advantage in their dominant 2023 home victory in Rome. By trying to force a “birdie-fest” at Bethpage, the U.S. removed its strategic advantage and allowed Europe to play to its strengths.

“The worst part is the U.S. would be doing much better if they kept the rough up. Just complete malpractice,” another fan posted.

Well, a decision meant to sway in their favor definitely turned opposite. If the course made it easier for both teams is a far-fetched remark. But it might be giving Europe a historic feat by Sunday evening.