Can You Play Bethpage Black on Trackman? Here’s How

Bethpage Black is not a fun golf course. It is a fight. The fairways are narrow, the rough is ankle-deep, the greens are fast and hard, and the course does not give you a single hole to relax on.

On Trackman, it is exactly that.

The Trackman version of Bethpage Black is an officially licensed LIDAR build. The elevation changes that make Bethpage so distinctive — the uphill second shot on 1, the elevated tee on 4, the long climb on 10 — are all captured with professional-grade data. The course plays long because it is long. The rough punishes because Trackman’s physics engine calculates the effect of thick grass on clubface contact.

Why Bethpage Works on Trackman

Bethpage Black is a brute force course. It does not trick you. It dares you to hit good shots and punishes you when you do not.

Trackman’s radar system excels at this type of course because the ball flight data is so precise. When you hit a drive into a 30 mph wind on the 4th hole at Bethpage, the ball reacts the way it should react. The spin matters. The launch angle matters. The weather conditions matter more than on sheltered parkland courses.

The rough on Bethpage Black is famously punishing. On Trackman, the rough affects ball flight and spin based on the actual lie depth data in the LIDAR scan. A ball sitting down in the rough produces a different shot shape than a ball sitting up. Most sim platforms treat rough as a uniform penalty. Trackman’s data layer makes it variable, which is how real rough works.

How to Access It

Open Trackman Virtual Golf. Navigate to the course library. Search “Bethpage Black” or “Bethpage State Park.” The Black Course is the championship layout. The other Bethpage courses (Red, Blue, Yellow, Green) are not in the Trackman library.

Load it from the back tees. Set firm conditions. Prepare to suffer.

The Holes That Define the Round

The 1st Hole: The famous warning sign greets you before the first tee shot. The hole is a 478-yard par 4 that plays uphill. On Trackman, the uphill approach matters — the distance plays longer than the card says because the green sits above the fairway. A perfect drive leaves a long iron into a green protected by bunkers. Bethpage does not ease you in.

The 4th Hole: A 571-yard par 5 that plays even longer when the wind is in your face. The tee shot is from an elevated tee into a fairway that slopes left to right. On Trackman, the wind is a major factor here. Bethpage’s open layout means the wind hits every shot.

The 10th Hole: The longest par 4 on the course at 508 yards. It is uphill, usually into the wind, and the fairway is narrow. On Trackman, this hole is a pure test of ball striking. You hit driver as hard as you can, hope it finds the fairway, then hit a long iron into a green that rejects anything short.

The 15th Hole: A 459-yard par 4 with water left and a green that slopes severely back to front. On Trackman, the green slope is accurate — you cannot just fire at the pin from any angle. The approach shot needs to land below the hole or you are facing a downhill putt that will run past.

How It Compares to Other Versions

GSPro has a community-built Bethpage Black that is excellent. The Crazy Canuck version is the one most GSPro users play. It is accurate, plays well, and costs nothing extra with a GSPro subscription.

Trackman’s version is professionally licensed. The LIDAR data is higher resolution. The rough physics are more granular. The weather integration is superior.

The difference matters if you are using Bethpage Black as a training tool. If you want to know exactly how a shot would play on the real course, Trackman gives you a more accurate answer. If you just want to play a round on Bethpage and have fun, GSPro’s version is perfectly adequate.

The Bottom Line

Bethpage Black on Trackman is the most accurate sim version of this course available. The combination of professional LIDAR data, Trackman’s radar physics, and the licensed course access makes it the definitive version for serious golfers who want to test their game.

The $29,490 price of entry is the barrier. If you have a Trackman at your club or a local facility, play Bethpage Black on it. You will walk away with a new appreciation for how hard this course actually is.

For the full list of courses worth playing on Trackman, read The Best Courses on Trackman Performance. Need the full software breakdown? Check our Best Courses on Trackman Performance guide for the complete breakdown.