Keegan Bradley won’t get kicked out of Bethpage Black next week. In fact, Bradley will be one of the most popular figures on the scene as he will lead the Americans with the Europeans in Game 45 of the Ryder Cup.
But nearly two decades ago, Bradley was just a college student trying to squeeze the serve time in the best, toughest, and most famous public courses in golf.
The latest golf magazine cover star Bradley recently sat down to talk about his path to Bethpage, which included a review of his college golf day at nearby St. John and sneaking on Tee Times on Tee Times.
Black was closed for maintenance on Monday, but at the time Bradley and some of his teammates (with the help of the then-principal) would sneak into the 13 holes across the swamp road.
“The inner ring is on the other side of the road, so no one can see you when you’re there,” Bradley said. “When you cross the road from 14 to 15, you’re on the other end of the club, people can see you anywhere.” [remaining] hole.
“Eventually, I played with my friend George and I and we had a lot of trouble. It was really bad. It was as crazy as the coach I’ve ever met. Finally, when I was a junior, we were like, screwed up, screwed up, we had to do it – it was ugly.”
Even a police officer was asked at the scene to investigate reports of golfers sneaking in during the course. Bradley now calls it a “huge mistake,” but he said something about Bethpage Black is too tempting to ignore.
“People don’t realize how important Bethpage Black is to locals if you’re not New York,” he said. “Winged feet are great, Shinnecock is amazing, but if you talk to a real New Yorker, Bethpage is a family lesson.”
For more information about Bradley, read the feature story of Dylan Dethier here and check out the full-length YouTube video with Bradley below.
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