The Bethpage Black my teenage self played was hardscrabble

The sign on a fence overlooking the first tee at Bethpage Black went up in the early 1980s. Its ominous message: "WARNING The Black Course Is An Extremely Difficult Course Which We Recommend Only For Highly Skilled Golfers."

Where was that sign in the early 1960s? That's when a teenage golfer from Syosset — me — played The Black with friends on a regular basis. We lived 20 minutes away from a massive public golf venue that featured five different courses. The waiting time to get onto the Blue, White, Yellow and Red courses was usually three or four hours on the weekends, two hours during the week.

At The Black, it was never more than 20-30 minutes, and who cared how difficult it was? Who cared how many rocks were in the sand traps, how chewed up the so-called grass on the tees and greens