Ryder Cup Preview: 1) A Statistical Deep Dive on Winning Strategies at Bethpage Black 2) SuperStroke Offers Ryder Cup Grips
Provided by Shot Scope:
The 2025 Ryder Cup is coming to the world-renowned Bethpage Black Course, which makes us curious to examine some of the facility’s on-course performance data. As we get into the stats (provided by Shot Scope’s performance tracking users), Bethpage Black is perpetually one of golf’s top-rated courses. Here are a variety of interesting things you should know before the Ryder Cup visits Bethpage:
The 7th Hole can make or break a score:
For amateurs, the 7th is a long par 5 – pros can play it as a par 4 – with sandy scrubland to the right and thick rough to the left. Missing the fairway makes it almost impossible to go for the green in two. Find yourself in the sandy scrubland, and you’re practically guaranteed to drop strokes. Even if you dodge the sand, but are too far right, you’ll still be blocked from a direct line to the green. Finding the fairway on your drive is essential to scoring well on this hole.
Easy for the amateur, hard for the pros:
The par-3 3rd for an amateur typically plays 146 yards, and players have roughly a 2-in-3 chance of finding the dance floor. But for pros, things are somewhat trickier. The tee box is moved back 90 yards, making it an eye-watering 232-yarder with little space to the rear of the green and bunkers swallowing up shots that come up short. If amateurs played from this tee box, their chances of hitting the green plummet to 1-in-50.
The hardest hole for Shot Scope users is the 5th hole:
Another tricky tee shot on the front nine, the 5th hole favors a fade, but beware… The further right you go, the longer the carry to cover yet more sandy scrubland. Similar to the 7th, the tee shot is one of the most important shots here, and players must be brave because a drive missing left will make a shot into the green almost impossible. Those missing the fairway left typically play the hole 1.6 strokes over par. Those who go right, one stroke over par. So, all you have to do is hit a nice baby fade about 285 yards through the air to cover the scrubland and have a good line in. With the challenge of the tee shot being too fierce for most players, it’s no surprise that only seven are successful in every 100 attempts at hitting the green in regulation. The back 9 is the harder of the two nines - playing 0.7 strokes harder.
By comparison, the back nine plays 0.7 strokes harder than the front - not a huge difference, but still statistically harder. Players typically hit one fewer fairway on the back and two fewer greens, meaning they must get up and down. A tougher back nine can only be a good thing for spectators, right?
If you hit one green all day, make it the 11th:
Shot Scope users find the 11th hole the hardest to get up and down on when missing the green. That’s because it’s one of the course’s more undulating putting surfaces, with bunkers flanking the sides and most of the front. The green slopes front-to-back and also sports a false front ready to penalize anyone coming up short.
The Unreachable Par 3:
The par 3 third hole sets the tone for the day for the average golfer, measuring at roughly 230 yards off the back tees. Their average drive will come up 10y short of the green, but a well-struck drive, using Shot Scope’s P-Avg., would be long enough to get safely on board—no room for mishits. On Bethpage Black, even the ‘shorter’ holes demand power and precision, the likes that most recreational players do not possess. For the professional, the course plays entirely differently and Shot Scope data highlights the gulf between the game’s best and everyone else.
50 percent of the Fairways are Not Reachable:
With the course having four par 3s, this means there are 14 opportunities to hit the fairway. Unfortunately, the average amateur golfer does not have the firepower to reach the short stuff on seven of the holes from the professional tees.
On holes 9, 13, and 18, the average golfer will typically get close to the fairway but will often come up just short. On holes 5, 10, 12, and 16, they have an average of 22 yards left to reach the fairway. Here’s the key takeaway: almost all these holes are par 4s, but they play more like par 5s for the average golfer. You’re hitting driver off the tee, then another shot to advance the ball, then another for an approach shot. With the distance left to the green on these holes, it would not be unreasonable to say that for the average player, Bethpage Black plays like a par 77 or 78 as opposed to 70.
With the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black drawing closer, anticipation continues to build as the golfing world gets ready to witness the world's best battle it out.
SuperStroke Releases 2025 Ryder Cup Putter Grips
United States and European Team Grips Available in Multiple Sizes and Styles
Wixom, Michigan-based SuperStroke is launching a limited-edition offering that celebrates the prestigious biennial match. Available in exclusive Team USA and Team Europe designs in SuperStroke’s most popular models, these grips embody the spirit of international competition.
Emblazoned with the respective team colors, each SuperStroke Zenergy 2025 Ryder Cup putter grip features the official Ryder Cup logo at the top of the grip with red-and-blue graphics on the Team USA grips, and gold-and-blue graphics on the Team Europe grips.
The crafted grips deliver control and precision on the greens, giving golfers the confidence to take on any putt. They also give golfers a chance to own a piece of golf history that will unfold at New York’s renowned Bethpage Black Golf Course when the United States Ryder Cup takes on the European team.
“We’re so pleased that so many players will be using SuperStroke putter grips in the upcoming Ryder Cup matches at Bethpage Black, which promises to be an amazing and historic competition,” says SuperStroke VP of Marketing Ryan Harris. “These special-edition 2025 Ryder Cup grips are the perfect way to show your allegiance to the United States or European team while adding style and color to your favorite putter. Get them while you can!”
The following grip styles are now available in Team USA and Team Europe designs exclusively at superstrokeusa.com:
Tour 2.0
Pistol 1.0
Pistol 2.0
WristLock
The following sizes are being sold at the merchandise tent at the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black:
Tour 2.0
Tour 3.0
Part of the Zenergy line, these 2025 Ryder Cup putter grips are made with SuperStroke’s enhanced SPYNE™ technology, new multi-zone texturing, and our patented no-taper shape for unmatched confidence to quiet your hands – and your mind. Features Include:
· Enhanced SPYNE™ Technology – The new SPYNE™ Technology has an improved, embossed ridge along the underside of the grip, engineered to make it easier to square the face at impact.
· New Multi-Zone Texturing – Strategically placed textured in high-sensory areas designed to optimize feedback and comfort from the incredibly soft polyurethane outer layer.
· No Taper Technology – Our patented No Taper minimizes grip pressure with an advanced parallel design that enables golfers to quiet their hands and add consistency to their stroke.
· Tech-Port – Located at the top of SuperStroke grips, Tech-Port allows golfers to easily add game-improvement options including the patented CounterCore weight system and performance tracking sensors.
Learn more at https://superstrokeusa.com/
