Public course · Bethpage State Park, Farmingdale, NY
Bethpage Black Weather by Month & Best Time to Play
By OverUnderWeather Research Desk
Monthly rain, wind and temperature for the Black Course's April–November season, afternoon wind and July rain patterns for your tee-time choice, official fees and cancellation rules, and the next four days of weather. Bethpage Black is a New York State park course, about 128 ft up at our representative golf-complex point.
Bethpage Black at a glance
Climate sample · 2021–2025Regional ERA5 estimates, not measurements on the course. A low wet-day average does not mean rain is unlikely on your tee time.
At-a-glance figures cover April–November only, the months the Black Course is open.
Bethpage Black forecast: next four days
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Best time of year to play Bethpage Black
The 2026 schedule gives the Black Course a short window: April 15 to November 15, weather permitting, with Mondays closed except holidays. September and October offer a useful balance of cooler temperatures and fewer wet days than July in our five-year sample. Afternoons were windier than mornings in every month; in July, 5pm also had more rain hours than 9am. Summer heat still matters: the model heat index reached 90°F or more on 9% of July days at 3pm.
July · morning vs afternoon wind
7 → 9 mph
mean, 08:00–12:59 vs 13:00–17:59 local
July · 9am vs 5pm
5% → 14%
of days with rain falling in that hour
July · heat index 90°F+ at 3pm
9%
of days, vs 0% at 9am
Mid-April to May · opening weeks, cool and breezy
April highs averaged about 54°F and May 63°F. April afternoon wind averaged about 12 mph. At 7am in April the model air temperature was about 36°F (2°C) or colder on 2% of days. That is not a measured frost-delay rate: turf can frost above freezing air. The April figures cover the whole month, including the closed first half. First tee is 8:00am from April 15–26 in the 2026 schedule.
June–August · warmest, with a July late-day rain pattern
July was the warmest month (highs near 80°F) and had the most wet days of the open season (11.8). The model recorded at least 0.5 mm of precipitation at 5pm on 14% of July days, against 5% at 9am. A heat index of 90°F or more occurred on 9% of days at 3pm. These are rain hours, not lightning records. The 2026 schedule lists first tee at 7:00am from May 11–July 26, then 7:30am from July 27 through most of September; confirm your date before travelling.
September–October · the strongest balance
September highs averaged 72°F and October 64°F. October had the fewest wet days of any month (8.4), with wind still moderate (about 10 mph mean). Daylight shrinks: the last Black tee time drops from 5:00pm to 4:00pm in mid-September.
November 1–15 · the final two weeks
Full-month November highs averaged about 53°F. At 7am the model air was about 36°F (2°C) or colder on 7% of November days, falling to 1% by 11am. Those figures include the closed second half of November and are not frost-delay counts. The 2026 schedule lists first tee at 8:30am and the last at 3:00pm. Daytime wind rises again, to about 11 mph.
Bethpage hour by hour · July
| Hour | Avg feels-like | Heat index 90°F+ | Rain falling |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7am | 75°F | 0% | 8% |
| 8am | 75°F | 0% | 5% |
| 9am | 76°F | 0% | 5% |
| 10am | 78°F | 0% | 5% |
| 11am | 79°F | 1% | 5% |
| 12pm | 80°F | 3% | 4% |
| 1pm | 81°F | 7% | 7% |
| 2pm | 81°F | 9% | 8% |
| 3pm | 82°F | 9% | 8% |
| 4pm | 81°F | 8% | 12% |
| 5pm | 81°F | 8% | 14% |
| 6pm | 80°F | 5% | 11% |
Rain falling = at least 0.5 mm in that hour; it is not a lightning or suspension record. Heat index uses the US National Weather Service formula on model temperature and humidity, in the shade. 36°F (2°C) air is a frost-risk proxy: frost can form on turf above freezing air, and the resort decides frost delays.
Values come from ERA5 model hours at our Bethpage State Park golf-complex point, converted to Eastern time with daylight saving applied, 2021–2025. The hourly profile includes months when the Black Course is closed. They describe how often conditions happened, not a forecast for your day.
Fees and booking
Bethpage Black is a New York State park course, booked through the park's online reservation system. The official fee sheet (dated February 27, 2025) lists 18 holes at $70 on weekdays and $80 on weekends and holidays for New York State residents, and $140 / $160 for non-residents. There's a $5 reservation fee per player and a $15 per-player fee for cancelling within six hours of the tee time, the same as the no-show fee. If the forecast looks bad, decide before that six-hour cutoff. Confirm current fees and dates on the official State Parks page (checked 2026-11-05).
Bethpage Black weather by month
Five-year averages for 2021–2025 from ERA5 reanalysis. ERA5 is a coarse regional model: the nearest grid point is 40.75°N, 73.5°W, a few kilometres west of the park. Treat these as a regional guide, not on-course measurements or 30-year normals. Months shaded out are outside the Black Course season.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain | Wet days | Daytime wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January (closed) | 39°F / 4°C | 31°F / -0.8°C | 3.8 in | 10.8 | 12 mph |
| February (closed) | 40°F / 4.5°C | 31°F / -0.8°C | 3.6 in | 10.2 | 11 mph |
| March (closed) | 47°F / 8.5°C | 38°F / 3.1°C | 5.0 in | 11.6 | 12 mph |
| April (from 15th) | 54°F / 12.4°C | 46°F / 7.6°C | 4.1 in | 10.8 | 11 mph |
| May | 63°F / 17.2°C | 55°F / 12.6°C | 3.9 in | 10.6 | 9 mph |
| June | 73°F / 22.6°C | 65°F / 18.3°C | 2.7 in | 9.8 | 9 mph |
| July | 80°F / 26.5°C | 73°F / 22.6°C | 4.4 in | 11.8 | 8 mph |
| August | 78°F / 25.4°C | 71°F / 21.4°C | 3.7 in | 10.0 | 8 mph |
| September | 72°F / 22.4°C | 65°F / 18.2°C | 4.9 in | 9.6 | 9 mph |
| October | 64°F / 17.6°C | 55°F / 12.9°C | 4.7 in | 8.4 | 10 mph |
| November (to 15th) | 53°F / 11.9°C | 44°F / 6.6°C | 2.7 in | 8.8 | 11 mph |
| December (closed) | 44°F / 6.7°C | 35°F / 1.9°C | 5.0 in | 11.4 | 11 mph |
Wet days are the average number of days per month with at least 1 mm of precipitation, not your chance of rain on a given day. Wind is the mean speed at 10 m in daytime hours, not gusts.
Wind, your tee time and the Tour study
Morning vs afternoon wind at Bethpage
Afternoons were windier than mornings in every month. The gap was largest in June and July, about 2 mph, and smallest in winter when the Black Course is closed. In summer an early tee time gets you both lighter wind and a lower chance of late-day rain.
July: afternoon mean 2.1 mph higher
- Morning · 08:00–12:59
- 6.9 mph
- Afternoon · 13:00–17:59
- 9.0 mph
2021–2025 ERA5 regional estimates of mean 10 m wind, not gusts or measurements on the course. All hours use America/New_York, with historical daylight-saving adjustments. Each period contains 9,130 hourly readings across 1,826 days; monthly means combine all five years. These fixed periods are not full-round exposures, tournament waves or a forecast of your day. The live forecast above uses different fixed periods (07:00–11:59 / 12:00–16:59); compare its hourly details for your actual tee time.
This separate wind snapshot uses UTC inputs converted to local time; its figures need not exactly average to the older daytime climate table. Hourly source data · Frozen 2026-11-02.
We don't label holes as into or down the wind. Bethpage is an inland, tree-lined parkland course, and regional wind speed can't tell you how it moves through the trees on a given hole. Check the live forecast's hourly direction and gusts for your tee time.
Bethpage's majors and Ryder Cup aren't in our PGA Tour wave sample, so we make no Bethpage-specific scoring claim. For general context, our independently reviewed PGA Tour wind and tee-time wave study found the windier wave averaged about 0.93 extra strokes per Tour player for each 10 km/h of extra wind. Here the typical morning-to-afternoon gap is only a few km/h, and Tour pros aren't weekend golfers. That review covers the linked study, not this Bethpage guide.
Sources and method
- Course point: OpenStreetMap way 29468839 centre (Bethpage State Park golf complex) (40.7463019, -73.453623), checked to sit inside the park's golf outline. OpenStreetMap maps the five courses as one area, so this point is not specific to the Black Course; at ERA5's resolution that makes no practical difference to the weather figures.
- Reproduce the monthly weather inputs · Reproduce the hourly heat and rain inputs (Open-Meteo ERA5 archive, 2021–2025).
- Official Bethpage State Park golf page · Golf fee sheet · 2026 reservation rules · 2026 tee-time schedule · Online reservations (checked 2026-11-05; dates and times may change).
More public course weather guides
OverUnderWeather Research Desk
Independent data analysis on public sports and weather records. Studies match historical game outcomes to archived game-window weather, apply pre-set sample and significance rules, and publish null results when that is what the data show. Editorial policy and corrections log.
Frequently asked
When is Bethpage Black open?
The 2026 State Parks schedule lists the Black Course as open April 15 to November 15, weather permitting, and closed on Mondays except holidays. The other four Bethpage courses have longer seasons.
What is the best month to play Bethpage Black?
For weather, September or October. In the 2021–2025 ERA5 model sample, October had the fewest wet days of the open season (8.4) and July the most (11.8). Summer is the warmest but rain was most likely in late afternoon.
How much does it cost to play Bethpage Black?
The official fee sheet (dated February 27, 2025) lists 18 holes at $70 weekdays and $80 weekends for New York State residents, and $140 / $160 for non-residents, plus a $5 reservation fee per player. Check the State Parks page for current fees.
What if the forecast is bad for my Bethpage tee time?
The fee sheet lists a $15 per-player charge for cancelling within six hours of the tee time, and the same for a no-show. So make your weather call before that cutoff.
How high is Bethpage Black?
About 39 m (128 ft) at our representative point in the Bethpage golf complex: Open-Meteo/Copernicus gives 41 m and USGS gives 37 m. This is a terrain estimate at one point, not a surveyed elevation for every Black Course hole.