Welcome to "OPEN: Inside the Ropes at Bethpage Black."
To his credit, author John Feinstein does a fine job reporting on the vast efforts that went into holding the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black. He chronicles the conception of the idea of bringing one of the most important tournaments to a tattered but venerable municipal course on Long Island.
Feinstein touches on the hurdles that had to be cleared with local and state politicians and agencies. He offers a collection of stories about the qualifying process and the varying routes that players, amateur and professional, had to take to get into the field at Bethpage.
And Feinstein follows the exploits of golf's marquee attraction and 2002 Open winner, Tiger Woods.
Mostly, however, Feinstein writes about the trials and travails of the USGA staff, the people who are responsible for putting on the Open and numerous other national championship events throughout the year.
Feinstein devotes considerable time to the logistics, operations, merchandising and planning aspects of the USGA function. He obviously spent a good deal of time with the staff members, and he sheds light on aspects of hosting a major sporting event that many fans and followers probably take for granted. Feinstein spends much less time on what happened after the first ball was struck, either from a competitive or operational aspect.
In this regard, the subtitle is misleading. "Inside the Ropes at Bethpage Black" suggests that the book focused primarily on the players and the playing of the championship. "Behind the Scenes at Bethpage Black" would have more accurately captured the perspective from which most of the book is written.
And from the USGA perspective, the best thing about the 2002 Open at Bethpage Black was that nothing "really bad" happened. Yes, there were obstacles and challenges, but all of them were managed.
In the end, it made for a nice story, but like the Bethpage Black course itself, some might complain it was a little long.
