What: Golf: US Open
Where: Bethpage (Black), Farmingdale, New York
When: June 18-21, 2009
Why: The second major of the year and for many Americans the most important given that it's their national championship, the US Open has it all in terms of history, prestige and spectacle.
Tiger Woods will defend his title 12 months on from that epic play-off win over Rocco Mediate at Torrey Pines and following his second win of the year at the Memorial two weeks ago, just seven starts into his return following reconstructive knee surgery.
Furthermore, the world number one is returning to the scene of his 2002 US Open victory, when he defeated Phil Mickelson by three shots.
And did we mention Bethpage Black? One of America's greatest courses is actually a state-owned municipal course that anyone can play. If they're brave enough.
For those that prefer to watch, this year's US Open will also provide not just the golf inside the ropes but an unparalleled atmpshere off it as New Yorkers flock to Long Island to cheer their favourites.
Expect raucous backing for Mickelson, particularly in light of his wife Amy's recent breast cancer diagnosis and also for Padraig Harrington, beloved in the Big Apple by the legions of Irish-American golf fans in the city.
What a treat it is and all within a short trek of the bright lights of Gotham.
GETTING THERE: Bethpage State Park is approximately 35 miles east of New York City on Long Island.
For in-depth information and advice on the best ways to get to New York, how to get from the airport into Manhattan and where to stay once you get there, click here or head to our Best Sporting Cities section and you'll find our general guide to New York City.
If you're staying in Manhattan during US Open week, you really should forget about driving out to the tournament. The main road out from Manhattan via the Midtown Tunnel is the I-495, also known as the Long Island Expressway and known to all in NY as the L.I.E. It's a nightmare at the best of times in both directions.
The light at the end of the tunnel is that there is free parking available at Jones Beach, located off the Meadowbrook Parkway on the south shore of Long Island. From there, spectators can pick up a complimentary bus to the course which the USGA rather optimistically expects to take just 25 minutes.
Please note: There is no general spectator parking available in the immediate vicinity of the golf course.
All other parking is by permit only.
The only sane way to go, though, is to get on the train and let the Long Island Rail Road (1-718-217-5477, www.mta.info/lirr) take the strain.
Take the Ronkonkoma Branch line from the central Manhattan terminus at Penn Station to Farmingdale, from where a shuttle bus will deliver you to the course.
LIRR tickets cost from $14 for a round trip from Penn and the journey is less than an hour and if you're coming from a different branch on the LIRR or heading straight to the course from JFK via the airtrain, then it is easy to change onto the Ronkonkoma line at Jamaica.
GETTING IN:
Last August, the USGA received thousands of requests for tickets to the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park. A random drawing was conducted, resulting in a sell-out of tickets available to the general public for the championship rounds. However, due to a lower than expected response in corporate hospitality sales, the allotment of corporate tickets for the championship was not fully realized. Therefore, the USGA has decided to make the remaining tickets available for sale on-site at Bethpage State Park.HOWEVER!!!!! A limited number of tickets are to be sold on a walk-up basis between Tuesday, June 11 and Sunday June 14.
The options available are: Weekly Grounds Ticket packages ($400), Daily Championship Round Tickets ($100) and Daily Practice Round Tickets ($40).
According to the USGA, supplies are limited, and tickets will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis while quantities remain (cash or major credit cards accepted). Tickets will be on sale on those days from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. at the U.S. Open Will Call facility at Bethpage State Park.
Parking for U.S. Open ticket and merchandise sales will be located at the Bethpage State Park Polo Field. Visitors should take the NY 135/Seaford Oyster Bay Expressway South to Exit 8 (Powell Ave./ Bethpage/ Bethpage State Park) and follow signs for U.S. Open merchandise/ticket sales parking. There will be no parking at the Bethpage State Park clubhouse.
Parking will open at 7 a.m., and shuttles to the Will Call/Merchandise area will begin shortly thereafter.
A limited shuttle service will be provided from the LIRR Farmingdale Station between 9am and 6pm
Tickets for juniors aged 13 to 17 are available for purchase at a reduced rate (practice rounds, $15; championship rounds, $30) when accompanied by a paid adult ticket holder. These junior tickets will also be available for purchase during the pre-championship walk-up sale, as well as on-site during the championship at the Will Call facility and all admission gates.
Juniors age 12 and younger are admitted free of charge, on any day, when accompanied by a paid adult ticket holder. There is a maximum of two junior tickets per one adult ticket. Junior tickets will be available at the Will Call facility and all admission gates.
19TH HOLES:
Around Bethpage
B.K. Sweeney's (516-935-9597, www.bksweeneys.com) A huge Bethpage sports bar close enough to the Black course as to be a refuge for survivors of the 18-hole torture. Good food by all accounts and decent beer as well as a shuttle service between the tournament and the pub.
Croxley Ales Farmingdale (516-293-7700, www.croxley.com)
A beer drinker's slice of paradise close to Farmingdale LIRR which is an outpoist of a Manhattan pub and with 68 different brews on tap from lager to stout, including its own Croxley Blonde.
Black Forest Brew Haus, 2015 New Highway, Farmingdale, NY 11735 (631-391-9500, http://www.blackforestbrewhaus.com/), 2.5 miles east of the Bethpage State Park main gates and delivering its own ales in a bier keller typoe atmosphere.
Manhattan:
St Andrews Restaurant & Bar, 140 West 46th Street between 6th Ave & Broadway (http://www.standrewsnyc.com/) An Irish-owned Scottish pub and restaurant with golf memorabilia lining its walls and kilted bartenders serving up a staggering array of scotches as well the usual beers and spirits. You may be in Manhattan but you will feel like you're at the Home of Golf.
Further east:
Grafton Street Pub, 1261 Veteran's Highway, Happauge (631 360 0761) - an Irish-owned neighbourhood bar just off the LIE at exit 57 with good, cheap pub grub, friendly bar staff and plenty of screens to catch up on the day's sporting action. Also the occasional event such as stand-up comedy, theme nights and pub quizzes.
EATING OUT:
56th Fighter Group Restaurant, 7180 Republic Airport, Farmingdale (631 694 8280, www.56thfgrestaurant.com) A reasonably priced steakhouse with a World War Two theme right down to the big band music and with a view of the Republic Airport runway, which will be much in use during US Open week as the high rollers fly in on their private jets for the four-mile road trip to Bethpage. Sunday brunch is popular.
Cafe La Strada, 352 Wheeler Rd, Hauppauge (631-234-5550, www.cafelastradarestaurant.com) Further east of Farmingdale, off exit 56 on the L.I.E. The La Strada in Happauge is an Italian treat with great seafood.
Local brew: There are independent breweries and microbreweries aplenty on Long Island and for $116.25, Long Island Brewery Tours (1 718 233 7868; http://longislandbrewerytours.com/) will take you on an eight-hour limo ride to three of them, where you can taste around 15-25 ales, stouts, pilsners and lagers. Price includes lunch at one of the breweries, the tasting, and a 20 per cent gratuity.
Event website: http://www.usopen.com/