Bethpage Black is not only one of the best and most demanding golf courses in the world, it's public. One of the rare public tracks that has what it takes to host golf's best. 

The course at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, New York, has hosted several U.S. Opens, including a Tiger Woods victory in 2002.

Now this beacon of public golf will host the Ryder Cup. 

Well I couldn't pass up an opportunity to play the course that will host the biennial competition between the U.S. and Europe.

Getting to the Big Apple was the easy part. Securing a coveted tee time? Much more effort. My son and I had to show up the day before and be prepared to sleep in our car for a chance to play The Black.

We arrived at Bethpage State park at 4:30 p.m. on a Thursday and were the fourth car in line. By 10:30 p.m. on Thursday night, 16 cars were parked with the occupants ready to hunker down for a not-so-good night's sleep. 

Bright and early at 4:30 a.m. on Friday, a state park worker knocks on your car window and gives each occupant a ticket that they can turn in to get a tee time. Then you proceed to the pro shop to secure your time.

We signed up for 8:50 a.m. When you arrive at the first tee you're greeting by a warning sign. It resembles the kind you might see before embarking on a double black diamond run at a Colorado ski resort. 

It reads, "Warning! The Black course is an extremely difficult course which we recommend for highly skilled golfers only." 

So we tee'd off wondering if we had what it takes to be a highly skilled golfer. Surprisingly, my son and I fared better than expected. We were paired with a couple local residents who played the black course often. 

"How do you think a couple guys from Denver did our here today?" I asked Todd Bass, a local Long Island golfer.

 "Not bad," he replied. "You guys came from the West Coast and spent much of your day in the sand." 

"You parked at 4 a.m. this morning and got the same tee time that we got and we arrived at 4:30 p.m. yesterday," I exclaimed. "Are we suckers?"

"No, we live like 5 minutes away so we have the upper hand," Todd said. 

"Do you think it's worth it for people to sleep out in the cars to secure a tee time at the Black course?' I asked. 

"No question," said Todd. "Bring a steak, a good bottle of something and come hang out."