Have you ever seen the name “Bethpage” on a golf leaderboard or a Long Island road sign and wondered how to say it? Once you learn the pattern, it’s straightforward.
Phonetic spelling: /ˈbɛθ.peɪdʒ/
Simplified: BETH‑payj
Breaking it down
Put the stress on the first syllable: BETH‑payj
• beth‑PAZH (wrong vowel and ending)
• beth‑PAH‑gee (adds an extra syllable)
• beet‑PAGE (uses a long “ee” sound and hard “g”)
• “We’re playing the Black Course at Bethpage this weekend.”
• “The U.S. Open has twice been held at Bethpage.”
• “She grew up near Bethpage, New York.”
Bethpage Black hosted the U.S. Open in 2002 and 2009 and the PGA Championship in 2019. The course’s warning sign—“Extremely Difficult Course”—often appears in golf documentaries. The Long Island Rail Road’s Bethpage station brings visitors to the park.
Bethpage is best known for three places:
• Bethpage, New York — a hamlet in Nassau County that hosts Bethpage State Park and its famous golf courses
• Bethpage Black Course — a championship venue that has held the U.S. Open and PGA Championship
• Bethpage, Tennessee — a small community in Sumner County
The name traces back to Bethphage, a biblical village near Jerusalem. Early American settlers adapted the spelling.