The Origin of Fore in Golf
February 29, 2008
A reader of ours had a question regarding the origin of using the term fore in golf vs saying things like heads-up or look out!!! Joe, this is for you.
The saying fore in golf means “ahead”, and it is believed to come from the military “beware before”, which was shouted when a battery fired behind friendly troops. So yelling “fore” is just a short and easy way to tell people to “watch out ahead” or “watch out before”.
Another possible origin is that the term came from “fore caddy”. A fore caddy is a person who goes along with a group of people around a golf course. They would often go ahead to be in a position so they could pinpoint the locations of the groups’ shots. If a golfer hit a bad shot, they may have alerted this person by yelling fore. The British Golf Museum cites an 1881 reference to “fore” in a golf book, establishing that the term was already in use at that period of time.
There you have it Joe, with some things it can be hard to pin down their exact origin. But regardless if you yell fore in golf or look out!!!, make sure that your fellow golfers know darn well that something is headed in their direction.
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This is Exactly Why We Yell Fore in Golf
February 24, 2008
Golf Virgin, why do people yell fore in golf? - Fred in Springfield, MO
I want you to do something, right now imagine that you and a couple good buddies are out on a beautiful spring day, enjoying a great, relaxing game of golf and having what seems to be a really good time. All of a sudden, a golf ball comes whizzing out of the ether and smacks the absolute %#$# out of your friend standing just two feet from you. You stand there in shock at the oddity you have witnessed.
Your mouth drops open in disbelief at the hollow sound of a golf ball cracking off of your friends skull and the utter look of bewilderment on his face. You don’t know whether you should laugh hysterically or act in your friends best interest and seek medical attention. However, you quickly figure out that this is not the best time for humor as your friend starts convulsing and begins having a seizure. A full-on Grand Mal seizure…
This all happened because some joyless person a hundred yards back didn’t yell fore in golf and warn you and your pals of an incoming ball . You and your comrade try to hold your poor buddy down as he shakes incessantly and while waiting for a Care Flight helicopter, you begin to realize the utility of simply yelling ahead to your fellow golfers with a healthy “fore!!!” that something tiny, white and mean is on a hell-bent trajectory back towards earth.
But then again, the strangest things can happen on the golf course. It’s almost like a magnet which draws people onto this green platform so they can be judged by the “golf gods” if they are worthy of leaving the game unharmed. Refer back to my post about golf, lightning and karma and you will understand what I mean.
So Fred, there you have it, this is exactly the reason why you yell fore in golf. Think about that the next time you mess up a shot and see that ball of yours arching in the sky towards a group of hapless people enjoying the perfect spring day.
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