Is This Why Golfers Yell Fore?

May 2024 ยท 1 minute read

As Mental Floss notes, if you're out on a golf course, and you hear someone yell "fore" in the distance, you need to look out. The term is yelled by a golfer if there's a belief that the ball they just hit is going to hit you. So it's a good idea to duck and cover if you hear "fore." But in pretty much any other scenario when a projectile is headed for your face, people will yell "look out," or "heads up." So where does the term "fore" originate? There are a few theories, according to The Irish Times.

One theory involves what's known as forecaddies. In the early days of golf, players would send forecaddies out to the spot where they believed their shot was going to land. Then when the golfer hit the ball, they would shout "fore" to inform the forecaddie that the ball was on the way and to be on the lookout for it according to The Irish Times. Another less popular theory involves an anglicized version of the word "faugh." That word is used in Irish bowling when players shout "Faugh a Ballach," which means "clear the way." 

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