Where it sits
The word's exact source is debated, but the acronym is certainly invented.
What it doesn't mean
The word is in a Scottish statute of 1457. Snopes points out that only a few common words truly began as acronyms, and those date from the 20th century or later.
Older Scottish writings spell it gouff, goiff, goffe, goff, gowff and golph, Snopes notes. A fixed spelling came much later.
What it really means
Golf gets one of the most repeated backronyms in English: Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden. It turns up, Snopes reports, in internet "Did you know?" lists, some with six entries, others with nearly fifty.
Why it's wrong. The word is old, and acronyms are new. Golf is on record by 1457, in a Scottish statute under James II that banned golf, along with football, because it distracted men from archery practice. Etymonline and Wikipedia call this its first mention; Snopes gives an even earlier date, 1425. Words built from initial letters, as Snopes points out, are a 20th-century habit; only a handful of common words began that way, and none of them is centuries old. A word in a 15th-century law can't be an acronym of a modern English phrase.
The spelling gives it away too. Older Scottish writings spell the game gouff, goiff, goffe, goff, gowff and golph, Snopes notes. There was no fixed set of four letters to stand for anything.
What's actually known. Etymonline gives the earliest form as Scots gouf, usually taken from Middle Dutch colf, a stick, club or bat, which fits a game played with clubs. Snopes reports that the OED is cautious about the Dutch link and that some prefer a Scots verb, goulf or gowf, "to strike". Scholars disagree about which; none of them favour an acronym.
The game itself survived the ban. Wikipedia records that James IV lifted it in 1502, having become a golfer himself, and the royal accounts for 1503–04 include clubs and balls "to the King that he playit with". Ladies, for the record, were never forbidden by the word.
Where it comes from
Scots, mid-15th century — the earliest form
Middle Dutch — stick, club, bat (the usual source proposed)
Etymonline gives golf as usually taken from Middle Dutch colf. Snopes notes the OED finds the Dutch link problematic, and mentions a rival theory: Scots goulf or gowf, 'to strike'. Either way, no acronym.
- 1457
A Scottish statute under James II bans golf, along with football, as a distraction from archery practice — the word's first mention according to Etymonline and Wikipedia (Snopes gives 1425).
- 1502
James IV lifts the ban, having taken up the game himself (Wikipedia).
- 1503–04
Golf clubs and balls bought for the king are recorded: 'For golf clubbes and balles to the King that he playit with' (Wikipedia).
- By 2002
'Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden' is spreading through internet 'Did you know…?' lists, according to Snopes.
In real life
- He took up golf at sixty and now talks about nothing else.
- The guide at St Andrews told the 'Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden' story as a joke, then explained it wasn't true.
- In 1457 Scotland banned golf so men would practise archery instead.
Questions
Q01Does golf stand for 'Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden'?
No. Golf is recorded in a Scottish statute of 1457, and English words formed from initials are a 20th-century habit. Snopes rates the claim false; it spread through internet 'Did you know?' lists.
Q02Where does the word golf come from?
Probably from Middle Dutch colf or colve, a stick or club, according to Etymonline — though the OED, as reported by Snopes, finds that link problematic. Another theory points to Scots goulf or gowf, 'to strike'. The earliest Scots form is gouf.
Q03When was golf first mentioned?
In 1457, when a statute under James II of Scotland banned golf and football because they distracted men from archery practice.
Sources
- Is 'golf' an acronym for 'Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden'? — Snopes.
- golf — Online Etymology Dictionary.
- Golf (history) — Wikipedia.