# golf

Pronunciation: say "GOLF" US /ɡɑlf/, UK /ɡɒlf/

## Noun

1. A ball game in which individuals compete to hit a ball into each of a series of holes, usually eighteen or nine, using the fewest strokes.
   - Simple: A sport where players use clubs to hit a small ball into holes in as few hits as possible.
   - _He took up golf after retiring and now plays three times a week._
   - _Professional golf demands precise control over distance and direction._
3. Alternative letter-case form of Golf from the NATO/ICAO Phonetic Alphabet.
   - Simple: Lowercase form of Golf from the NATO/ICAO Phonetic Alphabet. It stands for the letter G when you spell things out loud.
   - _The controller spelled the call sign with golf, hotel, and yankee._
   - _He keyed the mic and gave golf as the third letter of the grid reference._

## Verb

2. To play golf as an activity, usually by going out on a course.
   - Simple: To play the sport of hitting a ball into holes with clubs.
   - _They golf at a public course near the river._
   - _He learned to golf as a teenager and never stopped._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To write code or other text using the fewest characters possible, as in code golf or regex golf.

## Origin

English picked the word up from Middle Scots golf, gouff, and the first English records date from the 17th century. Where it came from before that is not certain; the best guess is Middle Dutch colve, colf ("club"), which goes back to Proto-Germanic *kulbaz ("club"). German Kolben ("piston, rod") and Swedish kolv ("piston, rod") are relatives.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/golf (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).