What does golf mean?
Golf is a ball-and-club sport in which players strike a ball across a course and try to get it into a sequence of holes with as few strokes as possible. As a noun, it names both the game and the wider activity or culture associated with playing it; as a verb, it means to play golf. The word is used in everyday conversation, sports reporting, instruction, and formal descriptions of the sport. Golf clubs, golf courses, golf balls, and golf tournaments are established expressions, and golfers commonly use specialized terms such as par, birdie, and handicap. Although the sport is associated with equipment, course design, rules, and tradition, golf can also be played recreationally and is practiced across many regions and social groups. Its uncomplicated verb form has made “golf” especially convenient in both scheduled descriptions and casual accounts of a round or an afternoon’s play.
A sport in which players use clubs to strike a ball into a series of holes, aiming to complete the course with the lowest possible total number of strokes.
"She has played golf since childhood and is now competing in regional tournaments."
The word names the sport as a whole and is commonly used in British and American English.
To play golf.
"They golfed on the resort’s championship course."
The verb is neutral in register and is common in both scheduled and recreational contexts.
The plural is grammatically regular but uncommon, since the sport is usually referred to collectively as “golf.”
"The magazine profiled several professional golfs from around the world."
Golf is one of the few sports whose name is also the verb for playing it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does golf come from?
The English word entered use from Scots, where “golf” was already associated with the game. Its immediate source may be the Dutch word “kolf,” meaning a club or stick, which developed from Middle Dutch “colf.” The precise historical route by which the word reached English is not entirely certain, but the Dutch forms are its principal historical relatives.
Related word forms
How golf is actually used
Golf is a standard, widely used term in formal and informal contexts in both British and American English. The noun refers to the sport as a whole, while the verb normally means to play it.