golf

[golf, gawlf; British also gof]

noun

a game in which clubs with wooden or metal heads are used to hit a small, white ball into a number of holes, usually 9 or 18, in succession, situated at various distances over a course having natural or artificial obstacles, the object being to get the ball into each hole in as few strokes as possible.

a word used in communications to represent the letter G.

verb (used without object)

to play golf.

Origin of golf

1425–75; late Middle English; of uncertain origin

Related formsgolf·er, nounnon·golf·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for golfing

Contemporary Examples of golfing

He spent the weekend golfing, and all they got was to cool their heels.
The Press Is Peeved at the Golfing President
Howard Kurtz
February 18, 2013
Maybe, like me and my D.C. gals, the golfing getaway was her idea too.
Michelle Obama Stranded by Her Man as Barack Goes on a Golfing Weekend
Lauren Ashburn
February 16, 2013
Want to know what book to gift to that 40-year-old golfing uncle?
Live Chat: Best Books to Give for the Holidays
December 14, 2011
President Obama had the temerity to be golfing on the Vineyard when the homeland was threatened.
Washington’s Earthquake Farce
Howard Kurtz
August 24, 2011
A golfing habit and a liking for girls are fine for a 51-year-old divorcé.
Good Riddance to Prince Andrew’s Day Job!
William Underhill
July 23, 2011

Historical Examples of golfing

Somehow I felt responsible for the golfing honor of my country.
Kent Knowles: Quahaug
Joseph C. Lincoln
Nowadays the golfing world quite realises that this is the case.
The Complete Golfer [1905]
Harry Vardon
The golfing history of North Berwick is full of the romance of the game.
The Spirit of the Links
Henry Leach
Forthwith his plans for future golfing expeditions are changed and modified.
The Spirit of the Links
Henry Leach
If length is all that is wanted, why not go shooting instead of golfing?
The Spirit of the Links
Henry Leach

British Dictionary definitions for golfing

golf

noun

a game played on a large open course, the object of which is to hit a ball using clubs, with as few strokes as possible, into each of usually 18 holes
(as modifier)a golf bag

verb

(intr) to play golf

Word Origin for golf

C15: perhaps from Middle Dutch colf club

Golf

noun

communications a code word for the letter g

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for golfing

golf

c.1800, golf (n.). Related: Golfed; golfing.

golf

mid-15c., Scottish gouf, usually taken as an alteration of Middle Dutch colf, colve "stick, club, bat," from Proto-Germanic *kulth- (cf. Old Norse kolfr "clapper of a bell," German Kolben "mace, club"). The game is from 14c., the word is first mentioned (along with fut-bol) in a 1457 Scottish statute on forbidden games. Golf ball attested from 1540s. Despite what you read in an e-mail, "golf" is not an acronym .