Why do golfers yell the word fore to warn others?
The traditional golfing warning likely originated from eighteenth-century military tactics or the use of forecaddies who stood downrange to track where expensive hand-stitched balls landed.
Golfers shout fore to alert people downrange of an incoming ball, a practice rooted in the sport's early history. One popular theory suggests the term is short for forecaddie, a person stationed ahead to locate balls. Because golf balls were handmade and expensive in the 1700s, hitting one near a caddie required a loud warning to prevent injury.
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