Olympia Fields...

[Larry Gude]

...it's US Open time again!

This is my FAVORITE tournament!

This year the course is fair enough length wise to provide the whole field with a chance at de-throning Tiger. last year at Bethpage it was simply to long. A few holes had 260 yard carries off the T just to get to the fairway.

I'm pulling for Tiger and it should be a great show!

Check out the course:

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/usopen2003/coursemap

Quick trivia: Is it "four!" or "fore!" and why...?

 

[Ken King]

Originally posted by Larry Gude
Quick trivia: Is it "four!" or "fore!" and why...?

It's fore. A warning to anyone within range of the probable line of flight of the ball. Why? I have no clue, seems "lookout" or "duck" would suffice.

 

[SmallTown]

Originally posted by Larry Gude

Quick trivia: Is it "four!" or "fore!" and why...?

I'll go with fore!
No idea why. I have only played golf like 3 times, normally the first thing that comes out of my mouth is "oh sh!t"
And unless someone is standing 20 feet from the tees, I doubt I would ever hit anyone

 

[vraiblonde]

Originally posted by SmallTown
And unless someone is standing 20 feet from the tees, I doubt I would ever hit anyone

And the most I'd do to them is put a bonk on their ankle - anything above that would be safe no matter WHERE they stood.

 

[jazz lady]

Originally posted by Larry Gude
Quick trivia: Is it "four!" or "fore!" and why...?

What I found from http://www.ruleshistory.com/misc.html :

Quoting from A History of Golf, by Robert Browning, (1955, J.M. Dent & Sons). Browning, a Scot, was the editor of the magazine called, "Golfing" from 1910 to 1955 and was a scholar devoted to tracing the authenticity of the many claims about the games history and lore:

"Dr. Neilson, a keen student of Scottish history and literature, discovered a passage in the works of John Knox which, shorn of the eccentricities of sixteenth-century spelling, reads as follows:
'One among many comes to the East Port (i.e., gate) of Leith, where lay two great pieces of ordnance, and where their enemies were known to be, and cried to his fellows that were at the gate making defence: "Ware Before!" and so fires one great piece, and thereafter the other.' The cry of 'Beware before' -- Look out in front -- was, of course, the signal for the defenders of the gate to drop to the ground in order that the guns might be fired over them.

The situation is not dissimilar to that of the golfer intending to drive over the head of someone on the fairway in front, and the way in which the military signal 'Ware before!' might in the course of time be cut down to "Fore!" needs no explaining. 'Look out in front!' It is the most democratic of shouts, which no one dares to let pass unheeded. During an Open Championship at Sandwich many summers ago, I saw a future King of England scurrying apologetically off the fairway in response to a distant bellow of "Fore!" from one of our less distinguished professionals."

So the origin of the term is, after all, a warning cry of the Scottish military of "Ware before!"

And now you know...the rest of the story...

 

[Ken King]

From http://www.scottishgolfhistory.net/fore_caddy_derivation.htm

Currently there are three serious explanations for the origins of term FORE!

I) Because golf balls were expensive, golfers employed ‘Forecaddies’ to stand where the ball might land and reduce the number of lost balls, as is done in tournaments today. It is possible that golfers called to their “Forecaddie!” to draw attention to the fact the ball was coming and, in time, this was shortened to “Fore!” The fact that the golf caddie term first appears in 1857 and the term Fore! in golf in 1878 greatly supports this theory as opposed to the others. In 1875, Robert Clark specifically mentions Andrew Dickson performing this role for the Duke of York in 1681 and describes it as “what is now commonly called a fore-caddie”.

II) A second explanation derives from the military battle craft of musket days, when rank after rank would fire fusillades, some over the heads of those in front. It was speculated that the term Fore! might have been used to warn those in front to keep their heads down. Modern historians pour cold water on this theory, partly because it is difficult to relate it to a Scottish golf connection and partly because the relevant military terms used do not appear to be connected. However, this theory may in fact be a misunderstanding of the theory below.

III) There is a third explanation, which appears the most implausible, but which ends up as possibly the most likely. It derives from a story told by John Knox (1505?-1572) the ‘hellfire’ protestant reformer. He tells the tale, as only ‘hellfire’ preachers can, of someone arriving at the East Port (east gate) of Leith. This story was noticed by a Dr Neilson and subsequently reported by Robert Browning in his book 'History of Golf’ (1955):

 

[Larry Gude]

Very good...

...counselor!

The answer is #1

Warning to fore caddie. "Incoming!" doesn't come across as well from 200 yards away.

 

[demsformd]

I would look out for Wier...he's playing very well right now and I wouldn't expect him to be too far off the leaderboard. Watch Davis Love III too. I think that Tiger could be killed if there is terrible weather.

Where is Olympia Fields again? I think that one of my buddies may have a friend from college that is a member there. (re: it looks like Dems is going on another golf trip )

And on another note, I hate Bethpage.