The alt.usage.english FAQ   

• "golf"

  (Word Origins)
  
  

  
  does not stand for "Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden".  It is a
  Scots word mentioned in 1457 in reference to the game.  Possible
  cognates are Scots _gowf_="to strike", Dutch _kolf_="club for
  striking balls", Swedish _kolf_="butt-end", and Old Icelandic
  _kolfr_="bolt".  The postulated Proto-Germanic root is *_kulb-_.
  The English word "club" comes from the possibly related
  Proto-Germanic *_klumbon_="heavy stick".

  
  
  Source: [Mark Israel, 'Word Origins: "golf"', The alt.usage.english FAQ file,(line 3642), (29 Sept 1997)]
  
  
  
  

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