"golf"

     [This is a fast-access FAQ excerpt.]
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".