Why do golfers yell fore?

Fore is the standard warning shouted when a struck ball is heading anywhere near other people, and calling it is a genuine obligation rather than a courtesy, since a golf ball travels fast enough to cause serious injury. Etiquette says yell it immediately and loudly the moment you see the ball going astray, and the correct response if you hear it is to turn away, cover your head, and crouch rather than looking up to find the ball, which exposes your face.

The etymology is not settled, but two explanations dominate. One traces it to forecaddies, servants sent ahead down the fairway to mark where balls landed, who needed warning before a shot was played toward them, with the term shortened in shouting to fore. The other proposes a military origin, from artillery crews warning infantry ahead of them to beware before, with the same abbreviation happening for the same reason. The word appears in Scottish golf writing by the 19th century. Regardless of origin, the practical rules are worth stating: yell fore for any errant shot near people, do not hit into the group ahead, and know that in many jurisdictions a golfer who fails to warn can be found liable for the injury that follows.