"GOLFING" - is it a word?

[JonMA1]

12 minutes ago, tmclennan said:

Where I am trying to go with this is that in fact GOLFING is the vulgar of the noun.Golf is a game and to that end you play a game.You play chess to don't chess or go chessing.Many of these GAMES have become major sports but that doesn't mean that golfing is a word-it even sounds wrong.Do you tennis?No you play tennis.do you baseball or football?No, you play these games.Swimming is a sport but you don't play "swim".You don't play"ski" because its not a game,you ski or go skiing because its a sport.Some one pulled out curling, but even here the standard holds-its not a game.If someone has an exception I'd love to hear it.

I don't mean any disrespect, but for someone so stringent regarding proper english, your posts run rife with punctuation errors. I suppose we all have our pet peeves. Not throwing stones mind you. I make plenty of errors myself.

Do you have any other thoughts about the game of golf? There are a lot of topics on the site.

[krupa]

25 minutes ago, tmclennan said:

Where I am trying to go with this is that in fact GOLFING is the vulgar of the noun.Golf is a game and to that end you play a game.You play chess to don't chess or go chessing.Many of these GAMES have become major sports but that doesn't mean that golfing is a word-it even sounds wrong.Do you tennis?No you play tennis.do you baseball or football?No, you play these games.Swimming is a sport but you don't play "swim".You don't play"ski" because its not a game,you ski or go skiing because its a sport.Some one pulled out curling, but even here the standard holds-its not a game.If someone has an exception I'd love to hear it.

What if I go to a golf course and whack a ball around without keeping score or following all the rules?  I can't say that I'm playing golf but I am golfing.

As to how other sports words are used, what about the person who plays the game/sport?  "Golfer" is certainly acceptable and I'm sure most PGA Tour pros would refer to themselves as "professional golfers".  However,  I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a Major League Baseball player refer to himself as a "professional baseballer".   But the word itself is correct, if a little outdated.  You're certainly never going to hear someone say, "I'm a professional golf player."

At the end of the day, when the snow melts, I'm going golfing and if you don't like it you can take your golf player friends and go baseballing.

[tmclennan]

Egad!Yes, I have punctuation errors.Dammit Jim,I'm a painter not a typist! what in gods name does that have to do with the fact that not one response to this question has been met with a valid answer.Just because its in the dictionary is precisely why I brought up the question.The dictionary is wrong that it doesn't recognize that "golfing" is the vulgar of the noun.But,I imagine,based on the comments to this question, most of the respondents to this subject never really played the GAME as children.They were  never introduced to the pros and teachers that really appreciate the heritage that goes back to St.Andrews.I'm pretty sure you wouldn't catch Jack or Arnie or Phil or Tiger or even Jordan say that they were going golfing.

Q.E.D.

[iacas]

@tmclennan, you're wrong. It's that simple. You can "golf" a ball. It's a verb too.

I tend not to use it but it's perfectly legitimate.

[RandallT]

For interest:

https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=golfing&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cgolfing%3B%2Cc0#t1%3B%2Cgolfing%3B%2Cc1

Quote

You can even drill down to uses of the word "golfing" in the past. Here is an excerpt from "The Scots Magazine" from 1825! Those damn Scots and their bastardization of golf terms.

[Missouri Swede]

1 hour ago, tmclennan said:

I'm pretty sure you wouldn't catch Jack or Arnie or Phil or Tiger or even Jordan say that they were going golfing.

From Jack's website:

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“Over the years, the Regions Tradition has been much more than a world-class golfing event."

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"I think the whole golfing world feels for Jordan Spieth."

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"The whole golfing world feels badly for Adam, as do Barbara and I."

 

[woodzie264]

 

1 hour ago, tmclennan said:

I'm pretty sure you wouldn't catch Jack or Arnie or Phil or Tiger or even Jordan say that they were going golfing.

Q.E.D.

 

13 minutes ago, Missouri Swede said:

From Jack's website:

 

Funny

[krupa]

1 hour ago, RandallT said:

You can even drill down to uses of the word "golfing" in the past. Here is an excerpt from "The Scots Magazine" from 1825! Those damn Scots and their bastardization of golf terms.

Earlier reference:

Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society est. 1761

 

http://www.scottishgolfhistory.org/oldest-golf-clubs-societies/1761-bruntsfield-links-golfing-society/

 

Edited February 15, 2017 by krupa

[No Mulligans]

Resistance is futile.  @tmclennan will never agree, he/she is trolling... or is that, playing troll.

[Golfingdad]

20 minutes ago, No Mulligans said:

 he/she is trolling... or is that, playing troll.

Ya know, it's kinda funny you mention that in this thread.  Because I've always found it odd how we use the terms interchangeably.  I mean, I get "trolling" ... the person is throwing out some kind of bait fishing for people to take a bite.

Then we also use the noun 'troll,' as in a creepy short creature who lives under a bridge.

Just always found it odd, that's all.

---

And, duh, of course 'golfing' is a word.

[woodzie264]

48 minutes ago, krupa said:

Earlier reference:

Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society est. 1761

 

http://www.scottishgolfhistory.org/oldest-golf-clubs-societies/1761-bruntsfield-links-golfing-society/

 

@tmclennan, Checkmate

[boogielicious]

Maybe already posted but,

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/golf

 

[tmclennan]

Well, the The Bruntsfield Golfing Society was an interesting nail in the coffin.Founded before we were to become a nation.I'll have to give it to ya'll.It still sounds like pissing or farting or ****ing-Golfing,huh?Egad-"well,you still can't beat me at the pipes".

 

BTW- what else is discussed on this page?

[DaveP043]

1 minute ago, tmclennan said:

BTW- what else is discussed on this page?

On this page.....the word "golfing".  On this website, all things golfing (I couldn't resist ), from equipment to courses to travel to instruction to rules to anything else about this game (or sport).  Look around, I'm sure you'll find something that interests you.   

[Grammar queen]

Golf is a NOUN, not a verb. Any dictionary that says it's a verb is wrong. Golf is a game that is played. Play is the verb and golf is the object of that verb. Just like these other games: tennis, soccer, basketball, volleyball, polo, bridge, and others which I haven't thought of.  One doesn't say I'm tennising, or I'm basketballing, or poloing. These are nouns and therefore can't be gerunds. On the other hand, ski and swim and look and think are verbs. One can say: "I like to ski" or "I skied yesterday" or "Skiing is fun". All these sentences are correct because ski is a VERB!

[iacas]

Though not popular, "golf" can be a verb too.

Just ask the baseball announcers who will say "Man, he golfed that one over the left-field wall for a two-run homer."

verb: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/golf?s=t

verb: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/golf

Sorry @Grammar queen.

[Grammar queen]

Just because a baseball announcer - or anyone else for that matter - uses the word golf as if it's a verb, doesn't make it so. He probably doesn't know any better. Plenty of people are using words and punctuation incorrectly, both spoken and in print. But that fact doesn't change what IS correct. 

Sorry!

[iacas]

1 minute ago, Grammar queen said:

Just because a baseball announcer - or anyone else for that matter - uses the word golf as if it's a verb, doesn't make it so. He probably doesn't know any better. Plenty of people are using words and punctuation incorrectly, both spoken and in print. But that fact doesn't change what IS correct.

I cited two very well respected dictionaries, which list it as a verb, @Grammar queen. Again, I understand that you don't "like" it used as a verb, but it is one.

Sorry!