why do golfers say 4?

The USGA references the term as long ago as the 1700's and the British Golf Museum has referenced it as far back as 1881, no direct definition but there are basically two explanations that make the most sense.

1.) Think of the word “fore” like a ship’s fore and aft (forward and back), so instead of yelling “watch out ahead, or “ball heading forward”, for short you can just yell “fore”.

2.) Or think of “fore” like “before”, as you might say “watch out before you get hit by my golf ball that I hit so badly that it might hit you even if you are 2 fairways over.”

The word fore is also short for yelling to your forecaddie to let them know the ball is headed their way.

1

Definition: A word of warning yelled out by a player who has hit an errant shot. If your shot is in danger of hitting or landing very close to another player or group of players on the course (for instance, if you slice a ball into an adjoining fairway), you should yell "fore!" to warn players to watch out.

"Fore" is another word for "ahead" (think of a ship's fore and aft). Yelling "fore" is simply a shorter way to yell "watch out ahead" (or "watch out before"). It allows golfers to be forewarned, in other words.

The British Golf Museum cites an 1881 reference to "fore" in a golf book, establishing that the term was already in use at that early date (the USGA suggests the term may have been in use as early as the 1700s). The museum also surmises that the term evolved from "forecaddie."

A forecaddie is a person who accompanies a group around the golf course, often going forward to be in a position to pinpoint the locations of the groups' shots. If a member of the group hit an errant shot, the thinking goes, they may have alerted the forecaddie by yelling out the term.

It was eventually shorted to just "fore."

A popular theory is that the term has a military origin. In warfare of the 17th and 18th century (a time period when golf was really taking hold in Britain), infantry advanced in formation while artillery batteries fired from behind, over their heads. An artilleryman about to fire would yell "beware before," alerting nearby infantrymen to drop to the ground to avoid the shells screaming overhead.

So when golfers misfired and send their missiles - golf balls - screaming off target, "beware before" became shortened to "fore."

This is another term, however, whose exact origin can't be stated. It does originate, however, in the fact that "fore" means "ahead" and, used by a golfer, is a warning to those ahead.

Hope this helps.

Yelling "fore" is easier than "Hey, buddy...watch out!". Personally, I don't think it helps much, if any. Most of the time, people just do something silly like move where the ball ends up. I just turn away and stay where I am at. Yelling can also disturb golfers playing nearby that aren't anywhere near where the ball is going.

- Jim at http://www.mygolfdomain.com/

To alert other golfers or people down range that the ball was hit in their direction and to watch out and cover up.

They are actually hollering "fore!" which means forward. They are letting the people in front of them know a ball is coming their way. Back when people spoke proper english, that was the proper term. It just stuck, and some obviously misinterpret it. lol

golfers say 4 to alert other players that a ball is coming thier way

'fore' not 'four' is a golfing term that means - "heads up, my golf ball is not heading in the fairway where I am aiming but rather it's flying dangerously close to wherever you are on the golf course. duck your head and be aware so my ball doesn't pelt you on the noggin."

its so the people down wind don't get smacked in the mellon by a golf ball. and also have time for cover.

I take it you don't play golf. It's not four it's FORE. Look out my ball is heading your direction.