“They call it golf because all the other four-letter words were taken”

Golfers sometimes curse when the ball doesn’t roll their way. A “Golf Joke of the Week,” was printed in the Star-Gazette (Elmira, NY) on June 16, 1989:
 
“Why does golf have the name it does?
Because all the other four-letter words were taken!”
 
“You know why they call this game golf? Because all the other four-letter words were taken” was credited to American golfer Jimmy Powell in an August 26, 1989 newspaper.
 
“They call it golf because all the other four-letter words were taken.” American golfer Raymond Floyd said in July 1992. Floyd is usually credited with the line, but there’s no evidence that he said it first.
 
The golf line has been printed on many images.
 
 
16 June 1989, Star-Gazette (Elmira, NY), “Golf Joke of the Week,” pg. 5C, col. 5:
Why does golf have the name it does?
Because all the other four-letter words were taken!
 
26 August 1989, Albuquerque (NM) Journal, pg. D7, col. 1:
Jimmy Powell:
You know why they call this game golf? Because all the other four-letter words were taken.
   
Google Books
Ole & Lena Jokes. Book 5
By E. C. Stangland
Sioux Falls, SD: Norse Press
1990
Pg. 3:
OLE: Vhy do you suppose dey call it “GOLF?”
LARS: l guess all da other four letter words were taken.
 
17 August 1991, The Post-Crescent (Appleton, WI), “Troubling signs of a golf addict” by Bob Kravitz, pg. B-1, col. 1:
You can say things like, “They called it golf because all the other four-letter words were taken” without blushing.
     
19 July 1992, Austin (TX) American-Statesman, “Stroke of misfortune: Floyd’s quest for a British Open title slipping away” by Larry Guest, pg. E-2:
“When you want it the most, that’s when it denies you. But that’s golf,” he (Raymond Floyd—ed.) said. “They call it golf because all the other four-letter words were taken.”
 
Google Books
1,001 Pearls of Golfers’ Wisdom:
Advice and Knowledge, from Tee to Green
Edited by Jim Apfelbaum  
New York, NY: Skyhorse Publishing
2012  
Pg. ?:
They call it golf because all of the other four- letter words were taken. —Raymond Floyd
 
Google Books
Golf Matters:
500 Quotes From The Best Golf Players And Golf Lovers
By Emmanuel Fauvel
MyPublishingCompany.com
2014
Pg. ?:
They call it golf because all of the other four-letter words were taken.
- Raymond Floyd
 
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They call it #golf because all the other four letter words were taken. ~Raymond Floyd
2:00 PM - 22 May 2017