golf

/ɡɒlf/

//ɡɒlf// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"golf" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“golf” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,679. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,679
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A ball game played by individuals competing against one another in which the object is to hit a ball into each of a series of (usually 18 or nine) holes in the minimum number of strokes.

Corpus desk

Index EN-golf · golf · English

golf · rank #2,679 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,679
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH frequently

Nearest frequency peer: frequently (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “golf”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “golf” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

golf vs got
50% similar
golf vs GOP
0% similar
golf vs goo
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for golf
PropertyValue
Headwordgolf
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɡɒlf/
Letters4
Frequency rank#2,679
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “golf”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).golflands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “frequently” (#2,678), “grace” (#2,680), “expert” (#2,677). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “golf” is #2,679. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around golf (IPA /ɡɒlf/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #2,679 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for golf, with forms such as "ggolf", "glof", and "gofl". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "got", "GOP", "goo", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: The word is first known in English from the 17th century as a borrowing from Middle Scots golf, gouff. Although the etymology is uncertain, the most likely origin is that it comes from the Middle Dutch colve, colf (“club”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *k… The correct English form is golf, spelled G-O-L-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    A ball game played by individuals competing against one another in which the object is to hit a ball into each of a series of (usually 18 or nine) holes in the minimum number of strokes.
  2. 2
    Alternative letter-case form of Golf from the NATO/ICAO Phonetic Alphabet.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how golf appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. In January, China’s state planner said it had ordered the closure of more than 100 golf courses in a multi-year campaign launched in 2011 to tackle illegal development in the sector. Golf has also been added to a list of Communist Party disciplinary violations, and is often cited in cases of graft.

Etymology

The word is first known in English from the 17th century as a borrowing from Middle Scots golf, gouff. Although the etymology is uncertain, the most likely origin is that it comes from the Middle Dutch colve, colf (“club”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *kulbaz (“club”), related to German Kolben (“piston, rod”), Swedish kolv (“piston, rod”), Old English clopp (“rock; cliff”), English kelp.

This word in other languages

golf(Español)golf(Français)Golf(Deutsch)golfe(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ggolf
  • glof
  • gofl
  • golff
  • gollf
  • oglf

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of golf - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ggolf1glof2gofl2golff1gollf1oglf2
Edit distance from "golf"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "golf"?
"golf" is spelled G-O-L-F. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡɒlf/.
What does "golf" mean?
As a noun, "golf" means: A ball game played by individuals competing against one another in which the object is to hit a ball into each of a series of (usually 18 or nine) holes in the minimum number of strokes.
What words are commonly confused with "golf"?
"golf" is commonly confused with "got", "GOP", "goo". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "golf"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "golf" is /ɡɒlf/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "golf"?
The word is first known in English from the 17th century as a borrowing from Middle Scots golf, gouff. Although the etymology is uncertain, the most likely origin is that it comes from the Middle Dutch colve, colf (“club”), ultimately from Proto-G... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "golf", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

laid#2,685tool#2,704yard#2,654tend#2,648

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

latter6 variantstank6 variantsarrest6 variantsnavy6 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list