European Tour reminds players to yell 'fore'

Etiquette is an important part of golf. While some rules can be a bit annoying, others serve an important safety purpose. 

Yelling "fore" falls under the safety category. We hate the embarrassment of yelling to the golf course that we just hit a terrible shot, but the people who are about to get hit by your ball appreciate the heads up.

The European Tour recently issued a reminder to all of its players that they are also expected to participate in this time-honored tradition.

With big galleries and many volunteers out on the course, it might be difficult to get out of the way, but it helps make sure patrons have a chance to duck.

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According to the British Golf Museum, the term “fore” may have come from forecaddie, meaning someone employed to go ahead of players to see where their balls land. In his 1881 “The Golfer’s Handbook,” Robert Forgan wrote that a golfer shouts the word “to give the alarm to anyone in his way.”

While Jordan Spieth definitely benefited from hitting a spectator on a shot earlier this year, we can all agree he could have followed the advice of Forgan's handbook a little better.