It's easy to put the knock on golf.

Some critics, many of them non-playing wives of golfers, view it as a time-consuming waste of time.

Golfers themselves will knock it, saying such things as “You know why it’s called golf? It’s because all the other four-letter words were already taken.”

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Golf is Not a "Four-Letter Word"

 by Larry Stewart

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There’s one theory that the word golf is an acronym for “gentlemen only, ladies forbidden.” But researchers claim this is false. A more plausible explanation is that “golf” comes from the Scottish word “goulf” or “gowf,” meaning to strike or cuff.

Mark Twain said golf is nothing more than “a good walk spoiled.”

But I beg to differ. There is a social aspect to this activity, and a group made up of mostly Acadians is a good example.

They call themselves the “Over the Hill Golf Group,” or OTHGG for short. There are 14 members, an eclectic group that comes from all walks to life. The OTHGG is an official U.S. Golf Assn. private golf club, set up through a website, myscorecard.com.

They play Tuesday and Thursday mornings, usually at Santa Anita Golf Course, and they compete for prizes. Members and their spouses gathered at the Arcadia home of Dick Van Kirk Aug. 21 for a party where the awards were handed out.

Bob Wilber, a retired Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Captain, was presented the "Golfer of the Year" trophy (photos below, Wilber at left) for winning the club championship. The presentation was made by Mike McKay (at right below), who along with Van Kirk, founded the club earlier this year.

Its roots, however, began eight years ago.

Van Kirk, former president of the Southern California chapter of Special Olympics, and McKay, are longtime friends, stemming from their days as business colleagues at the accounting firm of Ernst and Young. They had both just retired in 2000 and began playing golf regularly at Santa Anita.

One day while there, McKay bumped into Gene Read, an old classmate from Catholic High in Pomona. Read was playing regularly with Wilber, his brother-in-law. Also playing with them was Rod Johnson, who had worked with Wilber in the sheriff’s department.