Because golf balls were expensive, golfers employed �Forecaddies� to stand where the ball might land and reduce the number of lost balls, as is done in tournaments today. In 1875, Robert Clark mentions that Andrew Dickson performing this role for the Duke of York in 1681 and describes it as �what is now commonly called a fore-caddie�. It is probable that golfers called to their �Forecaddie!�, who would always be some distance ahead to draw attention to the fact the ball was coming and, in time, this was shortened to �Fore!� The almost contemporaneous appearance of the terms caddie, fore-caddie and fore! supports this theory over the others.