A golfer is a person who plays golf. Golf is the outdoor game where players hit a small hard white ball across a huge grassy course and try to drop it into a series of holes, using a set of clubs — long sticks with different heads — and as few hits as they can. The word is simply golf plus -er, the usual English way to name the person who does a thing: a teacher teaches, a golfer plays golf. Anyone who plays can be called a golfer, from a quiet Sunday player to a famous professional. It is a plain, neutral word. People sometimes say golf player, but golfer is the normal short word. Though actually, the game itself is golf, not golfer — you watch golf, and you are a golfer.