Golfimbul

Lore

In TA 2747, the terrible orc-leader Golfimbul led an army of Orcs from Mount Gram in the Misty Mountains into the Northfarthing of the Shire. The Goblin incursion in the northern Shire occurred during the reign of Arassuil as Chieftain of the Dúnedain, and the Goblins led by Golfimbul were but the most western pack of Goblins which had left the Hithaeglir (Sindarin for Misty Mountains). The only reason Golfimbul could make it all the way to The Shire was that the Rangers at the time were fighting many battles with Goblins, preventing them from settling all of Eriador.

The Orcs were defeated by a troop of Hobbits led by Bandobras "Bullroarer" Took. (A statue to Bullroarer Took is found in Brockenborings in the Greenfields of The Shire.)

During the Battle of the Greenfields, Bandobras charged at Golfimbul and knocked off his head with a club. Golfimbul's head flew through the air for 100 yards and went down a rabbit hole. According to Hobbit folklore, this inspired the game of Golf, which takes its name from the Orc. Golfimbul's name was probably specifically constructed for this pun; "fimbul" is Old Norse for "great".

The battle was only the first of two which were ever fought within the borders of the Shire. The second was the Battle of Bywater, the last battle of the War of the Ring, where Bullroarer's descendant Pippin fought.