In July of 1985, journalist Don Mackintosh interviewed David Mulligan for a column, “Around the Sport Circuit," where David confirmed stories about his “additional shots."
The United States Golf Association claims that the term first achieved widespread use.
Some golf historians give credit to John A. “Buddy” Mulligan, a locker room attendant at Essex Fells C.C., New Jersey for the word.
David Bernard Mulligan, a Canadian golfer and one-time manager of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, would often ask for a second shot off the first tee, coining the term “mulligan."
Yet another version of the truth about the origin of the term “mulligan” states that it comes from Thomas Mulligan, a minor Anglo-Irish aristocrat and passionate golfer.