I’m with you! Get rid of ‘ph’ spelling for ‘f’ sounds! For that matter, why is there a ‘ck’ spelling when the sound is pure ‘k’.
We should modernize the language!
or modernize the people
'ck' is used after a single vowel with a short sound, a,e,i,o,u
The ph spelling tells you that the word has a Greek origin or root.
The real problem is that real phonics is no longer taught and most people have no clue about the deeply layered history of Engish as a language.
I recommend the Writing Road to Reading or Spalding Method for a more complete understanding of the English phonograms.