Golf #51 on ESPN's List of Hardest Sports

[rkim291968]

Originally Posted by michaeljames92

i personally think boxing is really boring. i mean the beating they take is enormous, but i still don't like it.

Boxing has changed quite a bit over time, both at amateur and pro level.   As a former boxer, I can tell you that I find many fights boring, especially, now.   It has been watered down a lot due to numerous well publicized death in the ring.   I don't blame folks for not liking it.   But it is a good sports to get into - it teaches you discipline, courage, and self defense.

[boogielicious]

Originally Posted by rkim291968

Boxing has changed quite a bit over time, both at amateur and pro level.   As a former boxer, I can tell you that I find many fights boring, especially, now.   It has been watered down a lot due to numerous well publicized death in the ring.   I don't blame folks for not liking it.   But it is a good sports to get into - it teaches you discipline, courage, and self defense.

It is a great workout too.  My Dad taught us how to box, but I was never too good at it.  My Dad actually knocked is DI out in boot camp for the Air Force.  The DI said, "You can hit me as hard as you want son."  So he did.

[rkim291968]

Originally Posted by You Knucklehead

COMMON YOU ALL.  I gold also and I don't call it a sport, its a GAME.  that is why old and fat people can compete in this game.  I also Box and there is absolutely no comparison.  Want to go gold with me and then step in a ring with me and I will show you the difference. I'm not saying golf is hard to do, it is difficult but it does not take endurance or guts to do.  Look at the expert panel, not one boxer on that panel, but I bet if you ask which of them golf, majority would say they do.  I think cheerleaders are more athletic than golf and even fishing.  yes, I golf and I'm decent my handy cap is 14.  i enjoy the game and it takes concentration but no where near athleticism.

Good point about golf being a game.   Most sports evolved from being just a game people play into sport.   Boxing and martial arts didn't.   They were invented out of necessity, some in war times to improve their fighting force in hand to hand combat.

BTW, boxing and basketball always topped this kind of survey as being hardest sports to master.   Having been a boxer, I can unequivocally say it is one of the hardest sport.   Golf?   We hear all the time from media and fellow golfers on how hard it is.   But if you ask other sports nuts, they are likely to say the same thing about their sport.   I think golf is ranked fairly, give or take 10 spots up and down the list.

[Slice of Life]

I golf more than any other sport.

With that said, here's a list of sports I'm better at than golf:

Boxing

Baseball

Football

Rugby

Snowboarding

Ice Hockey

Tennis

Volleyball

Racquetball
Auto Racing

Skateboarding (Back in the day...not so much anymore)

Track and Field: Sprints

Weight Lifting

Table Tennis

Badminton

All of those were ranked harder than golf. Absolute joke of a list.

Plenty of those sports are easy if you're athletic. Some require large cajones and are way more painful, but none are more difficult than golf.

[WhySoSerious]

I love playing golf but I only started playing it because physically my body is no longer able to play certain sports. Justifying why it's harder than boxing or football or hockey  just sounds silly. If you're sore after walking 18 holes then you'd be paralyzed after playing 3 periods of ice hockey.

[Slice of Life]

Originally Posted by WhySoSerious

I love playing golf but I only started playing it because physically my body is no longer able to play certain sports. Justifying why it's harder than boxing or football or hockey  just sounds silly. If you're sore after walking 18 holes then you'd be paralyzed after playing 3 periods of ice hockey.

Since when does "hard" equal painful or sore?

Chess is hard. Differential Equations are hard. Neither will lead to soreness...if they do, you're doing something seriously wrong.

Change the list to "Most physical sports" or "Most painful sports" and it makes more sense.

Football is easy. It's easy to run and catch a ball if you're athletic, or chase someone and tackle them. Painful? Sure. Hard? Nope.

[WhySoSerious]

I was under the impression that the  ESPN  list was what was being debated

[Slice of Life]

Originally Posted by WhySoSerious

I was under the impression that the  ESPN  list was what was being debated

How does my post not fall under that category?

[hypocritenutter]

I don't care what they say or who compiled the report. I can say with absolute certainty that golf is the most difficult sport in the world. Rory agrees with me a 100%, so stuff your report ESPN. Another thing I know for sure is that ESPN has the most ads during golf broadcasts which is harder to watch than playing golf in a blizzard.

[geauxforbroke]

Originally Posted by Golfingnutter

Rory agrees with me a 100%, so stuff your report ESPN.

That what he told you?

I bet you could post that same list on a tennis forum, or gymnastics forum, or bowling forum, or any forum for any sport other than boxing, and the standard answer would be "(insert sport name here) is definitely the hardest sport in the world!)

I agree with some of those sports being harder, disagree with others.

[Slice of Life]

Originally Posted by geauxforbroke

That what he told you?

I bet you could post that same list on a tennis forum, or gymnastics forum, or bowling forum, or any forum for any sport other than boxing, and the standard answer would be "(insert sport name here) is definitely the hardest sport in the world!)

I agree with some of those sports being harder, disagree with others.

The only ones I'll argue for or against being higher/lower, are ones I've actually been involved with. I can't say polo is easier or harder than golf, because I've never played it. I can say football is easier than golf, because I've played it.

A sport like football requires freakish athleticism to excel, the skills come relatively quickly and just need to be refined. Golf requires athleticism, but not at the same level. It's a much more difficult sport, skill wise.

[rkim291968]

Originally Posted by Slice of Life

I golf more than any other sport.

With that said, here's a list of sports I'm better at than golf:

Boxing

Baseball

Football

Rugby

Snowboarding

Ice Hockey

Tennis

Volleyball

Racquetball

Auto Racing

Skateboarding (Back in the day...not so much anymore)

Track and Field: Sprints

Weight Lifting

Table Tennis

Badminton

All of those were ranked harder than golf. Absolute joke of a list.

Plenty of those sports are easy if you're athletic. Some require large cajones and are way more painful, but none are more difficult than golf.

If you have a 15 handicap like your profile says, you are better than most amateur golfers around you.    15 is average handicap for those who registered with USGA.   There are many more golfers who are not registered and most of them don't have 15 handicap index.   Depending on which survey you read, only 10 - 20% of amateur golfers break 90.   If you can play all of the others sports above better than at top 10 - 20% level, you are a very gifted athlete (no sarcasm intended).   Then in your case, perhaps, golf is one of the hardest sport.

I played golf for 4 years and my unofficial handicap is about the same as yours.   I started at age 47 and it wasn't easy but it wasn't hard either.

[hypocritenutter]

My post was tongue in cheek, not based on scientific facts. I've never spoken to Rory and I have never played golf in a blizzard. I do however think that ESPN shows way too many ads, but that's just my opinion, I don't have any cold hearted data to support it. Next time I will put a smiley face in front of my post when I'm joking, just to prevent any confusion.

[WhySoSerious]

Devolved into semantics. The chart listed in order of 'toughness' anyways, not difficulty, and not proficiency. Everyone assumes "play them well" . If we, as a collective, each suited up and played every sport as per regulations, not touch football, but with pads and refs against each other, etc, at least that's how I'm interpreting this, also because the thought of it would be hilarious. Any schmuck can put on boxing gloves but to get in a ring , timed, with ref and trying to knock each other out? People would go into cardiac arrest. Lace up the skates, 5 a side? How many would even make it to the other end of the rink? Etc, you see my thought process? ESPN is the worst though, I wholeheartedly agree.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Slice of Life

With that said, here's a list of sports I'm better at than golf:

You forgot to include almost all the sports you've never played before.

[MS256]

I wouldn't know how to rank the sports on that list (and I have played quite a few of them).

Since none of us would stand a prayer of a chance of competing with the best in the world in ANY of those sports I would have to rank all of the ones that are most likely to include a trip to the emergency room at the end as the toughest.

[Slice of Life]

You forgot to include almost all the sports you've never played before.

Oh you got jokes huh? You can beat me at one sport. I'll box you anytime. COME AT ME BRO

[trackster]

Originally Posted by Ian

what i find funny is how this chart rates boxing, and trackand feild as requiring more flexibility than golf, i do not box but i run track and feild, play basketball,play baseball and ski and tobe completely honest i dont think track and feild requires any flexibility at all, you just need to be able to run long distances relatively fast.

Did you really just type that?  Flexibility is probably the biggest part of track.  I don't even know how to respond to such an idiotic statement that I have highlighted.  There's reasons why many 85 year old people can still play golf but almost none can still run and flexibility is on the top of this list.

These kind of lists are dumb because all they do is cause pointless debates.  Honestly if I wanted my dad to golf with me he could do it at his age (he might not shoot 80) but he could definitely play.  If I wanted my dad to play tackle football with me or a game of full court basketball he couldn't physically do it.

Golf does not by any means take the physical demands of the sports higher on the list and thus has a huge handicap to overcome.  Most people say that they have played X amount of sports, but the level of achievement in those sports is  whats matters.  I was naturally fast growing up so I excelled at track.  I have been golfing for 6 years now and shoot in the 80s.  Track is harder than golf physically, plain and simple.  I am better at tons of sports than golf, but I have also been playing these sports since I was 5 and I didn't start playing golf till I was 16.

I will just say this.  It is easier to hit a golf ball straight then to return a 130 mph tennis serve.  Does that mean tennis is harder than golf, not necessarily but with the right practice most people can learn to hit a ball relatively straight.  However, you could train all your life and you won't be able to return Andy Roddick's serve.  It's all a horse a piece.