Most Skilled Sport...

[Power_fade]

I'd say hockey. They play 2-3 games a week getting hit full force while ice skating. Not to mention having to be aware of where everyone is on the ice at all times.

[thedoxology]

Must say I agree with you. I'm a good athlete that can play a lot of sports well and I grew up playing pond hockey in Michigan and to this day it's the most difficult sport for me. Tennis on a hot day could be considered, especially when you consider most guys are burnt out at the tender age of 26 or 27. Gymnastics maybe. Not rugby or football in my opinion, it takes a high level of athleticism but nothing too 'difficult' about any of the specific movements or skills.

[Grndslmhttr3]

After playing a lot of tennis lately, I'd say that it is a very difficult sport.

[birdiemachine]

the strongest dude pound for pound to walk thru stanford now wears red on sundays

[geezer]

the strongest dude pound for pound to walk thru stanford now wears red on sundays

What's your point, exactly?

^See what I did there, with the capital letters and completed words?

[kingofcars08]

Every sport is skillful in a certian way, so the question needs to be changed. Other than golf, what is the sport most difficult to turn pro in? Which the obvious answer would be tennis. Baseball you could rely on defense and speed, football you could rely on strength or good hands, hockey you could rely on defense, but tennis is very similar to golf. There are way too many shots you need to be able to perform at any given time, drop shots, top spin smashes, cross court winners, overheads, lobs, etc, and with some one like roger federer on the other side of the court, you might as well go back to bed.

[ks8829]

baseball - hitting a curve ball,

mix martial arts requires endurance, taking punishments, technique, power, quickness and aggressiveness.

Basketball making a 3 point jump shot under pressure or at the buzzard.

Golf I pick golfer just watch this video

[birdiemachine]

What's your point, exactly?

yea whats ur point? g2g ttyl

[Shorty]

It has to be golf.
If it was easy, anyone could practice on their own without the need for a team to support them, organise their own schedule, rely on ones self and then go out and make 3 or 4 million a year. Easy. You don't have to be 6 foot 6 or weigh 20 stone.

[Jcp907]

I believe it was said on the first page, but I believe the modern pentathlon is it. This includes shooting, fencing, a 200 meter freestyle swim, show jumping, and a cross-country run. The only event that you are competing against someone else is fencing, the rest of it is you against the course, each requiring varied skills.

[Shorty]

I believe it was said on the first page, but I believe the modern pentathlon is it. This includes shooting, fencing, a 200 meter freestyle swim, show jumping, and a cross-country run. The only event that you are competing against someone else is fencing, the rest of it is you against the course, each requiring varied skills.

True - and you can compete against the other seventeen people on the planet who do it, not the tens of millions who play golf.

To be one of the world's best golfesr you have to be better than many millions. To be the 100th best pole-vaulter in the world you might be the better than maybe only thousands, if that many.

[Jcp907]

SO besides golf, because that is the obvious answer, what is the most technically skilled sport in the world.

True - and you can compete against the other seventeen people on the planet who do it, not the tens of millions who play golf.

Shorty, the OP eliminated Golf from the list, so it wasn't even a consideration with my post.

[Shorty]

Shorty, the OP eliminated Golf from the list, so it wasn't even a consideration with my post.

No worries, mate.

I only mentioned golf because it helps underscore how hard our game is, despite how difficult others might be and the variety of skills needed to do them

[PEZGolf]

My fellow coworkers and I were having a heated debate at lunch around this tricky topic.

I think the best answer is not a single sport but an "event"--the decathalon, which is a combination of various track and field events, as we all know. For years, the decathalon Champion in the Olympics has been hailed as the "World's Greatest Athlete", for this reason---it tests all physical skills and strenths in a competition with others. For a single sport, hockey is not a bad choice, but I have to recommend my favorite sport---basketball, with this proviso---it is a great physical test, especially for those who do not play "under the basket", like Shaq. Take players like LeBron or Kobe and you have real athletes, who have to possess leaping ability, speed, quickness, stamina, and intelligence. Some may quibble with that last item, but let me tell you, basketball requires constant awareness and the ability to adjust, at a split second, to changing conditions on the floor. That is why I love "March Madness"!

[PEZGolf]

I'm gonna say hitting a baseball is the hardest thing in sports. You can teach anyone to play golf but not everyone can hit a baseball. To the op, isn't hitting a golf ball i single skill also, yea, putting and chipping are slightly different but your still hitting a ball. Plus, there are a lot of fat golfers too. I'm just trying to say that if you would have put golf one, i don't understand why you wouldn't put baseball as number 2.

Back in their day, Bryon Nelson and Joe DiMaggio had discussions about what was more difficut---hitting a golf ball that just sits there and waits for you to get ready and swing or baseball, where the ball comes in dancing and spinning and daring you to "guess right" as to what it is finally going to do when it gets to homeplate. Byron made it clear that he thought hitting a baseball was much more difficult. Joe made it clear that trying to make the little golf ball go where you want to is plenty difficult, and frustrating---"you have to go and play your foul balls in golf". They shook hands and agreed that both were really difficult to be good at----the man who hit safely in 56 consecutive games, and the Texan with the "caddy dip"golf swing who won 11 consecutive PGA Tour tournaments. Both of those records, of course, stand to this day. If they came to that mutual agreement, who am I to argue with their conclusion?

[Big_M]

Hockey, Lacrosse... both extremely fast paced, require great conditioning and ability to anticipate the action.

Golf... so many different things to learn... 1 person aspect, so precise.

the debate could go on... we'll all never agree

someone made a good argument for surfing...

[pshizz]

Anyone mention tennis? Your all by yourself like golf, you need to be in top shape, make sure your mind is mentally though, make the right split second decisions, and execute. Its alot harder when your in a match too, just like golf.

[clubhousehero]

Back in their day, Bryon Nelson and Joe DiMaggio had discussions about what was more difficut---hitting a golf ball that just sits there and waits for you to get ready and swing or baseball, where the ball comes in dancing and spinning and daring you to "guess right" as to what it is finally going to do when it gets to homeplate. Byron made it clear that he thought hitting a baseball was much more difficult. Joe made it clear that trying to make the little golf ball go where you want to is plenty difficult, and frustrating---"you have to go and play your foul balls in golf". They shook hands and agreed that both were really difficult to be good at----the man who hit safely in 56 consecutive games, and the Texan with the "caddy dip"golf swing who won 11 consecutive PGA Tour tournaments. Both of those records, of course, stand to this day. If they came to that mutual agreement, who am I to argue with their conclusion?

Nice story, i never heard it before.

Anyway, my comment was in reference to the OP. He said, "I think that hitting a baseball at MLB speeds is the single most difficult activity in sports but its a singular skill only. You can be overweight in baseball and still be a star, Ortiz and Fielder and good examples. Baseball players can also be specialists and its ok if you falter in some areas." Your story helped support my case. If the OP thinks golf is the sport that requires the most skill, then askes which sport besides golf takes the most skill, i'd say he almost has to pick baseball. Rulling out baseball because of some fat players like Ortiz is the same as ruling out golf because of John Daley. Thats pretty much what i was trying to say.