Tiger Woods voted Associated Press' top athlete of decade

[Shindig]

Yawn. Athlete of the Decade and someone like Yelena Isinbayeva isn't a candidate? I think that says everything about the actual value of this.

I can't imagine enough people know who a pole vaulter is, although her record (her last non-first place finish was in 2003) is certainly impressive.

Who is Usain Bolt? No other athlete has dominated or made a impact on his/her sport like Woods. Personal life is just that personal...you can't deny his global impact and accomplishments in "golf".

Bolt is a runner. Has set tons of records. For a while, it seemed like he was breaking another one every week.

[FHopper]

Mr. Woods deserved it and has my complete admiration for his dedication.

[DocWu1948]

Most of the world is like me, saying "huh?". There are days when a Tim Herron or a Paul Goydos come in first, and we don't consider them great athletes. Then other non-athletes like Mediate, Watson and Perry come just one shot short of winning the Majors that Woods is lauded for winning. Would you consider Lefty a great athlete? Woods' dominance comes from beating people like that. He is beating great golfers, not great athletes. He is the best golfer, and he is athletic, but I feel accomplishments in the golf world don't have the same weight.

So I'd vote for a Favre or a Brady or a Kobe easily. If there was a "Big Break" for any other sport, the winning contestants would have no chance at all, unlike an Open, where amateurs have won.

Oh well. The AP picked Texas #2 in college football too.

[FHopper]

No other athlete has maintained the focus and achieved the percentage of goals as Tiger. That seems a good criteria. You seem to equate athleticism with a certain type of explosive power. In truth the greatest athletes are dancers. Your picks could not hang with them for a single workout.

[Chas]

Most of the world is like me, saying "huh?". There are days when a Tim Herron or a Paul Goydos come in first, and we don't consider them great athletes. Then other non-athletes like Mediate, Watson and Perry come just one shot short of winning the Majors that Woods is lauded for winning. Would you consider Lefty a great athlete? Woods' dominance comes from beating people like that. He is beating great golfers, not great athletes. He is the best golfer, and he is athletic, but I feel accomplishments in the golf world don't have the same weight.

... or Federer. Now there's a remarkable athlete, with a winning record better than anyone in golf.

Roger Federer (born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss professional tennis player. As of the 6th of July 2009, he is ranked world number 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), having previously held the number one position for a record 237 consecutive weeks. Many sports analysts, tennis critics, former and current players consider Federer to be the greatest tennis player of all time. Federer has won 15 Grand Slam singles titles, more than any other male player. He is one of six male players to have captured the career Grand Slam. Federer has appeared in an unprecedented 21 career Grand Slam finals, and as of September 2009, has reached the semi-finals or better of the last 22 Grand Slam tournaments, a record streak that spans over five years. Federer also holds the record of reaching 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals and has appeared in 17 of the last 18. As a result of his successes in tennis, Federer was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for four consecutive years (2005–2008). When you're talking competitive athletic sports, golf doesn't even come close. As you get older, it's something you appreciate more and more ....

[Zeph]

I don't get that train of thought. Golf is not a physical sport, but it definitely is one of the most complicated and complex sports.
American football is about running into eachother, throwing and occasionally kicking a ball.
Football is about running and kicking a ball.
Basketball is about running and throwing a ball.

In all three you are part of a team, so you have to rely on others also.

In golf you got 14 different clubs to use on the same ball, which is way smaller than most balls. Anyone can pick up a football and kick it around. Give a golfclub and a ball and tell the same person to hit it 150 yards and he'll be in trouble.

Tennis is more difficult, Federer is absolutely in the top two on a ranking like this for me. It is physically very tough, you've got a third party (the racket) and precision is needed.

Learning a technique or muscle memory is in my opinion more difficult than to lift weights and get a lot of explosive power.

[golfdad]

I don't get that train of thought. Golf is not a physical sport, but it definitely is one of the most complicated and complex sports.

wow, you have made some bold statements.

suffice it to say, golf is not a team sport like others you have mentioned. in fact, tiger was talking one time in reference to federer's achievements, saying that even for tennis, you have to be consistently good from beginning to end, in a tourney. in golf, you can do so so as long as you can go into the weekend and still win,,,in tennis, you do poorly for one match you are out very early. i think golf is a very physical sport, just in a different way. in fact, i think high level chess is also a very physical sport. sure, it is not governed by speed like some other sports, but one has to be physically fit to excel 4 days in a roll, many weeks of the year. further, because it is an individual sport, it is a combination of mental and physical. mickelson was talking about that,,that the mental part can wear the physical part down. in summary, i take offense to the line golf is not physical

[Zeph]

My opinion, not a statement.

When John Daly and Rory McIlroy can play golf all year around, I wouldn't call it physical. Of course, you have to walk around and swing a club. But you never have to run or use force. The swing is fast, but that is because of flexibility, not power.

Chess is not physical at all, it's mental. Any kind of body kan sit on a chair and move pieces around for a weekend. You don't have to be strong, fast or agile to do so. Neither do you have to in golf.

I think we look at the word "physical" a bit differently.

[golfdad]

My opinion, not a statement.

no offense, probably the way you play golf is not physical by your definition. cheers

have you played high level competition golf? btw, i can understand your feeling toward daly, but rory??? wheewww

[Zeph]

Has physical attributes been a topic ever before Tiger came along? Does every player on the Tour work out? Do you have to work out to play high level competitive golf?

Look at Steve Stricker and Ernie Els. I don't know if they work out, but when they swing the golf club, they surely don't rely on muscle strength.

Just because Tiger has brought physical attributes to golf doesn't mean it's a necessity to play good golf. If you are not fast and can't run for a longer period of time, sports like football or basketball are really not the right choice.

[golfdad]

Has physical attributes been a topic ever before Tiger came along? Does every player on the Tour work out? Do you have to work out to play high level competitive golf?

you kept on saying things like running fast, power, speed, strength,,,but have neglected other attributes of being physical, such as coordination, balance, sense of touch, endurance, a good mix of mental control and physical exertion, good eye hand coordination, etc, etc, etc, etc,, etc.

i think you just pick couple and exclude others. it's not cool

[iacas]

Now there's a remarkable athlete, with a winning record better than anyone in golf.

Perhaps. He only beats, what, five people per tournament though? I wonder what their winning percentages would look like if you didn't consider a "win" for Tiger as only winning the tournament.

When Tiger finishes 7th, he still beat 149 other people. So his "record" that week would be 149-6, a winning percentage of 96%. Plus Roger didn't win a major until 2003. Tiger was winning them in 2000 (but on the flip side, Roger won more in a shorter time period... but again, by beating far fewer people... you can go around and round... which we already did: http://thesandtrap.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24986 . So go there if you want to compare tennis to golf.

[Zeph]

you kept on saying things like running fast, power, speed, strength,,,but have neglected other attributes of being physical, such as coordination, balance, sense of touch, endurance, a good mix of mental control and physical exertion, good eye hand coordination, etc, etc, etc, etc,, etc.

Those are more technical attributes, muscle memory. Some you can hardly work on.

Endurance I covered, thought I didn't use the exact word. Let's try putting it this way. In order to get better endurance you run a lot, of course with varied activities. To get a better sense of touch, is about practice, and correct practice. Nobody can tell you how you feel touch. It's not difficult to tell someone to run 10 miles every day. But tell someone to hit their chip 10 yards and let it run another 3. That is where muscle memory comes into play. Not to talk about the thousands of tips, books, videos that exist in golf. It can hardly be an easy sport to master if there is a market for that much learning material. What I'm trying to say is that it is harder to learn how to play golf than it is to run fast or play a lot of the team sports. A lot of the sports involve getting better endurace. Lifting weights so you are stronger. All very doable with a little teaching and repetition. In golf, there are as many ideas, thoughts and feelings as there are golfers. Telling someone to not scoop the ball is not like telling someone to do 10 push-ups.

[VOX]

Bear in mind that the guys giving out this award aren't even bright enough to know that there are 12.5 months left before the end of this decade.

[iacas]

Those are more technical attributes, muscle memory. Some you can hardly work on.

Coordination is a technical attribute? Touch, finesse, etc. aren't "technical attributes" or muscle memory.

No. And Steve Stricker and Ernie Els do use their muscles to hit the ball. Just because their swings look smooth doesn't mean they don't work out. Steve and Ernie work out too. Cecil Fielder played baseball. That guy probably wasn't even as in-shape as Tim Herron. Look at Babe Ruth. You're off your rocker if you don't think the modern golf swing in particular is an athletic endeavor.

But tell someone to hit their chip 10 yards and let it run another 3. That is where muscle memory comes into play.

Huh? So baseball players don't practice swinging a bat, or bunting, or fielding? Tennis players don't practice their serves or their topspin backhands?

Not to talk about the thousands of tips, books, videos that exist in golf. It can hardly be an easy sport to master if there is a market for that much learning material.

What's that have to do with anything? Nobody's mastered a sport. Ever. Nobody ever will. In any sport.

I'm not sure I know what you're talking about... Tiger's an athlete, and he competes against other athletes. I'll end my participation here with that.

Bear in mind that the guys giving out this award aren't even bright enough to know that there are 12.5 months left before the end of this decade.

2000-2009 is a decade. So is 1984-1993. C'mon.

[Zeph]

Huh? So baseball players don't practice swinging a bat, or bunting, or fielding? Tennis players don't practice their serves or their topspin backhands?

I never mentioned baseball. Nor did I say tennis players don't practice their serves. Don't read things between the lines that aren't there.

[Chas]

Some good points Erik and tx for the link. It's impossible to make a straight and fair comparison between sports really. Considering how many guys Tiger has beaten over the decade by shooting a lower score over 72 in any tournament (and how few have beaten him), it's amazing what he has achieved. His consistency is just astonishing. And when you consider the depth and global nature of the competitive ranks in golf, including all the young talent that surfaces relentlessly, it's even more so. Tennis is also highly competitive, but not as much as golf IMO.

Noone can take that away from Tiger and I hope he keeps it up. Woods and Federer have both utterly dominated their sports - equal first? They'd probably both respect such a decision.

[iacas]

I never mentioned baseball. Nor did I say tennis players don't practice their serves. Don't read things between the lines that aren't there.

No, I did. I never said you did. It seemed like you were trying to say that sports which require "muscle memory" are somehow different than sports that put more emphasis on other things, which is completely silly to me. For your sake, don't get suckered into defining athleticism in silly terms like "explosiveness" or "lifts weights to get better at it" or "requires finesse" or anything.