Is Golf a Sport or a Game?

[Gresh24]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

I don't know about jockeys, but try wrestling a 3500 pound car at 180mph for 500 miles in summer heat some time.  Absolutely grueling.  The mental and physical endurance required to do that in a field of 40 other cars all trying to run you down is at least equivalent to anything a professional Tour player faces, and is physically more demanding. They may not be conditioned like an Olympic athlete, but they have to be fit.  I can't think of the last time I saw an overweight Nascar driver.

Pretty tough to be that convincing when a 5'2", 98 lb. female model can do it...

[Fourputt]

Originally Posted by Gresh24

Pretty tough to be that convincing when a 5'2", 98 lb. female model can do it...

But a 5'2", 98 pound woman can be one heck of a gymnast, and that's pretty athletic.  I've known some small women who were also pretty good golfers.  Size isn't an indication of endurance or athleticism, or lack thereof.

[kris]

The consensus as I have observed it is the same as the OP's. I don't hang around a lot of golfers, none of my friends and few of my acquaintances know the first thing about golf, but it is very hard for them to see golf as a sport when compared to the popular sports that everyone knows. And I have to admit, I have found myself agreeing with them more and more recently. No doubt, guys like Tiger are athletes plain and simple. However, I do see a fair amount of guys on tour who look like they struggle to roll off the couch in the morning. Golf requires no significant level of athletic prowess. To be a great golfer, you are probably also a great athlete, but as seen on tour and on golf courses across America, you don't need to be athletic to play good golf. I believe that golf is a sport but you can't ignore the guy who looks at John Daly or Jason Gore or Tim Herron etc. and wonders why on earth these guys are considered professional athletes. However, it makes no difference to me whether my friends consider golf a sport or not, it's something I will enjoy regardless.

[Kapanda]

Originally Posted by kris

The consensus as I have observed it is the same as the OP's. I don't hang around a lot of golfers, none of my friends and few of my acquaintances know the first thing about golf, but it is very hard for them to see golf as a sport when compared to the popular sports that everyone knows. And I have to admit, I have found myself agreeing with them more and more recently. No doubt, guys like Tiger are athletes plain and simple. However, I do see a fair amount of guys on tour who look like they struggle to roll off the couch in the morning. Golf requires no significant level of athletic prowess. To be a great golfer, you are probably also a great athlete, but as seen on tour and on golf courses across America, you don't need to be athletic to play good golf. I believe that golf is a sport but you can't ignore the guy who looks at John Daly or Jason Gore or Tim Herron etc. and wonders why on earth these guys are considered professional athletes. However, it makes no difference to me whether my friends consider golf a sport or not, it's something I will enjoy regardless.

Think it's important to highlight that last sentence.

Some have taken this discussion as if golf is being belittled or something. It's simply a matter of definition. Whether golf is or is not a sport takes nothing away - and adds nothing to - the relevance and enjoyment of the activy.

[DirtCheap]

If golf isn't a sport, then why am I wearing cleats?

[djbarnes]

Originally Posted by Gresh24

Pretty tough to be that convincing when a 5'2", 98 lb. female model can do it...

Err, there are some women golfers with those same stats, too.  Or are you on the side that golf isn't a sport, either?!?

I can't for the life of me understand how anyone can argue on one hand that golf *is* a sport, and then argue that driving a race car *isn't.*

Both take incredible amounts of coordination, some amount of endurance, and a lot of mental toughness.  If you seriously play golf and believe golf is a sport, but do not believe driving a race car is a sport, then I request you please go do a one day racing school or even high performance track day.  Ride with an instructor, then try to replicate what they do.  And if you have a heartrate monitor, by all means, throw that sucker on for the day.  And if you're not a runner, go out the next day and see how hard you have to run to get your HR to the same levels and maintain them for whatever length one of your sessions of driving was.

Hydration and fitness are HUGE parts of auto racing.  Without those, you have no chance.  But on top of those, to actually compete, you have to be damned good at a lot of things.  I've competed on the same race track with some of the best race car drivers in the world (barely).  I've played on the same basketball court with former and current NBA players (barely).  I have just as much respect for the athletic prowess of the race car driver as the NBA player.  Sure, both are different animals, but both possess a LOT of things that the average Joe can't get from any amount of "practice", too.

--Donnie

[Lady Golf Pro]

If you don't consider jockeys athletes then you've obviously never been on a horse.  As a rider you don't just sit in the saddle, there are all sorts of muscles that get used, and if you're racing you'd better be in excellent physical shape!  I've owned horses and ridden plenty and I've been golfing now for years.  Riding is much more demanding that playing golf!

[Lady Golf Pro]

Oh yeah, and Nascar?  Aahh can you turn left?

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by Lady Golf Pro

If you don't consider jockeys athletes then you've obviously never been on a horse.  As a rider you don't just sit in the saddle, there are all sorts of muscles that get used, and if you're racing you'd better be in excellent physical shape!  I've owned horses and ridden plenty and I've been golfing now for years.  Riding is much more demanding that playing golf!

I wouldn't say that they aren't athletes at all, but they certainly aren't THE athletes ... the horses are.  Their job is to help the actual athletes do their job ... sorta like a caddy.

Besides, are the jockeys even necessary?  I was at the races once when a rider got thrown right out of the gate ... guess which horse won that race?  If you said the one without the 110 lb. a-hole smacking him with a whip for the next 90 seconds, you would be correct!

[tiger187126]

Originally Posted by kris

The consensus as I have observed it is the same as the OP's. I don't hang around a lot of golfers, none of my friends and few of my acquaintances know the first thing about golf, but it is very hard for them to see golf as a sport when compared to the popular sports that everyone knows. And I have to admit, I have found myself agreeing with them more and more recently. No doubt, guys like Tiger are athletes plain and simple. However, I do see a fair amount of guys on tour who look like they struggle to roll off the couch in the morning. Golf requires no significant level of athletic prowess. To be a great golfer, you are probably also a great athlete, but as seen on tour and on golf courses across America, you don't need to be athletic to play good golf. I believe that golf is a sport but you can't ignore the guy who looks at John Daly or Jason Gore or Tim Herron etc. and wonders why on earth these guys are considered professional athletes. However, it makes no difference to me whether my friends consider golf a sport or not, it's something I will enjoy regardless.

i agree with your last statement, but i posted some pics of guys from every other major sport (except hockey) and showed that there are plenty of examples of guys who don't look the part playing.

and you don't exactly need to be athletic to play any sport. playing pickup ball at the park or some flag football with your buddies isn't going to remind anyone of the nfl or nba, and doesn't require you to be in better shape than a hacker.

if pro golf was as easy as people who don't play it perceive then a lot more people would forgo sports like football and basketball and just take the easy money from golf. why wreck your body for money that might not be guaranteed when you could play golf for 40 years and just let yourself go while cashing fat checks every week?

[Kapanda]

Originally Posted by tiger187126

i agree with your last statement, but i posted some pics of guys from every other major sport (except hockey) and showed that there are plenty of examples of guys who don't look the part playing.

and you don't exactly need to be athletic to play any sport. playing pickup ball at the park or some flag football with your buddies isn't going to remind anyone of the nfl or nba, and doesn't require you to be in better shape than a hacker.

if pro golf was as easy as people who don't play it perceive then a lot more people would forgo sports like football and basketball and just take the easy money from golf. why wreck your body for money that might not be guaranteed when you could play golf for 40 years and just let yourself go while cashing fat checks every week?

I don't think anybody perceives golf to be easy though. Maybe someone who never touched a club before.

[allin]

i agree with your last statement, but i posted some pics of guys from every other major sport (except hockey) and showed that there are plenty of examples of guys who don't look the part playing.  and you don't exactly need to be athletic to play any sport. playing pickup ball at the park or some flag football with your buddies isn't going to remind anyone of the nfl or nba, and doesn't require you to be in better shape than a hacker. if pro golf was as easy as people who don't play it perceive then a lot more people would forgo sports like football and basketball and just take the easy money from golf. why wreck your body for money that might not be guaranteed when you could play golf for 40 years and just let yourself go while cashing fat checks every week?

I not sure I am comfortable with equating athleticism and fitness. I see plenty of very fit people at the gym who are not very athletic. Fitness allows for maximizing your athletic potential. I would suggest that the less fit professional athletes are very athletic, but most would be even better if they improved their fitness. You can be fit and overweight, at least aerobically. You would probably be more injury prone.

[kevin.chan]

I think TW doesnot mind if golf is a game which make him #1 Top Income Athlete ...so althlete play "game" or  "sport" ?

and check this out

http://www.globaltimes.cn/NEWS/tabid/99/ID/715986/Top-athlete-income-list.aspx

[tiger187126]

Originally Posted by Kapanda

I don't think anybody perceives golf to be easy though. Maybe someone who never touched a club before.

that's who really drives this argument though, the average guy sitting in his house or at a bar who's never played golf and thinks it's too boring to watch.

Originally Posted by allin

I not sure I am comfortable with equating athleticism and fitness. I see plenty of very fit people at the gym who are not very athletic. Fitness allows for maximizing your athletic potential. I would suggest that the less fit professional athletes are very athletic, but most would be even better if they improved their fitness. You can be fit and overweight, at least aerobically. You would probably be more injury prone.

absolutely, people like to point at guys like john daly, but i don't think that guys who look "fit" could do what he was doing (feherty made a point on his show when confronted with this question that even in his heavier days he could put the palms of his hands flat on the floor bending over at the waist, a feat i'd like to see some gym rats perform) and that's just from a physical standpoint. don't forget about the mental aspects that go with a lot of sports as well. lebron choking had little to do with his physical ability, but rather when the spotlight was on him he shrunk (until this most recent playoff run). we watch golfers melt down too, even if sunday at the masters is apples and oranges to game 7 of the finals it's still a real issue that is faced by athletes.

i caddied for a pro am and got to meet a couple players and they all looked the part, they have a different build than normal people and the way that they swing the club with fluidity and flexibility is definitely something that i think people who think golf is "just a game" certainly don't possess.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Fourputt

I don't know about jockeys, but try wrestling a 3500 pound car at 180mph for 500 miles in summer heat some time.  Absolutely grueling.  The mental and physical endurance required to do that in a field of 40 other cars all trying to run you down is at least equivalent to anything a professional Tour player faces, and is physically more demanding. They may not be conditioned like an Olympic athlete, but they have to be fit.  I can't think of the last time I saw an overweight Nascar driver.

I think there's more to being an athlete than something being "absolutely grueling." And...

Originally Posted by djbarnes

I can't for the life of me understand how anyone can argue on one hand that golf *is* a sport, and then argue that driving a race car *isn't.*

... It's very easy. I think NASCAR drivers are close to being athletes, but they don't cross the line in my opinion. That's why I get to have my own opinion.

[trackster]

For all the talk about golf being a sport, most golfers sure don't want to dress like athletes.

[jamo]

For all the talk about golf being a sport, most golfers sure don't want to dress like athletes.

What is dressing like athletes? Rugby and soccer players wear collared shirts. Is a mesh football uniform dressing like an athlete? What about baseball coaches, they dress like athletes? And which golfers are the ones who do dress like athletes? Those who wear a t-shirt and basketball shorts?

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by jamo

What about baseball coaches, they dress like athletes?

No kidding!  I love baseball, but this is one silly tradition.

I'd love to see them do this in football.  All of the coaches would look pretty ridiculous (except for Bill Belichick, who would actually look much less ridiculous than he already does on the sideline)