Is Golf a Sport or a Game?

[CarlSpackler]

It is what it is, but it definitely isn't what it used to be. 

My point is that golf is unique. 

[70sSanO]

We are all too old, myself included, on this site to give a current answer considering that gaming is playing video games... lol.

I chose sport, primarily because golf is a physical activity regardless of competition or recreational.  As the sports in general definition states, there are sports, such as running, where there is no competition.

Other activities, or sports, I do have no competition other than not getting injured or drowning.  But the physical activity is pretty intense.  While golf is not as intense it does require physical activity and muscle skills.  Also even the most sedate round of golf probably has a similar level of physical exertion as a DH in the Major Leagues.

John

Edited April 17, 2017 by 70sSanO

[rehmwa]

I think I'm going with more of a 'hobby', or an 'activity'.  People's definitions of "sport" are way too subject on how they personally want to view the word and how they want to view golf. 

I don't have that much vested in the concept.

It's a 'sporty game'......with interesting shoes

3 hours ago, 70sSanO said:

Also even the most sedate round of golf probably has a similar level of physical exertion as a DH in the Major Leagues.

Funny - Baseball, golf, bowling, car racing, chess.......that doesn't give me any clarity....  ; )

[Lihu]

38 minutes ago, rehmwa said:

I think I'm going with more of a 'hobby', or an 'activity'.  People's definitions of "sport" are way too subject on how they personally want to view the word and how they want to view golf. 

I don't have that much vested in the concept.

It's a 'sporty game'......with interesting shoes

Funny - Baseball, golf, bowling, car racing, chess.......that doesn't give me any clarity....  ; )

It's funny, but I hiked about 2 miles uphill with my golf shoes because I forgot my hiking boots.

My daughter and her other teenage friends hiked up first, while I took data until my battery ran out on the camera system about an hour later. Then I started up and made it to them in about 22 minutes. I was surprised at what kind of physical shape I was in from just playing golf 3 times a week? I said "I'm not in bad shape for an old guy?" they said "For anyone". I have no idea how I did it?!? Anyway, golf has kept me in pretty okay shape the last few years.

In any case, I surmised that golf shoes are the ultimate in hiking shoes. They don't slip, they are super light and designed for golfers to walk 7 miles per round for hundreds of  rounds. The soft spikes keep you from sliding and seem to give you plenty of grip on rocks and other terrain. So, if these shoes are designed for someone doing a non-athletic activity, I can't imagine what they would be like if they were designed specifically for a "sport"?

By the golf shoe hypothesis, I have to conclude that golf is a sport.

[rehmwa]

17 hours ago, Lihu said:

So, if these shoes are designed for someone doing a non-athletic activity, I can't imagine what they would be like if they were designed specifically for a "sport"?

By the golf shoe hypothesis, I have to conclude that golf is a sport.

My mud trail runners (mud runs, obstacle courses) - this is what it would look like to move from activity to sport.....  (I really like the new golf shoes - my first pair would tear chunks of skin off my feet - so much better nowadays)

 

And another thing - nuts to those guys that complain/comment about spectators at tournament wearing golf shoes.  They are totally clueless but think they are clever

...  Seriously, you need a pair of shoes, to walk all day on a golf course, comfy and water proof......what else would a smart person wear?.  (let alone the members coming to the tourney from work and just putting on what's in their lockers).

edit:  now that I think about it, I wonder how these would do for 18 holes......

Edited April 18, 2017 by rehmwa

[Yukari]

I thought all sports were games but not all games are sports.

[uitar9]

On 4/17/2017 at 6:44 AM, NCGolfer said:

There is competition and athletic skill required.  Sport.

I can't believe there is 28 pages dedicated to this.  

29 pages and growing. I appear to investigate  the crap out of everything I do. With Golf its all the mechanics of the swing, club angles , shafts, course management, balls, its endless; I'll investigate the crap out of whether it is a sport or whatever. 

Wikipedia suggests this: 

Sport (British English) or sports (American English), are all usually forms of competitive physical activity or games which,^[1] through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants, and in some cases, entertainmentfor spectators.^[2]A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool.^[1]Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements.

I try to walk for exercise-18 holes often gets me 18 M steps that day. 

[WUTiger]

Let's consider the physical risk standpoint. Along with years of golf, I wrestled in HS and college, took karate lessons and ran for fitness.

Of all my go-to-doctor injuries from sports, about half have been from golf. Golf feels like a sport to me.

[allenc]

On 4/20/2017 at 5:08 AM, Yukari said:

I thought all sports were games but not all games are sports.

I dunno.  I assume the 100 meter dash is a sport since it's in the olympics.  But is it a game?

[Patch]

7 minutes ago, allenc said:

I dunno.  I assume the 100 meter dash is a sport since it's in the olympics.  But is it a game?

Let's see. I have been to the Olympic Games. Baseball Games. Football Games. Basketball Games. I once went to a Tennis Match. At one point, I had a pretty good Golf Game. I have been to Track Meets. I have been involved with the sport of Hunting. 

Kind of a never ending question with no real answer. Probably should let Webster sort it out. 

 

[jsgolfer]

Hard to believe we have 29 pages of comments on this.  At the end of the day, does your enjoyment for playing change because of what someone else calls it?  

 

[Kalnoky]

Yes, golf is a sport, but barely. If only because balance and core are so important. 

Golf is unusual because the ball is not moving (similar to billiards or croquet). Also it is the only sport I know where a 65 year-old can whip a 22 year-old. 

Of course I don't consider hunting, fishing, motorsports, X-Box "Call of Duty" Tournaments, or Texas Hold 'Em to be real sports, at least not in a traditional sense.  

 

23 minutes ago, jsgolfer said:

Hard to believe we have 29 pages of comments on this.  At the end of the day, does your enjoyment for playing change because of what someone else calls it?  

 

Not for me it doesn't.

However, these guys below won the NCAA National Championship last year and they poke plenty of fun at themselves. 

 

 

[boogielicious]

2 hours ago, jsgolfer said:

Hard to believe we have 29 pages of comments on this.  At the end of the day, does your enjoyment for playing change because of what someone else calls it?  

 

Wait 'til we get to the rhombus and square debate!

[jsgolfer]

43 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

Wait 'til we get to the rhombus and square debate!

[Yukari]

4 hours ago, allenc said:

I dunno.  I assume the 100 meter dash is a sport since it's in the olympics.  But is it a game?

Yes. As in Games of the xx Olympiads.