Is Golf a Sport or a Game?

[T.J.K.]

Baseball, basketball and football are the only things I really consider sports.

Golf is a perfected hobby, not a sport.

[Long_Ball_Bogey]

In my world, golf is a sport. --LBB

[michaeljames92]

Baseball, basketball and football are the only things I really consider sports.

Golf is competitive against other players, with rules and a scoring system and is a

sport which requires a lot of skill and practice to achieve success so it is a sport. To me, I believe golf is as much as a sport as baseball. When talking about athletes there just as many(as iacas puts it) unfit athletes in golf as baseball. Well that's my opinion anyway

[dragonflyin]

I think a sport is anything that requires physical exertion or unique skill and has official rules and official competitions.

Hmm... this opens another can of worms which is what is the threshold of physical exertion that divides a sport vs. game/activity?... That's why I have to argue that hunting, fishing and perhaps even auto racing are more activities/games. If it's merely a type of competition, then a game like chess has as much validity to be called a sport as fishing.

[immts007]

So, yeah... I tried to convince my wife that golf is a sport. She is adamant that any activity in which participants are observed with any degree of frequency to be smoking, and/or drinking during play, cannot be legitimately deemed a 'sport'.

Well... I still think it's a sport.

Whether or not golfers are 'atheletes', or if golf can be considered 'exercise', that my friends is another matter.

[heyscuba]

Baseball, basketball and football are the only things I really consider sports.

what about Hockey,...? Soccer,... Rugby,... and the like,...?

I consider something a sport when you can play a physical game (so chess is out) against someone or another team and use some kind of defense against them,... (that makes tennis a sport to me) in games like golf and bowling there is no defense so even though it's physical it's a game to me,... But I love playing GOLF more than anything,... scuba

[T.J.K.]

I was being a bit sarcastic in my original posts. I meant more along the lines, of those are the sports I care about, so they are the only ones that are sports in my mind.

Obviously there are other sports out there, but I would never put golf into that category. And hockey gets the axe on being a sport just cause they wear skates ;)

Golf is a game, pure and simple. A perfected hobby for the pros. Anything you can do without ever having to catch your breath, get your heart rate up just doesn't qualify in my opinion.

[Beantown Beancounter]

I think golf is a sport, a hard one at that. I've met tons of people that could shoot a jumper, throw a football, hit a baseball but could not swing a golf club and hit the ball into flight...golf is you against yourself and the course, no one else to blame when you post double. I also should let it be known that I think surfing is a sport as well...

[Grogger31]

IMHO, golf is not a sport. Sports must be played by athletes and, by my definition, John Daly and Tim Herron are not athletes.

Unrelated to golf specificially, but I also don't think any activity that is judged is a sport. That is not to diminish the athleticism involved with, say, Diving. However, if a third party rating the activity determines the outcome ... NOT a sport (my rules, sorry)

[erniebanks]

By definition:
Sport:
"any athletic activity that uses physical skills, often competitive"
That would include golf, fishing, auto racing, as well as the usually considered
stuff. I think dancing may be a stretch, although it is athletic for some people.

[verse214]

My rule is:

If you can't "play" it, it is NOT a sport.

So you CAN play golf, therefore it is a sport.

You CANNOT "play" bowling, therefore it is NOTａ　ｓｐｏｒｔ.

You CANNOT "play" fishing, therefore it is NOT a sport.

You CAN play basketball, therefore it is a sport.

You CAN　play texas hold 'em, therefore it is a sport (and shown on ESPN at that).

Just my two cents.

[erniebanks]

My rule is:

You can play dead

you can play opossum you can play piano Is dead a sport?

[goblue107501]

If you use a ball it is a sport. Other things can be sports also, but my definition is if a ball (a puck is the same thing as a ball) is used, then it is a sport.

[Henry]

I consider golf to be a sport. I think a sport can be classified as such as along as a human is involved in the action (rules out greyhound racing etc.) and the athlete is doing it competitivly.

[onamission]

i wanna hear more reasons to why people think golf ISNT a sports..

[onamission]

isnt poker a sports too now according to espn...?!

geez what is goin on in this world....

[MO_Hacker]

isnt poker a sports too now according to espn...?!

Don't forget they also televise the national spelling bee, I guess that makes spelling a sport.

Golf is a sport, physical skills = sport So that would eliminate poker, chess, and yes,even spelling as sports.

[clubhousehero]

Unrelated to golf specificially, but I also don't think any activity that is judged is a sport. That is not to diminish the athleticism involved with, say, Diving. However, if a third party rating the activity determines the outcome ... NOT a sport (my rules, sorry)

I agree with this 100%

Now is golf a sport? i haven't made up my mind on that yet. if it is, then it's only in tornement play. I would not call golf under any other conditions a sport. If you are playing alone or with friends just for fun, IMO, it is definatly a game. Some one else said it's a sport because it requires skill and they said they have seen people that could hit a baseball or shoot a basketball but couldn't hit a baseball. I think that is bad logic. Most american kids grow up playing these sports. Most people i know, myself included, didn't take up golf until later in life. That's probably why they can't hit a golf ball.