BBC Sport: Is the newly 'cool' sport of cycling really the new golf?

[nevets88]

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/golf/30422698

Quote:

That's a lot of money that a decade or so ago might have been spent on adjustably weighted putters, laser-milled wedges and drivers that promise to elevate 'smash factor'. As well as that electric trolley you always forget to charge.

Golf doesn't need to start panicking yet. Just under 3.36 million Britons played at least one round of golf on a full-size course last year, according to Sports Marketing Surveys. This is more than 600,000 down from 2003, but it is still a number that most sports in Britain can only dream of.

However, golf's administrators might just have to accept that their sport will never be as popular as it was in a gentler age. And that folk who once dozed in chairs by clubhouse fires now attack hills in Lycra.

[unabowler]

I'm into cycling nowadays and I've been away from golf for a while, only coming in here to read comments on the Big Break finale.  Interesting article but the two activities aren't really interchangeable.  I had gotten away from golf when the opportunities to play were reduced after a move and job change, and I took up cycling sometime later.  I never did break 100 in golf but I got managed to bike 100 miles a couple times.

[Lihu]

I can see them merging if they do something like allow mountain bicycles with much wider treads on the course and people can pull the bag from a trailer? Seems like it could be a fun way to speed up the game as well.

[ay33660]

Or combining snow boarding with golf .......

[ditchparrot19]

I can see them merging if they do something like allow mountain bicycles with much wider treads on the course and people can pull the bag from a trailer? Seems like it could be a fun way to speed up the game as well.

I'd go for that. I've combined cycling and hunting and cycling and fishing on quite a few occasions.

I never considered the cycling a sport in and of itself, though. It was just the most efficient form of transportation to get where I wanted to be.

[Polynikes]

If people think we wear silly outfits to play golf, cycling just kicked our ass!

[boogielicious]

I raced road, mountain and cyclocross for a dozen years.  I think they are two totally different sports and would not want to combine them.

[nevets88]

If people think we wear silly outfits to play golf, cycling just kicked our ass!

This is so true. Jerseys are walking ads basically.

I raced road, mountain and cyclocross for a dozen years.  I think they are two totally different sports and would not want to combine them.

Yeah, I like doing 25 - 75 mile trips on a road bike at a leisurely pace. It's fun, but not as fun as golf. Dealing with crap drivers (or other inconsiderate cyclists) is like slow play.