Winning a major vs winning a gold medal

[mvmac]

Do you agree with Spieth?

 

"Winning a gold medal has got to be up there now in my mind with winning a major championship," - Jordan Spieth

A photo posted by Golf Channel (@golfchannel) on Nov 24, 2015 at 12:13pm PST

[Gator Hazard]

I would think that a Gold Medal is the pinnacle of achievement because it means that ultimately you have competed against the vetted, tried and true very best from around the world. Guess a Major is not much different so hard to distinguish but if anyone asked me if would prefer to have a champions trophy from a major or an Olympic Gold Medal.  I would take the medal personally.

[No Mulligans]

I voted yes.  

- Winning the first gold medal awarded in golf adds to the value in my mind

- Since Speith already has a couple of majors, winning a gold is "up there".  For someone that is say in their 30's or 40's and has yet to win a major, I would think winning a gold would pale in comparison to winning a major.

[collapse]

It's sorta like a major major since it only comes around once every 4 years, maybe, and not since 1904.If the choice is win a major in 2016 or the gold medal,gotta take the gold medal....it's the Olympics...it's not just about you.

Edited November 24, 2015 by collapse

[colin007]

Not even close. Adam Scott considering skipping the whole thing because of the format tells all you need to know.

[metbid]

I voted yes.  I personally think winning a Gold Medal would be more like winning the Grand Slam in  majors. You only get to vie for it once every 4 years and probably would only have 2, or possibly 3 tries in your lifetime before you are no longer going to be able to contend at that level.  But, just my feelings on it.

[SavvySwede]

Voted no. The field won't be nearly as strong as the majors because of the format. Speith is just being a good representative of the Tour and is trying to play up the event, I doubt he feels as strongly about it as his quote indicates.

[phillyk]

Its not just the gold medal, the Olympics is the pinnacle sporting event to represent your country in the world.  Yes golf has its own thing, but nothing on the magnitude of the Olympics.  So, to win the gold medal would definitely be alongside a major.

[billchao]

I voted yes. Simple reason being there are 4 majors every year and only 1 Olympics every 4 years, so there are far less opportunities to win a gold medal.

8 minutes ago, SavvySwede said:

The field won't be nearly as strong as the majors because of the format.

That can change, though. The format, the prestige, everything. If golf sticks around in the Olympics, it could be a huge deal in the future.

9 minutes ago, SavvySwede said:

Speith is just being a good representative of the Tour and is trying to play up the event, I doubt he feels as strongly about it as his quote indicates.

He could be, or he could be expressing how he feels. I don't know the guy, so I'm just going to take his words at face value.

[iacas]

Yes and no.

Win it and you have bragging rights for four years.

But it's also a significantly weaker field.

So "up there"? Yes. If I could pick only one? A major, please.

[SavvySwede]

8 minutes ago, billchao said:

I voted yes. Simple reason being there are 4 majors every year and only 1 Olympics every 4 years, so there are far less opportunities to win a gold medal.

That can change, though. The format, the prestige, everything. If golf sticks around in the Olympics, it could be a huge deal in the future.

He could be, or he could be expressing how he feels. I don't know the guy, so I'm just going to take his words at face value.

I base majors on what they were when they were won. I count Bobby Jones's US Am titles as majors but I don't count the current US Am champ a major winner. Whoever wins Gold next year won't be a major winner to me, but sure I might change my mind about other winners down the road.  

[jbishop15]

For me, it would be equal to winning a major, and maybe even surpass it. 

[dkolo]

No way. The field is artificially restricted and diluted. It's a B-side WGC in my mind. 

[SavvySwede]

1 hour ago, phillyk said:

Its not just the gold medal, the Olympics is the pinnacle sporting event to represent your country in the world.  Yes golf has its own thing, but nothing on the magnitude of the Olympics.  So, to win the gold medal would definitely be alongside a major.

It's been mentioned already in other threads but tennis has been in the Olympics for some time and the tennis world still values their Grand Slam titles more. Simply being a part of the Olympics isn't enough to put it ahead of other events. The quality of competition has to be there to back it up.

[mchepp]

Major without question. All four are steeped in history, the Olympics will have a weaker field and zero history. Give me a major every time.

[mvmac]

I voted No. It would be cool to win a gold medal but due to the weakness of the field and lack of prestige, I don't think it's anywhere close to winning a major.

[Patch]

I voted "no" for reasons already posted. 

[Silent]

Absolutely no. Not in golf. Even though you have much more chances to win a major (as in 4 times a year vs once in 4 years), the field in a major is stronger and winning it holds more value in my book .In a lot of other sports with a big olympic history the Olympics are the biggest achievments and prizes and most important in a athlete's career. Golf doesn't have that history. Spieth already won majors, so I can imagine that at this moment he wants to win the Olympics at all. Personally I might even prefer to win a WGC or The Players before the Olympics.