Are golfers more intelligent than other athletes?

[inthehole]

If we're generalizing ... then the answer is yes.   I think golf suits ANALYTICAL people well ... that's why you see so many technical oriented professional people that seem to really dig their heels into golf.     The casual golfer can be from any background, but at least in my experience (and obviously not always), I find those that really get into it big are IT/computer science guys, engineers, underwriters/brokers, lawyers, etc.

[Lihu]

1 hour ago, rkim291968 said:

The OT was about pro golfer vs other pro athletes.   But I am going to disagree even more on average golfer vs others comparison.   We are no more or less intelligent people who enjoy other sports.

( I never took Mensa test but where/when I grew up, it was mandatory for schools to give IQ tests to all the students. )

Poll like this in a golf forum?   I am going say golfers will come out ahead on this one. 

Same here, but I took it when I was 3 in Taiwan. Had no idea I took it until my father showed me the score when I was like 22 and a "dropout of the system" rock climber/skier mountaineer and, the over the top thing that got him to show me this little "fact", surfer. Still didn't get me to "work" until he got my mom to shut off all the funds. Then I needed to get a job.

You can look at this question from two sides. Are golfers real athletes? Some American football, football and basketball jocks say no, while some say yes. One thing they would most likely not dispute is that you need to use more of your conscious thinking brain playing it than in other sports. Most of my true jock friends think golfers are a bunch of intellectual nerds who think they are athletic.

[Dave2512]

I am going with no. I say this somewhat in jest but holy cow I see some stupid stuff out there. Bad decisions all over the course from tee selection to risk taking with golfers being completely oblivious about their abilities.

[Lihu]

Just now, Dave2512 said:

I am going with no. I say this somewhat in jest but holy cow I see some stupid stuff out there. Bad decisions all over the course from tee selection to risk taking with golfers being completely oblivious about their abilities.

This is exactly why I stated "good" golfer, because "holy cow" I've seen pretty incredibly stupid stuff myself and been guilty of said stupid stuff myself.

 

[rkim291968]

Just now, Dave2512 said:

I am going with no. I say this somewhat in jest but holy cow I see some stupid stuff out there. Bad decisions all over the course from tee selection to risk taking with golfers being completely oblivious about their abilities.

Ditto even at PGA level. 

[GolfLug]

10 minutes ago, inthehole said:

If we're generalizing ... then the answer is yes.   I think golf suits ANALYTICAL people well ... that's why you see so many technical oriented professional people that seem to really dig their heels into golf.     The casual golfer can be from any background, but at least in my experience (and obviously not always), I find those that really get into it big are IT/computer science guys, engineers, underwriters/brokers, lawyers, etc.

Yes, that is the irony. But interestingly the best golfers are 'stupid monkeys', i.e., they are doers more than they are thinkers. That is why I say golf does not require it.

[rkim291968]

2 minutes ago, GolfLug said:

Yes, that is the irony. But interestingly the best golfers are 'stupid monkeys', i.e., they are doers more than they are thinkers. That is why I say golf does not require it.

I couldn't have said it better.

[Lihu]

3 minutes ago, GolfLug said:

Yes, that is the irony. But interestingly the best golfers are 'stupid monkeys', i.e., they are doers more than they are thinkers. That is why I say golf does not require it.

Maybe you mean a good deal of it? I certainly don't use as much of my brain playing golf as in my work, but I definitely use it a lot more than when playing other sports.

I mean, what's to think about when you friend throws a pass to you in basketball? You take your shot before someone blocks you. Weave around a bit to try to trick the guards. Are you equating that to analyzing a lie, wind-age and shot trajectory? There's a lot more thought going on than playing other sports.

[Gator Hazard]

2 hours ago, rkim291968 said:

On the contrary.    If you equate IQ with intelligence, then you should read up on the topic of IQ.  IQ itself, as one of the posters pointed out, has been a controversial topic.    If my IQ (supposed to be at genius/mensa level) is any indication, I should be a pretty "intelligent" golfer  but I am not . 

Heck, even Ivy League school attendance doesn't guarantee intelligence in my opinion.  One need not look much further than most of our politicians and candidates to see a pool of Ivy League people who are pretty stupid.

[GolfLug]

1 minute ago, Lihu said:

Maybe you mean a good deal of it? I certainly don't as much of my brain playing golf as in my work, but I definitely use it a lot more than when playing other sports.

Maybe we shouldn't?

[Dave2512]

Not sure I agree with the best golfers are doers not thinkers. At the elite level those guys deduce every freaking shot. How do we know this? They talk about it with their caddies for all to see.

[Lihu]

1 minute ago, Gator Hazard said:

Heck, even Ivy League school attendance doesn't guarantee intelligence in my opinion.  One need not look much further than most of our politicians and candidates to see a pool of Ivy League people who are pretty stupid.

I agree that some people who get into Ivy league schools are not all that intelligent, but the vast majority are. SAT scores do actually indicate intelligence. Not sure if that guarantees being a successful person in life or not, but intelligence? Yes.

 

1 minute ago, GolfLug said:

Maybe we shouldn't?

I'm pretty sure that "Stupid Monkey" doesn't mean being stupid on the course.

[iacas]

4 minutes ago, Lihu said:

I agree that some people who get into Ivy league schools are not all that intelligent, but the vast majority are. SAT scores do actually indicate intelligence. Not sure if that guarantees being a successful person in life or not, but intelligence? Yes.

I think the SAT measures how smart you are far more than it measures how intelligent you are.

But I agree that Harvard students are likely more intelligent than students who weren't accepted to the local community college.

And likely smarter, too.

[Lihu]

Just now, iacas said:

I think the SAT measures how smart you are far more than it measures how intelligent you are.

But I agree that Harvard students are likely more intelligent than students who weren't accepted to the local community college.

And likely smarter, too.

Agree. Just looked it up. . .

[No Mulligans]

I don't think the question is how much you use your brain to play golf.  The question is what type of people are attracted to golf.

There is a nature vs. nurture debate on IQ including numerous studies.  From my readings it's both but nature wins out by a bit on a percentage basis.  Regardless, golf is expensive and accordingly most of the participants come from wealthier than average backgrounds.  Financial success on average does have a correlation to higher than average IQ's.  It follows that those that play golf on average have higher than average IQ's (as a result of both nature and nurture).  

Golf vs Polo, by this same logic I'd have to say those that play polo are more intelligent.

Golf vs football, golf.

Golf vs basketball, golf.

 

[GolfLug]

2 minutes ago, Dave2512 said:

Not sure I agree with the best golfers are doers not thinkers. At the elite level those guys deduce every freaking shot. How do we know this? They talk about it with their caddies for all to see.

Sure, they are clear headedly reacting to conditions. Isn't that what a QB does or any other sport which requires picking an option from many other available? This is all relatively speaking. They are not actually stupid or anything. Duh. Far from it. They are simply not paralyzed by analysis.

The analytical folks (lawyers, engineers, etc, as poster above noted) get into it because to them there is this magical puzzle of the golf swing they can intelligently solve. A thinkers challenge if you will. It is counter productive beyond the basics. I wish I understood this long time ago.

Anyway, intelligence is required. Just not more or less. But it attracts the thinker types more than other general sporting options. That's just stating the obvious.

 

[Lihu]

17 minutes ago, GolfLug said:

Anyway, intelligence is required. Just not more or less. But it attracts the thinker types more than other general sporting options. That's just stating the obvious.

 

Right, just change your vote to "yes".

 

[GolfLug]

2 minutes ago, Lihu said:

Right, just change your vote to "yes".

 

No need to change. I voted yes to begin with.  

 

1 hour ago, GolfLug said:

Intelligence is a trait. A very measurable one. Intelligence is the ability to see future (or recreate past). Translation - The ability to infer what is not in plain sight. In short, ability to put two and two together. More steps you can accurately infer in sequence with limited indicators, the more intelligent you are. IQ tests are based on that and IMO very much a measure of this trait - so yes, it can be measured without the context of 'intelligence in a certain field'. Now , in the context of a certain field - experience is an additional intelligence builder which is why people get more intelligent as they age.

Does golf require this trait more than other sports. I don't believe so. Something like Chess requires it in spades. Does golf attract more people who already have this trait due to socio-economic-more adult participation-whatever reasons. Maybe. I voted yes.