Are golfers more intelligent than other athletes?

[JonMA1]

I'm with @rkim291968on this one. I haven't read a compelling argument in any of the posts to support the idea that golfers are more intelligent.

I can, however, find several examples on this site where those who are familiar with pro golfers state that they are not that knowledgeable about their swings. They are good at doing what their coaches tell them to do.

Same with many instructors - who play at a very high level golf but when shown the evidence of ball flight laws, choose to ignore the science. Not so smart.

As far as thinking on the course, that's lame. Do you know what's involved with the pass-blocking scheme of an offensive line in football? Those guy aren't pros because they're the biggest and strongest.

Show me some data supporting your theory and I'll start to buy into it. Otherwise this is just an old fashion pissing contest.

The irony.

[Lihu]

1 minute ago, Golfingdad said:

The subjectiveness would come from how you weigh them, I believe.  If the golfers excel in understanding, but the football players excel in memory and the hockey players excel in communication ... if they all equally excelled in those categories, how would you determine which one is more intelligent?

It seems like you could measure all the individual attributes required by any particular sport and put them together into something resembling a sport "IQ" test metric. IQ tests cover quite a wide range of skills, and it seems like you could add sports centered intelligence skills to the existing tests?

These attributes might actually be measurable in the near future.

[rkim291968]

2 minutes ago, Lihu said:

It seems like you could measure all the individual attributes required by any particular sport and put them together into something resembling a sport "IQ" test metric. IQ tests cover quite a wide range of skills, and it seems like you could add sports centered intelligence skills to the existing tests?

These attributes might actually be measurable in the near future.

I don't think it can be measured and compared across different sports. 

[Lihu]

15 minutes ago, rkim291968 said:

Arguing over one set of athletes are more intelligent others, especially, given the general definition of "intelligence."    It's like arguing SW engineers are smarter than HW engineers. 

Didn't want to state this myself, but. . .

However, I do mechanical, electronics and FW and a touch of actual SW. My comparison is a room full of PhD from the top schools in the world versus schmucks like myself and the other HW engineers.

Just now, rkim291968 said:

I don't think it can be measured and compared across different sports. 

Seems like it should be possible to generate a series of test questions to map out how smart someone is at a particular skill.

However, it does not measure "talent". That's something scouts excel at finding. . .

[rkim291968]

Am I the only one who thinks Rory, Reed, Bubba are not particularly intelligent? 

[Lihu]

1 minute ago, rkim291968 said:

Am I the only one who thinks Rory, Reed, Bubba are not particularly intelligent? 

Rory's fiance is a babe***, and he's worth 400+M$, he got there on his own "smarts".

Reed is arrogant but smart. There's a difference between being cocky and dumb, and cocky and dumb.

Bubba is smarter than you seem to think. . .you might just be prejudice against Christians.

 

***Going back to your statement that golfers have nicer looking wives. Misquoting you for fun. . .

[SavvySwede]

5 minutes ago, Lihu said:

Rory's fiance is a babe***, and he's worth 400+M$, he got there on his own "smarts".

Reed is arrogant but smart. There's a difference between being cocky and dumb, and cocky and dumb.

Bubba is smarter than you seem to think. . .you might just be prejudice against Christians.

 

***Going back to your statement that golfers have nicer looking wives. Misquoting you for fun. . .

Reed and Bubba have some ugly wives though. Rory is clearly smartest of the three.

[iacas]

23 minutes ago, JonMA1 said:

I'm with @rkim291968on this one. I haven't read a compelling argument in any of the posts to support the idea that golfers are more intelligent.

There doesn't need to be an "argument." It's either true or it's not. There's no need to "support" something, and everyone's basically just speculating on this topic anyway.

In other words, round up 120 PGA Tour players. Round up 120 NFL players. Round up 120 NBA players. And right on down the line - round up the top 120 players in any sport you can think of. Conduct your test. Determine the average. There's the answer.

Do I think there will be differences? I do.

Chess players might prove to be more intelligent than NFL players. For all we know Formula 1 drivers may be the most intelligent athletes out there. Or the least. We don't know.

But we could know.

To say anything but that is to either speculate or just share your own experiences which are, by definition, quite limited (and likely do not include top players in any sport - just recreational or, at best, higher level college play or something).

[dak4n6]

Here is my intelligence rating, which has been confirmed by the API:

Golf

Tennis

Cycling

Hockey

Baseball

Swimming

Skiing

Running

Speed skating

Diving

Javelin

High jump

Hammer throw

Boxing, MMA, Football, Basketball,

Spoiler

 

 

[JonMA1]

1 hour ago, iacas said:

Do I think there will be differences? I do.

How can you "think" there will be a difference if you have not run those tests and compiled data?

If you have not, are you forming what you think (opinion) based on experience?

Nobody is saying golfers are less intelligent, only that there hasn't been any data to support the opposite.

@iacasI re-read your post and now realize that you are saying you believe there is a difference but that you're not saying you know what that difference is. My bad.

Edited December 23, 2015 by JonMA1

[WUTiger]

5 hours ago, PEZGolf said:

My answer is "yes"----based on observations of athletes and golfers from the local level to the professional ranks----including interviews and writings. Also check out their college degrees.

Your judgment is based upon anecdotal evidence, basically single-shot events observed by you the rater. Your ratings possibly could be influenced by selective perception, noticing things which support your belief and ignoring those which don't.

Also, the construct (definition refined by scientists) of intelligence - broadly defined as skill in using cognitive abilities - has multiple facets. As a result, intelligence means different things to different people with standardized tests to sell you.

There's Intelligence Quotient (IQ) which claims to measure general human intelligence. But, there's controversy on what IQ score  really measures.

Then there's Emotional Intelligence, which measures how sensitive one is in dealing socially with others. These days there's a big push among business executives - especially males - to increase their EI.

There's several other ways to subdivide intelligence, but I'd rather return to golf. 

[gregsandiego]

6 hours ago, PEZGolf said:

My answer is "yes"----based on observations of athletes and golfers from the local level to the professional ranks----including interviews and writings. Also check out their college degrees.

Who knows but would make a great study.

But I'd guess if you took a pool of 500 golfers against a pool of any other sport, yes for the most part they'd score higher on in IQ test and be more educated.

 

 

[rkim291968]

7 minutes ago, gregsandiego said:

Who knows but would make a great study.

But I'd guess if you took a pool of 500 golfers against a pool of any other sport, yes for the most part they'd score higher on in IQ test and be more educated.

IQ does not equate to intelligence or vice versa.  

[gatsby47]

A remarkable number of hockey player, football players, Michael Jordan, play a sheetload of golf in the off season and upon retirement. Perhaps they gain intelligence.  Or is it just possible that golf attracts all types of men and women. Bob Probert played golf.  Bob Hope, Bob Cousey, and probably the Bobbsey twins.  Perhaps they find the plusses of golf attractive.  I am sure Grant Fuhr preferred not having Slapshots at high speeds aimed at his head.

[PEZGolf]

6 hours ago, iacas said:

That's not what the law of averages means.

Do you think Harvard graduates are smarter than high-school dropouts? Back in the day, Mac users tended to be smarter and earned more money than Windows users.

PEZ SEZ----i did go to Harvard (Class of 1970). My IQ is only 130. In my life, I have met many plumbers, carpenters, tool and die makers, cooks, and other occupations who I would call "smarter" than me. They can analyze situations and solve problems quicker than me. Bear in mind that Bill Gates is a Harvard dropout. I say that he is much smarter than me.                                               Do I believe that golfers are smarter than other athletes? Let me dissect that question. Is the "average" recreational golfer with a 16 handicap smarter than the "average" recreational basketball player of the same age? I do not know.                                                         Is the "average" PGA Tour golfer (between 70 and 100 on the Money List) smarter than the "average" NBA player? Let's specify names. Pick any golfer in that category and a "round baller" like Fab Mello (I picked him because he played at nearby Syracuse and I know his academic record and how he speaks in interviews). If I could assemble ALL the necessary information to make a logical conclusion, I think I MIGHT pick the golfer.                                                                   Let me rely  on expert testimony. Michael Jordan and other superstars in "major" sports have said that golf is the toughest "mental" game. Based on their statements of comparison, I conclude that golfers are "smarter" than other athletes at the same level of  ability.   I rest my case! Now, who is buying the first round of drinks?

[Abu3baid]

5 hours ago, Lihu said:

Yes, I think good golfers are smarter than the average athlete in other sports of equal playing ability. The reason is pretty simple, it does not ONLY depend upon strength, agility and flexibility.

 

Intelligence is used to decide how to make a shot, not just to execute it but to solve the problem before the execution of the shot, and I'm not convinced most other sports have that same dependency for performance?

 

The question is on average and not individually.

 

Well here's a discussion. . .http://ask.metafilter.com/30486/Which-athletes-are-the-smartest

Good golfers are in my experience more intelligent.

 

 

NFL QBs performance is highly dependent on this.. Not only that, they have 4 seconds or less to make a decision once the play starts..  Never mind the pre play read, ect..  Basketball players are consistently using their intelligence to execute plays..

 

[PEZGolf]

PEZ SEZ----actually, I am pleased with the discussion my post stirred up.  I have read every reply and they are ALL very interesting. After all, is that not the purpose of this forum? Iacas must be pleased, but I will let him speak for himself.

[gregsandiego]

9 hours ago, rkim291968 said:

IQ does not equate to intelligence or vice versa.  

What does that "I" in IQ stand for?

I'm not saying it's a perfect test. But it correlates. What measure would you use?