UK Analytics Firm YouGov: Golf Is the Most Boring Sport to Watch

[nevets88]

It has the highest percentage of most boring and lowest percentage of most exciting. Ahead of golf: snooker and darts. Ouch. Who knows what a poll in the US would say?

 https://yougov.co.uk/news/2018/01/10/what-most-boring-sport/

[iacas]

More boring than Cycling?

And what is "Athletics"?

[nevets88]

13 minutes ago, iacas said:

More boring than Cycling?

And what is "Athletics"?

Yeah, I thought that too. Track and Field?

[Eric C]

I don't buy that at all, especially with American football coming in second.  For sure golf on TV isn't for everyone, but I just can't get on board with it being more boring than darts or gymnastics.  I mean, seriously, cricket over golf? 

[kpaulhus]

I'll watch a Sunday at Augusta over the NBA game 7 any day. Basketball, Baseball, Bowling, Darts, Pool, Poker...the list goes on of crap on TV that's more boring than golf. People dont understand the skill level involved or can relate to what it takes. 

[graham57]

While I completely agree with all the sentiments expressed here, I do think that quite often there is too much focus on putting when golf is shown on TV. OK: putting the ball in the hole is the ultimate goal, but showing all the different shots underlines the diversity and complexity of the game. I also feel that Protracer/Trackman shots make it much more interesting to watch and help people appreciate the difference between a draw and a fade. For me, the most interesting things to watch are approach shots (pitches, chips, bunker shots) - those are more varied than either full swing shots or putts.

[Maric771]

Since I am new to the game I find it very educational and not boring at all.  Learning all the terminology that the announcers use is a challenge.  Sometimes I wish it had subtitles Golf to English translation.

[Nutsmacker]

I like how darts is less boring than golf to watch.  Haha.  Who watches dart matches?  

[dennyjones]

curling?   It's worse than watching paint dry...almost like pulling fingernails

[WUTiger]

Two aspects here: Personal interest and live vs. TV.

21 hours ago, kpaulhus said:

I'll watch a Sunday at Augusta over the NBA game 7 any day. Basketball, Baseball, Bowling, Darts, Pool, Poker...the list goes on of crap on TV that's more boring than golf. People dont understand the skill level involved or can relate to what it takes. 

I'm with KP here. As far as following sports, it's mainly college football and golf for me. I spend a lot of fall time monitoring the Power 5 football games.

Also I will watch golf, usually spot-checking the weekend rounds to see who's on top, and what the course looks like. If it's an exciting course or a major I'll watch a lot more of it.

Here's a sports trivia question that pops up on occasion. What are the two days when the US has no NFL, NBA, pro baseball or pro hockey games? The answer: the July break around the baseball All-Star game. All other days, the US crowd has one or more distractions from these four pro team sports.

Why can't the USA make more progress on its social problems? In part because we have NFL games from August to February and The Voice most of the year to keep people distracted. There's even a Voice app so you can watch the singing play-by-play and vote from your cell phone at critical times.

Live vs. TV

Although going to a golf tournament is pricey and time-consuming, I really enjoy the experience. The British survey was about televised sports only, so it will be getting a lot of remarks from less dedicated sports fans.

And, I've found I enjoy volunteering at golf tournaments as much or more than just going and walking around.

[Big_in_Belgium]

Cultural differences and all...

The most boring sport ever: baseball. Live as well as on tv.
Closey followed by cricket.

@iacas I'll give you cycling, at least when it comes to the sprinter stages in the GT's. Those aside, it's a very tactical and exciting sport to watch, if you know what you're looking for.

Also, I don't really understand what american football is doing so high on that list, I really like it.

[NM Golf]

Well thats why we declared independence all those many years ago. Taxes, religious freedoms, and the fact that the UK wouldn't know an exciting sport if it bit them in the arse! 

Edited January 13, 2018 by NM Golf

[Jackal1966]

When I  tell people I play golf, they  say that is so boring to watch.

I agree. Usually I only  watch the big names play. 

My reply is "I love to eat a big steak, potato, and salad. But, I don't  want to watch someone on TV eat a meal".

 They usually look funny and agree.

 

[Dinoma]

A big problem with golf is the public perception of golf amongst non-golfers. Having taken up golf relatively late on (late 30s), I was part of the demographic who didn't get the allure of golf on TV, apart from the Ryder cup I had zero interest in watching random people hit a ball around with seemingly very little (apart from their own wealth) on the line. Obviously once I started playing (even that was with minor resistance as I thought it was full of stuffy stuck up old men) those beliefs went out the window. However, I think it's important to realise that while my opinions were based on uninformed perception it is also how most non-golfers (in the Uk at least) will view the sport. 

While there is a strong junior section at our club, I'd be very surprised if more than 5% of those didn't have golfing parents/grandparents so they have been immersed in the sport from a young age. The big issue is making golf seem more fun to youngsters (and by that I don't just mean kids), and I feel that this is not fully the case in the TV offerings and/or most clubs.

[RussUK]

On ‎13‎/‎01‎/‎2018 at 7:49 PM, NM Golf said:

Well thats why we declared independence all those many years ago. Taxes, religious freedoms, and the fact that the UK wouldn't know an exciting sport if it bit them in the arse! 

Well i have to agree with you as we brits aren't the most exciting people around, however, when F1 was just Grand Prix racing around brooklands,,,,those were the days, the smell of leaded petrol, the sound of screeching tires and the constant fear of going through the pearly gates backwards in a flaming Bentley. Thanks to little old Bernie it was ruined. Now the Dakar thats a proper sport!

 

[Golfingdad]

On 1/12/2018 at 11:43 AM, kpaulhus said:

People dont understand the skill level involved or can relate to what it takes. 

This could be argued by fans of each sport that is on that list towards those that don't like it.

For the record, I have watched darts on TV on occasion and it's kind of interesting to me.  The guys are mostly characters, the announcers are excited, and the fans are drunk as **** and rowdy as hell.

 

[NM Golf]

15 hours ago, RussUK said:

Well i have to agree with you as we brits aren't the most exciting people around, however, when F1 was just Grand Prix racing around brooklands,,,,those were the days, the smell of leaded petrol, the sound of screeching tires and the constant fear of going through the pearly gates backwards in a flaming Bentley. Thanks to little old Bernie it was ruined. Now the Dakar thats a proper sport!

 

I will agree with you there, personally the only motorsport I find all that interesting.

[RussUK]

11 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

This could be argued by fans of each sport that is on that list towards those that don't like it.

For the record, I have watched darts on TV on occasion and it's kind of interesting to me.  The guys are mostly characters, the announcers are excited, and the fans are drunk as **** and rowdy as hell.

 

It used to be much better back in the 80's to mid 90's when the players were allowed to drink alcohol while playing. Same with snooker. Even now i seem to get better at pool the more drunk i get.

On the subject of darts, type Bullseye tv into Youtube for some classic british Darts/gameshow hybrid. Worth it for the naff prizes!