Golf: game or sport?

[Bochall]

I have long held the notion that golf is not a sport but rather a game, much like darts or billiards. The fact that Cabrera won the US Open at 49yrs of age and Watson almost won the British at 59yrs of age tells me it's not about athletics. There is no quickness, agility, or speed to the game at all. Yeah, they walk a few miles in the hot sun (so does my 66yr old mom EVERY morning). Let's say a guy shoots a 72. He stops 71 times during that long hot walk to think and address the ball. So he takes 71 breaks during his walk (my mom takes one at the most). The topper is that they don't even carry their own bag-they have a lil assistant to do it for them...really? A sport? C'mon! When Tiger played a tournament last year with a injured knee he was lauded for being so tough and playing through it. Well, I ask you: with that injury could he have stretched a single to a double? gone off right tackle for a 5 yard gain? run the fast break in basketball? pulled a shift in hockey? run down a pinpoint Nadal lob from the baseline? gotten back on defense so Lionel Messi didn't blow past him and score a goal? The answer is no, no, no....but I bet Tiger coulda shot pool or thrown darts with that injury right? Cuz billiards and darts are GAMES, just like golf.

[Bison]

I have long held the notion that golf is not a sport but rather a game, much like darts or billiards. The fact that Cabrera won the US Open at 49yrs of age and Watson almost won the British at 59yrs of age tells me it's not about athletics. There is no quickness, agility, or speed to the game at all. Yeah, they walk a few miles in the hot sun (so does my 66yr old mom EVERY morning). Let's say a guy shoots a 72. He stops 71 times during that long hot walk to think and address the ball. So he takes 71 breaks during his walk (my mom takes one at the most). The topper is that they don't even carry their own bag-they have a lil assistant to do it for them...really? A sport? C'mon! When Tiger played a tournament last year with a injured knee he was lauded for being so tough and playing through it. Well, I ask you: with that injury could he have stretched a single to a double? gone off right tackle for a 5 yard gain? run the fast break in basketball? pulled a shift in hockey? run down a pinpoint Nadal lob from the baseline? gotten back on defense so Lionel Messi didn't blow past him and score a goal? The answer is no, no, no....but I bet Tiger coulda shot pool or thrown darts with that injury right? Cuz billiards and darts are GAMES, just like golf.

IMHO Golf is a sport, and Cabrera is 39, not 49, as you have stated.

[Bochall]

My bad on Cabrera's age...but wasn't he SMOKING during his round? Never saw Pujols snuff out a cig and then knock it outta the park.

[DJofSD]

Let's see, a sport can be a game but a game can not be a sport?

Considering that the IOC is putting to a vote of the general membership whether or not to include golf in a future olympics makes me think it is a sport.

Let's ask any number of professional athletes from baseball, football, basketball, etc., that also play golf what they think.

I think the age of the participants makes no difference as to whether or not it is a game or a sport. I guess in your way of thinking, only 20-somethings in a uniform playing at a specific game for money are participating in a sport while the old-farts playing the same game on a Sunday afternoon while at a picnic are not engaged in a sport.

It use to be the word sport was used to convey an attitude of fairness while engaged in some activity, i.e. being a good sport. Some how it's evolved into meaning the activity itself whether or not the way you play at the activity is with good intent or how you conduct yourself while engaged in it.

[1st time lasix]

Anyone who thinks top players are not athletes is an idiot. {I carry a 2...have won numerous am events in the past two decades} In addition to hitting a lot of balls daily....I lift weights, do core work and stretch in the gym four days a week and distance run five days a week. The physical stress...strength....balance...stability...and hand/eye coordination required to play 7000 yard courses at...near or below par is an athletic achievement from a very skilled player. Anyone who doesn't know that...can't do it!

[DJofSD]

Anyone who thinks top players are not athletes is an idiot. {I carry a 2...have won numerous am events in the past two decades} In addition to hitting a lot of balls daily....I lift weights, do core work and stretch in the gym four days a week and distance run five days a week. The physical stress...strength....balance...stability...and hand/eye coordination required to play 7000 yard courses at...near or below par is an athletic achievement from a very skilled player. Anyone who doesn't know that...can't do it!
Having just taken up the sport as a middle aged person, my hats off to you!

[LottaKash]

My $.02.....I have watched many a great golfer and saw many great golf shots....I love to watch the majors or the finals (in any sport or game for that matter), but other than that, in the end, I think that golf is just "a game"....It is best enjoyed by the players, and the cash rewards that they receive....

I have played in many sports, and I am glad to have played those games....But, at my age, after seeing so many golf shots, baseball players spitting and shifting their cups incessantly, and watching football plays that look no different than any other of the millions of plays that I have seen, or watching a globe being hurled into a hoop for the 20th millionth time, I just don't get the "that" kick any more...

Still, it is good for the players (overpaid gamers, imo) and for the newer fans that haven't experienced all that junk, as of yet....And, I am not trying to talk anyone out of viewing and having those experiences....

Now if, I am wagering on those "games" or participating in them, now, that is another story....

If it wasn't for Tiger, I wouldn't even bother, and I don't.....I mean, grown-men travelling around, all day, chasing a little white ball...haha.....:D

I had the most fun, when I "played" and not watched any game or sport....And, when we were young we woud "bet" on ourselves to win, in any sport or game that we played....Or, we would wager on the outcomes of any sporting event, and that was fun too....But, to watch a guy that I have no particular interest in, chasing a little ball around, well, for me that is "just a game" for him to enjoy....I would just as soon watch "joggers"

As it is with any other game or sport, once it's over, what is the point ? It is just a game....We just make it bigger and more important than it really is....

Don't laugh folks, as you age, and if you have seen what I have seen, this will happen to you sooner or later, whether you care to admit it or not, I think....I have not turned sour, it is that I now have other things that I use, to keep me sharp and young thinking, and it is no longer, the joy of the petty triumphs of all these young (stars) people, doing things that I have already done or have seen myself....

Just A-game...., imo...:cool:

best,

[ezrabrooks]

I have heard the question posed as "Is golf a sport (requiring athletic prowess), or just an applied skill". I dunno..

Ez

[Marshall Bennett]

Probably no other " sport " requires more skill , self control , and practice . Anyone can throw a football or bat a ball . We all had fun doing it as kids . Just go out though and watch a beginner hit a bucket of balls on a driving range .

[LottaKash]

Probably no other " sport " requires more skill , self control , and practice . Anyone can throw a football or bat a ball . We all had fun doing it as kids . Just go out though and watch a beginner hit a bucket of balls on a driving range .

John Daly, was "quite" the athlete.....:jump:... a "game" of skill....like billiards or darts... One needs lots of practice, and an electric cart, until they are athletic enough to walk.......:D

best,

[DJofSD]

So, if there is a level of physical exertion that has to be exceeded before an activity is a sport then most baseball players are not engaged in a sport. Maybe baseball needs to go back to being called a national pastime.

[LottaKash]

Maybe baseball needs to go back to being called a national pastime.

I think that is it, a "pastime".....One that is more enjoyable and fun to play, than to watch, imo....

Just like "golf" a most(ly) enjoyable way to spend some time in the great outdoors, and, just like playing horseshoes, or swimming or hiking or canoeing, they are games & pastimes, that you can make contests out of, also....(and bet on them)

best,

[OTM Al]

Probably no other " sport " requires more skill , self control , and practice . Anyone can throw a football or bat a ball . We all had fun doing it as kids . Just go out though and watch a beginner hit a bucket of balls on a driving range .

Bad comparison. Only in golf are you getting the same conditions of the pros, thus why beginners can look so bad. You wouldn't have had as much fun batting a ball as a kid if it was a 92 mph slider breaking away from you or throwing a ball if a 300 lb end buried you into the turf a second after you released the ball. All athletic endeavors require extreme levels of skill, self control and practice to reach the highest levels. Personally, I would not give it the definition of a sport, but I would call it a competitive game in which being athletic can certainly help. If you enjoy it though, what does it matter?

[Marshall Bennett]

Bad comparison. Only in golf are you getting the same conditions of the pros, thus why beginners can look so bad. You wouldn't have had as much fun batting a ball as a kid if it was a 92 mph slider breaking away from you or throwing a ball if a 300 lb end buried you into the turf a second after you released the ball. All athletic endeavors require extreme levels of skill, self control and practice to reach the highest levels. Personally, I would not give it the definition of a sport, but I would call it a competitive game in which being athletic can certainly help. If you enjoy it though, what does it matter?
Thought about that a bit after I posted but my point wasn't so much to compare those sports but instead to point out that golf , though it draws little or no blood , requires a high level of dedication and skill that exceeds most other sports . Thats my opinion , some feel its a boring game altogether . Should have stuck with the first sentence of my prior post . It was an unfair comparison .

[cj's dad]

Probably no other " sport " requires more skill , self control , and practice . Anyone can throw a football or bat a ball . We all had fun doing it as kids . Just go out though and watch a beginner hit a bucket of balls on a driving range .

attended 2 ML tryout camps- Pittsburgh and Chi Sox when I was 17/18- for you to make that comment is beyond absurd. Unless you are there, you have no idea how GOOD the talent is until you've been involved at that level.

IMO baseball is the #1 most skilled sport and golf is #2

[DRIVEWAY]

Golf, Bowling, Horseshoes, Hiking, Chess, Cards, Ice Skating, Curling and Mountain Climbing are all physical activities. Which are games, hobbies and/or sports?

[Marshall Bennett]

attended 2 ML tryout camps- Pittsburgh and Chi Sox when I was 17/18- for you to make that comment is beyond absurd. Unless you are there, you have no idea how GOOD the talent is until you've been involved at that level.

IMO baseball is the #1 most skilled sport and golf is #2
I didn't know I was refering to baseball at the major league level . Thought I was refering to sports in general as the topic was whether or not golf should be considered a sport . I'm so very sorry .

[cj's dad]

I didn't know I was refering to baseball at the major league level . Thought I was refering to sports in general as the topic was whether or not golf should be considered a sport . I'm so very sorry .

No offense intended- but when one thinks they are really good and attends a tryout and realizes how woefully inadequate they are it is a demoralizing experience. My belief as an ex-golfer/hacker is that there is no sport equal to baseball in the area of out and out difficulty.

[NJ Stinks]

I believe golf is a sport. There is a lot of coordination involved to be able to hit a golf ball, for example, 160 yards and wind up close to the pin. As with another sport I admire - basketball - you need "touch" to be good at golf.

Anyway, since I was young and playing lots of sports, I always considered basketball players to be the best athletes. You need to be able to run, jump, have great hands, and touch. That's pretty much the total package although I'm probably forgetting something.

Hitting a baseball hard consistently is harder to do for sure than playing basketball. But it requires less athletic ability to hit a baseball than it does to play basketball. Hence the term DH. :)

P.S. I stink at golf. I've only played it for 7 years and have yet to break 100. I guess you could say NJ Stinks. :blush:

[sandpit]

I have a sibling who is a scratch golfer who was fortunate enough to have the sport pay his way thru college. He has always thought it was more of a game, but having caddied for him some, I can see the sport involved. Part of sport is handling the competition, something he was always aware of, and in his case, thrived on.

IMHO, I always thought hockey players were the most incredible athletes. They have to have the combined skills that both basketball and football players possess but do it on ice...and I'm not a hockey fan.

[dav4463]

I think basketball takes more overall skill and athletic ability than any other sport, but that is just my opinion.

[Java Gold@TFT]

Yeah, they walk a few miles in the hot sun (so does my 66yr old mom EVERY morning). Let's say a guy shoots a 72. He stops 71 times during that long hot walk to think and address the ball. So he takes 71 breaks during his walk (my mom takes one at the most). The topper is that they don't even carry their own bag-they have a lil assistant to do it for them...really? A sport? C'mon!
So by your definition of physicality baseball is a sport? Let's breakdown the day for a leftfielder involved in a 1-0 game. Walk/jog from the dugout to your position carrying a heavy glove on your hand 9 times. Toss some balls back and forth with the centerfielder each time for a couple of minutes. Stand still while the ball gets hit to other players for ten minutes per inning. After that invigoration go back to the dugout and sit down for another 10 minutes. Walk up to bat maybe 4 times during the game. Then half assed 'run' to first base when you hit a ground ball. Then walk back to sit in the dugout for more than half of the 3 hour game time. If you strike out you don't even get to burn the calories to run to first base. Somehow that routine is more physical and tiring than a pro golfer who works out in the training trailer, then pounds practice balls for an hour, then walks about 4 miles while stopping to hit balls in the mean time? And yes, I know the baseball player lifts weights too and takes about 10-15 minutes of batting practice every day. To imply that golf is not a sport because golfers aren't athletic enough for you is ludicrous.

And before the rest of you jump on me I am strictly talking about the physicality involved not the skills required to play at a high level. There is no doubt that these athletes have great skill packages. It's just that if you really breakdown a day in the life a baseball player I got more excersize playing kickball as a kid for 3 hours than these guys get during the season. (training camps aside).

[cj]

Bad comparison. Only in golf are you getting the same conditions of the pros, ...

In no way is a regular golfer getting the same conditions as the pros.

[cj]

John Daly, was "quite" the athlete.....:jump:... a "game" of skill....like billiards or darts... One needs lots of practice, and an electric cart, until they are athletic enough to walk.......:D

best,

How is he different than any of the number of fat baseball players we have seen over the years?

[DJofSD]

In no way is a regular golfer getting the same conditions as the pros.
Right. I don't ever expect to tee-up using the pro/tournament tee box.

[slewis]

To put my 2 in... It really depends on one's definition of sport.

But realistically, if your swing is off 1/16th of an inch...just 1/16th, you're probably in trouble.

Not to mention the "touch" involved in shorter shots AND steadyness involved in putting, which is probably the biggest reason golfers lose it as they approach 40.

Regardless of how you define it, there is an enourmous amount of skill involved.

I did find it amusing that the gentleman that posted the thread made a comment about Pujols and Messi.

I once played College Hockey and had a game at the Nassau Coliseum right after the Islanders played a 5 pm game on a Saturday.
I was stretching before I got dressed in the corredor next to the Islanders locker room and I smelled Cigarette smoke, (of course it's illegal to smoke anywhere in the building today but this was back in 77')

I peaked in the Isles dressing room and there was Denis Potvin puffing a smoke and having a post game beer.

Dont think many many players of various sports dont smoke and drink... you'd lose that bet....

[Bochall]

Slewis, I didn't say that because players smoke they are not athletes. What I said was that Cabrera smokes WHILE HE IS PLAYING! Larry Laoretti did the same thing. Denny Potvin, according to your post, was smoking AFTER the game, right? Yeah, Keith Hernandez was seen occasionally with a smoke in the dugout and Jim Leyland smoked a lot in the dugout (but he's a manager)....anyway, thanks for the responses ya'll. I just don't see Jim Furyk(or any other golfers) appearing on the revival of the Superstars, which pits athletes from different sports against each other in various athletic endeavors. Think he could beat Ochocinco through an obstacle course? Bet he couldn't beat Pedroia in the 50yd dash (maybe Sabathia though!)....ya'll know I was talking about Messi and not Messier right?

[slewis]

LOL,

After working with Brits for a decade, yes I know the difference between a Messi and a Messier!!!:lol:

Good stuff.....

BTW... watch Man City this yr... and Arsenal looked real sharp....

This has the makings of the best Premiership season ever!!!


BTW no one mentioned the Jocks as athletes:lol:

I played golf with a few and none I ever met are gonna threaten the Senior tour.

Some trainers can really hit it..... Ive heard Hough is a low single digit H'capper, as is Buzz Tenney, Shug's assistant.

[Bochall]

Slewis, I am wearing my Arsenal cap as i type but their problem is that they play pretty boy soccer that struggles when the weather turns cold in the UK.(kinda like the NO Saints ya know?) They are the best sunshine team in the world. I think Chelsea wins the Prem this year...too much muscle with Essien and Obi Mikel. Will be pulling for the Arsenal, but.....

[ezrabrooks]

LOL,

After working with Brits for a decade, yes I know the difference between a Messi and a Messier!!!:lol:

Good stuff.....

BTW... watch Man City this yr... and Arsenal looked real sharp....

This has the makings of the best Premiership season ever!!!


BTW no one mentioned the Jocks as athletes:lol:

I played golf with a few and none I ever met are gonna threaten the Senior tour.

Some trainers can really hit it..... Ive heard Hough is a low single digit H'capper, as is Buzz Tenney, Shug's assistant.

You mean the Blue Mooners have a shot? Followed them last year, but they went the way of Rickey Hatton..

Ez

[Bochall]

Did you mean Man City as the Blue Mooners? Haven't heard that term. Ofcourse, I am still deciphering the Toffies and Latics and Magpies lingo I hear all the time. They are like the Redskins with that Snyder guy as owner....spend spend spend and win nothing. Is it time for a new Prem thread or what? See what golf talk eventually evolves into...REAL sports talk!!!

[ezrabrooks]

Did you mean Man City as the Blue Mooners? Haven't heard that term. Ofcourse, I am still deciphering the Toffies and Latics and Magpies lingo I hear all the time. They are like the Redskins with that Snyder guy as owner....spend spend spend and win nothing. Is it time for a new Prem thread or what? See what golf talk eventually evolves into...REAL sports talk!!!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU3icxFdqGQ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU3icxFdqGQ)

[slewis]

Man City owner like Snyder?? Im not either of their's accountant but I think the Man City owner has considerably more financial punch than Snyder.

Anyway, last yr was the first yr of the spending spree and the team needs time to jell.

They'll show considerable improve if Robinho and Ireland stay healthy and might bull there way into the top 5.

I agree with Bocall regarding Arsenal in the tough premiership.

Cant figure how Benetez keeps his job. Chelsea is probably the team to beat, but they have plenty of players that are gettin up in yrs and it wouldn't surprise me if they spit it up late...

It's kinda open...

And we might need a football thread. (apologize to everyone on this one).