True Or False: "Golf Is Not A Sport"

[arwalden]

I don't think it is. I don't think billiards or bowling are true sports either.

I enjoy playing all three... they are great fun... but if you can drink beer and hold a cigarette in your lips WHILE playing the game it's not REALLY a sport now, is it? :-)

-- Allen

P.S. Do you enjoy any of these games yourself?

[GOPisEvil]

1. I play golf, and I don't think it's a sport. It's an athletic activity.

Baseball is a sport. :-)

[arwalden]

7. What Took You So Long??

I kinda had a feeling that it wouldn't take too long for you to check in on this thread. And there you are... in the #1 position! LOL!

-- Allen

[GOPisEvil]

9. Heehee...I actually did some work for a little bit.

:-) I'm giving it a try - seeing how I like it.

[ProfessorGAC]

50. Ok By Me!

It requires skill, but not necessarily athletic ability. Look at Duffy Waldorf or Craig Statler. Those guys couldn't beat my mom in a 100 meter sprint, and she's 70! But, they sure can play the game.
The Professor

[GOPisEvil]

51. LOL - true!

For the longest time, I looked like Craig Stadler, and I was an OK player. I'm better now that I'm slimmer though...

[ewagner]

2. There's a lot of walking involved

for which you have to have some sort of stamina. There has to be at least some flexibility and strength to make a decent swing.

If your swing is flawed, swimming can also be involved :evilgrin:

[arwalden]

8. "Swimming can also be involved"... That's Great! ROFLMAO!

-- Allen

[Ediacara]

42. well if walking is the criteria :-)

Then going to the mall could also be thought of as a sport :-)

[Superfly]

3. Golf is a great sport, requiring

the utmost concentration and skill to be any good at all.

[ScreamingMeemie]

4. I think bowling is a sport. Anything that makes my muscles scream

in agony the day after I do it is a sport in my book. :hi:

[SlavesandBulldozers]

5. golf is not a sport

no "sport", deserving of the term, could possibly be easy for 70 year olds to play

[trumad]

6. To control your body movement and power and mind

to achieve the goal of putting a little white ball closet to the hole is probably the hardest thing you can do in a sport. Sports involves the use of your body and most certainly, so does Golf.

I always tell the folks who say it is not,,,,get out there and try it.

[Gringo]

10. It's probably a sport - but it's a really suck-ass one

The clothes, the fake "nature", the old white republicans. I can't bear to hang out in those country clubs, even though I was raised going to one all the time.

I hate exclusivity and snobbishness.

[ewagner]

17. hehehehe

If you want to see a group of old, white republicans move really fast, just yell

FOOOOORREEEE!

[GOPisEvil]

18. Maybe you should expand your notion of golf.

I tend to play at municipal courses, where there are still old Republicans, but a lot of us "regular folks" too.

[ewagner]

20. I play public courses

and there are a lot of them critters running around loose.

[GOPisEvil]

23. Well, I live in TX, there are always Republicans around.

Like a vermin. ;-)

[disgruntled_goat]

43. hear, hear

or is it 'here, here'....durn british parliament with its subtleties...

anyway
I agree with Gringo. I worked on a course all thru college and even though I used to play, I really dislike golf. the ecological impact those courses have on their areas is significant.

plus I could tell you OSHA-defying stories that would stop you from drinking water near golf courses.

dont even get me started on the bitchy blotchy old white repukes.

/me trails off, grumbling about this n that.

[ClintonTyree]

11. On the professional level.................

it is most certainly a sport. The physical and mental routines that professional golfers go through are very demanding, believe it or not.
Would you say that men's or woman's weekend softball leagues are sports, or simply recreation?
The amount of time the professionals commit to their sport is astounding.

[arwalden]

13. They Are Very Dedicated And Spend Much Time Perfecting Their Skills...

but so do billiard players and the people we see on ESPN's World Championship Poker.

I'd say that weekend softball leagues are sports. (Unless we see the third baseman drinking a tall frosty one and the pitcher with a pipe in his mouth. I have mixed feelings about chewing or dipping.) :hi:

-- Allen

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

12. Per American Heritage Dictionary:

Sport: noun.
1. An active pastime; recreation
2. A specific diversion having a set form and body of rules
3. Mockery, jest...

So I guess it is a sport.

Follow-on question: Do you consider people who engage is certain "sports" i.e. golf, NASCAR, curling, etc. as "athletes"?

[arwalden]

14. Hmmm. Boggle and Gin Rummy Also Qualify As A Sport Then

using that definition.

Excellent follow up question. I'm guessing the measure of a true athlete is based on the size of their endorsements, yes?

-- Allen

[Rabbit of Caerbannog]

19. As a cyclist, I get into arguments

With the local NASCAR nuts and others about how cyclists such like Lance Armstrong and the like are not athletes and that professional cycling is not a true sport or especially an athletic competition but that NASCAR racing is ("..do you know the G force drivers are subjected to hour after hour bla bla bla" or "Tiger Woods is a real athlete! Lets see Lance Armstrong in his cute lycra outfit hit a golf ball for...yada yada yada...)

Just infuriating sometimes...

[arwalden]

22. OMG... I'd DEFINITELY say that a cyclist is an athlete

"Let's see Tiger Woods cycle uphill, in the rain, with blisters, and hemorrhoids, and chafing, for 30 miles, around curves, and over cobblestones."

-- Allen

[trumad]

29. It would be like Armstrong trying to break 80 on a Golf Course

Like I said... The folks who bitch most about Golf not being a sport never seriously played the game...Until you have, you're opinions aren't valid.

[arwalden]

32. I Do Think That Much Skill And Practice Is Needed For Golf

I hope you didn't misunderstand me. I admire that, I really do.

-- Allen

[CrownPrinceBandar]

38. Right On!!!!...

I challenge any of the critics to try to put a 40 yard chip within 5 feet of the pin and say that its not a skilled sport.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

34. Dictionary.com say.....

"1. Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively."

SPORT!SPORT!SPORT!

[priller]

15. Golf most definitely *IS* a sport

It's just a different kind of sport than most others, in that it requires skill, touch, feel, and consistency more than brute strenth or stamina.

Golfers are defintely athletes, and becoming more so all the time, now that they've realized that weight-lifting doesn't mess up their game.

Those who think golf is easy have never tried it. It looks easy on TV only because those guys are PROS and they make it look easy. Their skill level is far far higher than the average weekend duffer.

If you ever see star athletes from other sports try playing golf, and see how utterly goofy they look doing it, that should give you some indicaton how hard it really is.

[Dees]

30. Yep I agree.

[trof]

16. "sport" vs "game"

Is there a difference?

[AverageJoe]

21. Watching golf is less exciting than watching paint dry

I don't play, though, so maybe I just don't get it.

[terrya]

24. No, it isn't. Especially when you ride around the fairway in a golf cart.

How can that be a sport or even exercise when you ride around in a motorized vehicle? Doesn't seem like it to me.

I like pool....but I'm not very good at it.

:-)

Terry

[Atman]

25. No way

I surf, snowboard, play league volleball...and golf. Of the four, I'd say golf is about as much a "sport" as is riding a go cart carrying a bunch of sticks.

[CanuckAmok]

26. Did you see Angelo Mosca's monologue on "The Newsroom"?

n/t

[Braden]

27. I use the same test. If you can smoke while you do it

its not a sport.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

41. You can chew tobacco...

while playing baseball. I guess it isnt a sport then.

potato=potato

[Braden]

44. I said smoke

for the record I play about 40 rounds of golf per year. its a game. a great game. but not a sport.

[Faygo Kid]

28. Hand-eye coordination, and that grim determination to get to the 19th hole

Those who do not think it is a sport, try to get out of a pothole bunker or sink a 10-footer with $5 on the line. The best athletes win, period. It's like trying to hit a curveball - simple, until you try it. And walking 18 holes leaves you gasping (nobody I know ever walked it in a straight line. We all play Army golf - right, left, right, left. . .)

[mvd]

31. False IMO

Basically because it uses a ball and an element to move the ball - just like many others.

[arwalden]

33. I'm Thinking..... Pinball

:hi:

-- Allen

[mvd]

37. Golf's more like a sport because..

of how it's played outdoors with competition with a person physically hitting the ball towards a goal.

[arwalden]

39. Oh That's Just Too Damn Specific... You've Left Me No Room To

nitpick and intentionally misinterpret. You're no fun. :-)

Oh the pain! <Dr. Smith impersonation> I give up! You've outfoxed me! (This time... but we'll meet again.) :hi:

-- Allen

[CrownPrinceBandar]

40. You mean you've never played...

"full-contact" pinball? Man, you're missing out. hehe.

[kodi]

35. it's a game that lets white men dress in public like pimps

.

[Faygo Kid]

47. And your point is. . .

Haven't ever worn a Superfly outfit on the course, here.

[GOPisEvil]

48. What the hell are you talking about?

I wasn't aware a white golf shirt and khakis or shorts was standard issue pimp wear these days.

[kodi]

52. you boys dont get out on the links much do you?

i've seen some fat old white guys who would put huggy bear to shame, and i am not referring to the payne stewert look either.

[bigwillq]

36. It's a sport

and so are bowling and billiards. They have organized tournaments and their athletes can turn professional. That counts as a sport in my book.

[Edge]

45. If it doesn't involve hitting, punching, tackling, bleeding...

biting, throwing, fighting, kicking, slamming, injuries, etc...then it's not a sport.

I've played golf before, and it sucked. It was boring. It lacked emotion. It basically lacked all that is fun.

Golf isn't a sport. You hit a ball, people clap, and you move on. Wow. How fun that is to watch/play. :eyes:

[MercutioATC]

46. Golf is a sport. HUNTING is not a sport.

It's not a sport unless both sides know they're playing.

[MrSlayer]

49. If you don't get hit, it's not a sport.

Just my personal take on it.

[Awsi Dooger]

53. If golf is not a sport, what about these:

How about the javelin? Or the shot put? Or the discus? Or the hammer throw?

Does anyone actually believe they are more qualified as a "sport" than golf, just because brute strength is the prerequisite in each, and not a remarkable combination of skills like in golf? Give me a lunatic break.

All of those activities involve launching an item outdoors from a designated area over a distance of ground, similar to golf. You are competing directly with others who launch from the identical area under the same guidelines, but the result is determined by how far (or how many), not some physical contact like others demanded as a definition of sport.

I'll spare the simpleton frenzy to point out there is no Senior Shot Put Tour.

Something like indoor putt-putt is properly likened to bowling or billiards, since the objects are not exposed to influence by the elements and basically do not leave the ground. Also, bowling alleys and billiard tables have uniform size and shape, while golfers deal with incredible differences in playing conditions and the requirements involved.

As trumad pointed out, golf's naysayers are overwhelmingly the 36-handicap or non-playing clods, hilariously hopeless when faced with the end of a stick and an opponent - ball and course -- that is never going to allow phony victory simply by proving more incompetent than you.

BTW, I shot 78 on Monday, so golf is most definitely a sport. Especially when you plunk every putt for a change!