A friend of mine has been arguing with us, his friends, about golf not being a sport. His reason is that although there is a need for the skills in hand/eye coordination in golf, there is no running, jumping or any other major strength involved. He doesn't even think bowling is a kind of sports also because of this reason. I am at the side of golf being a very good kind of sports. What about you?
In recent months as I've gotten back into the game, I haven't worried much about keeping score, so what I did was probably more defined as "recreation"... On the other hand, I feel once you keep score, then it becomes a measuring device of you against other golfers or against the course itself. That is a sport.
Quite a number of years ago the same argument came up. I remember Frank Beard being the leading money winner that year and to some extent, agreeing that he himself wasn't an athlete. His enormous respect for football, baseball and basketball players was such that he couldn't see himself as their physical equal, thus he defined himself as one who played a "game" and differentiated golf from sport on those grounds.
These days, with fitness having become so important to the PGA Tour players, the fitness trailer is used as frequently as the practice range at every tour stop. I think it's safe to say the physical capability of golfers has increased over the years to the point that Frank Beard would admit the current crop of players are, in fact, athletes, thus they play a sport.
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Tell your buddy to walk 36 holes on a Sunday of a rain delayed tournament, when it's now a scorching 95 degrees and you had to get up at 5:30 to complete the first round, then wait around until 3:00 pm to start your second. See how sharp he is coming down the stretch, and then ask him if it involves physical activity.
A friend of mine has been arguing with us, his friends, about golf not being a sport. His reason is that although there is a need for the skills in hand/eye coordination in golf, there is no running, jumping or any other major strength involved. He doesn't even think bowling is a kind of sports also because of this reason. I am at the side of golf being a very good kind of sports. What about you?
Does your friend play golf? If he does not, take him out for a round some time. I have had a couple of my friends say that golf is not a sport. Needless to say, out of the 3 of them only 1 ever came to the course. The other 2 conceeded at the range after trying to hit some balls. The last 1 of my friends went out to play a round with me 1 time and by the second hole he was finished. Needless to say, they all agree that golf is a sport, and that it is a heck of a lot tougher than they thought. If he is not a golfer, challenge him to play a round with you just once. I would bet by the end of nine holes he will be singing a completely different tune.
Is golf really a sport?
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