Its a sport, because you do a lot of physical activity, is set by rules and is competitive, you had to have good condition to walk all over the 18 holes.
What about this guy? The criteria is if a girl can compete with the men then it's not a sport. Golf, Nascar, and Competitive Eating are not sports.
Doesn't anybody remember the first rule that George Carlin used to define a sport? If it doesn't have the word "ball" in the name, it's not a sport.
How about where an 18 year old can compete with grown men, like oh... I don't know... NBA BASKETBALL!
I don't consider golf a sport...As others have said, it's a game and like any game it's going to involve an amount of skill just like playing video games and playing pool require skill. IMO a combination of factors make something a sport (athleticism, mental toughness, physical strength and toughness, stamina and endurance, skill, etc...have to be components of an activity for it to be considered a sport) As far as all these factors are concerned, golf ranks very, very low. Even if we take something like mental toughness for example, in golf the crowd has to remain quiet when the player is hitting the ball in most other sports you don't have that. This exists in tennis, but you also have a tremendous amount of physical activity, stamina, endurance, and athleticism, which compensates for the crowd having to remain quiet. Imagine seeing that in b-ball when a player is shooting a free throw or when a fg kicker is kicking a field goal. While you can make an argument that golf is a sport, the case for it is so weak and full of so many holes that I voted no.
I just played 18 holes in the sweltering heat this afternoon. I would say golf is a sport indeed. It's got the scoring system, and competition factor. Not to mention it takes just as much skill to consistenly hit a golf ball as it does to hit a fastball.
Golf, to me, is NOT a sport. It, much like bowling and pool, is a game in which athletic ability and physical prowess are helpful, but not required. However, the ability to mentalize your end result, coupled with eye-hand coordination, has an extremely high value. Racing, on the other hand (whether it be NASCAR or Indy 500) is a sport. Based on the amount of physical exertion placed on the human body (drivers have been known to lose 10lbs. during a race) and the high level of split-second reaction time required to be successful, along with the attributes listed above for golf, pool, and bowling, make high-speed racing one of the most demanding sports one can take part in. There's also that whole 'dying' aspect to racing that other sports cannot list as a very real possibility. And I'm not biased: I love pool and bowling, with golf a distant third. I do love cars, but racing in any form is not something I keep up with or participate in.
Let's read the definition of the word "Sport" first. from dictionary.com - Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. from encarta.com - competitive physical activity: an individual or group competitive activity involving physical exertion or skill, governed by rules, and sometimes engaged in professionally so.. is Golf competitive? Very much so.. I am sure none of you guys will argue that golf is very competitive. Physical activity? walking 18 holes with 40+lb golf equipments under the sun? very much so. Governed by a set of rules or customs? Of course. Thus. Golf is a sport.. For those who think Golf is not a sport, please come up with the definition of the word "sport" from a credible source that can dissatisfy golf from being a sport.
I thought sports was any game involving strenuous physical activity. A tree cutting competition would be sports to me. An eating competition too. Playing poker for 36 hours non-stop does not make it a sport. Same with chess.
But you don't have to run after hitting a golf ball, unless it's Speed Golf. I guess I really don't know why I don't consider Golf a sport. It's just one of those games. I've played golf before, and the only thing physical I got out of it was a nice walk. I just didn't get that same feeling that I would normally get by playing basketball, baseball, or football.
I would because the girls are playing on teams with men against another male/female team. The girls aren't playing one on one vs. the men because they would be destroyed - unlike golf where a 16 year old girl is winning tourneys to compete in the majors. Then there is the fact they are actually running around the court. But who really cares about mixed doubles in tennis anyways? It's a minor sideshow that no one watches or follows. One thing i'm sure of is that not many of you are walking 18 holes with your bag slung over your shoulder full of clubs -- there is some sort of cart involved. Even the pros have a caddy carrying that heavy bag for them.
