Is Golf a Sport?

The short version is yes, the long form is what ill get into in order to explain why i think it is a sport. This ongoing argument was fueled again this past weekend when 59 year old Tom Watson was leading the British Open after three rounds, for those of you who dont know this is one of the 4 biggest golf tournaments in the year.

Most people just see that the guy is 59 and throw out the whole "it is not a sport when a guy can be at the top of the field when he is 59" just becasue you dont see that in Football, Baseball, Basketball or even Hockey. In the dictionary sport is defined as

Noun - an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.

The fact that it is in the difiniton does help my case, but having fishing and hunting in there as well does hurt as a lot of people consider it a game/hobby more than a sport.

In the end a 59 year old didnt win and I know he got into a playoff and then lost, but you can still be a sport even if older people can do it just from the nature of the sport. Obviously it is not a contact sport so right there you should be able to add on years to your career. The oldest major winner is 46 and there have been players in the NFL, MLB NBA and NHL to play that long. You have to have athletic ability to be a good golfer, just go look at the local course and see all the weekend warriors out there hacking it up. The fact that this guy put 4 good days together out of left field should not condem the whole sport. No one expected him to do this, that is why it is getting so much attention because it is a young mans sport. Don't forget although Tom is 59 he was one of the best golfers of all time. It is not like every 59 year old can go out there and do that, plus they do have to walk and not drive the cart, which is a lot easier said than done. It was nice to see the old guy out there competing but in the end its very very rare to have someone his age compete at that level fro more than a day or so. IMHO golf is a sport might not be as rough and tumble as other sports but you need real athletic ability and great hand eye coordination to excel at it, like you need in other sports.

This gets me to my next topic, on EEI this morning they were talking about Tiger Woods throwing his little tantrums around the course and doing what everyone does when their golf game is off, that is swear throw their clubs and pound them into the ground. THey were talking about how golf is for gentlemen and he shouldnt do that and it got into the whole "athletes are role models" thing, which could be a whole blog post on it self, but ill keep it quick (thats the last thing she wants to hear). Athletes if they like it or not are role models and they shouldnt have to change their behavior for the most part just because they are famous, they just have to be aware, I love how all these fathers called up saying they had to explain to their kids that what tiger was doing is wrong, i gaurentee get them out in a situation where things dont go well and they will react the same way, and they dont have millions of dollars on the line. Let these athletes get emotional they have their whole financial futures based on how well they play. Golf gets a bum wrap for being the preppy gentlemen game, take other sports KG swears up an absolute storm and is loved by all, but if tiger does it, he is being debated as a whiney little baby. People are allowed to get mad when they dont perform well its human nature get off your high horse and deal with it.