Thread: Do you consider golf a sport?

It's a sport if you walk.
The lazy guys that use carts and public courses just need a reason to get away from the women and drink beer.

"PurplePride80" wrote:

This is something that I've gotten into many arguments over. It started when a sportswriter wrote an article explaining why Tiger Woods is one of the greatest athlete's of all time. But many people don't think he is, because they don't consider golf a sport.

But that's not the point of this thread, I'm just using Tiger as an example.

I'm not just talking about golf, many people don't consider NASCAR,billiards, or bowling a sport either.

Dictionary.com defines sport as "an athletic activity requiring [size=24pt]skill[/size] or physical prowess and often of a [size=24pt]competitive nature[/size], as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc."

Now we all know there is nothing physical about golf, but personally I don't think that
excludes it from being a sport.



So I guess my question is, in your opinion, are these activities sports?

And if not, what are they?

Golf, Billiards, NASCAR, and Bowling all require skill, and are all of a competitive nature.

They do not require tremendous athletic ability, strength, speed, and all the other things that Football, Baseball, Basketball, Hockey etc. Require, but it certainly requires skill.


By the definition you provided, those are sports.

anything that is competitive and is challenging your athletic ability in my mind is considered a sport to me.

Rock, Paper, Scissors?

i would consider golf a sport, but i wouldn't consider golfers athletes.
skateboarders snowboarders and other extreme SPORT participators should be ocnsidered athletes, because you need to be in shape and athletic to do the stuff they do.
but golf?? go and watch a tournament at your local golf course and you'll see lots of the better golfers out there are large guys that you wouldn't associate with as being athletes.

Hell yeah golf is a sport and golfers are atheletes!
Anyone who doesnt think so is obviously not very familiar with competative golf.

Just because your beer driking cart riding buddy can go play golf in the Monday night work league disqualifies golf from being a sport about as much as playing catch in the parking lot before the game with your beer drinking buddies does to football.

If some of you are attempting to judge the status of atheletes by their physical stature, I would submitt:

Exhibit A:
Dale Earnhart Jr & Tiger Woods

Exhibit B:
David Wells
& Pat Williams.

Now are Football and Baseball really sports????????
Of course.

I have played Football and Basketball at the collegiate level and just dabbled in competative golf, and I can tell you that the latter doesnt give an inch to the other two when it comes to physical/mental toughness in many aspects.

Merely giving examples doesn't prove your point. If it did, I could prove that everyone on this forum is a girl - I could give you a bunch of examples.

As to the topic of this thread, I think it is a sport, but not quite as sporty as some others. Having played golf quite a bit, it is clearly competitive and there is a physical aspect to it, but it is also pretty clear that it is not as athletic other sports. I think the idea that some 60 year old men could kick the average 20 year old's ass at golf shows that it isn't overly physical.

"canadian_vikes_fan" wrote:

Merely giving examples doesn't prove your point. If it did, I could prove that everyone on this forum is a girl - I could give you a bunch of examples...

That would be a good thread.
Do it!

Anything that they show on ESPN is a sport.

So you consider poker to be a sport???

And spelling bees too??