Is Golf a Sport?

With the PGA Championship coming up I thought I'd revisit the question: Is Golf a sport? Yes, they show it on Sportcenter. No, they wear dockers to play. Yes, it's competition. No, a 60 year old can win a tournament! I've heard the arguments time and time again. Is golf a sport --I vouch that it is a sport.

Who cares if it is on Sportscenter, that does not make it a sport. Competition does not make it a sport because there is competition in checkers. It doesn't matter that golf is a refined game where you have to wear certain clothes to play, or that diminished athletic skills can still allow you to be competitive. The bottom line is golf is a difficult game which requires skills on a variety of mental and physical levels.

True, you just stand there and hit the ball, but it is so hard to hit a golf ball in the direction you want it to go. Your hips, arms, legs, hands, eyes, and feet all have to be in sync when you hit the ball or else it won't go 10 feet. This is a quality involved in most every sport...using your entire body to execute a play. You need strength, good hand/eye coordination, and a mental focus and patience to excel at golf.

The one problem with golf, which makes it like a game, is that you can't play defense. In most other sports you can play defense, however, the athletic skill needed to perform well in golf overrides this argument. The simple fact that so much is required of the physical body to play is why it's not a game.

Chess is a game, so is Monopoly and Risk. NASCAR is racing, neither a game nor a sport. Gymnastics is a sport, curling is a sport. Anything that requires your body to be the overwhelming force used to play is a sport. So golf is a sport, and anyone who says otherwise probably has never played.

JB