Golf is Not a Sport

Golf is a fun game to play. It is a fun hobby to have. It can be a good bonding activity. Lots of people love golf: playing it, watching it, and enjoying it. Golf is qualified as a sport and is thought as one, by many professional sporting communities out there. I don’t agree with that opinion. I don’t think golf should be recognized by professional sporting communities because it’s not physically strenuous and requires no physical prowess. It better fits the definition of a game rather than a sport, and there is nothing you can do to impede the progress of other competitors.

When you think about golf do you think about a group of highly trained individuals that are incredibly fit? I for one don’t, but that doesn’t mean that being fit doesn’t contribute to your abilities as a golfer. Many golfers believe that being more active and in shape are huge contributors to the success of their game. People like Tiger Woods and Lexi Thompson are both professional golfers that have been recognized by the golfing community as being in very good shape. No study shows that being in shape helps you play golf better. Jason Dufner, who won the PGA tour in 2012, admits to not being in very good shape. That doesn’t seem to affect his golfing abilities seeing that he won the PGA tour.

One of the most challenging things for a golfer to master is his swing. Many leading experts, such as John Lonergan, the instructor for the boys’ varsity golf team at Hartford, say that the key for a good swing is to instead of hitting the ball, swing and just let the weight of the golf club drive the ball instead of the muscles in you back and arms. This philosophy requires no muscular exertion, just a relaxed position. No exceptional physical strength is needed to have a good swing. This is not to say that many amateur golfers don’t put a lot of effort into their swing thinking that the harder they hit the ball the more success they are likely to have. Professionals know that this is not the key to success. There is nothing about the game of golf that requires tremendous physical strength. It is mentally taxing but that does not make it any more of a sport. Brain surgery and Astro physics are also mentally taxing but they are not considered sports.
What is a sport? According to Google “a sport is an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment”. Golf does not fit this definition very well. As I said in the previous paragraph, golf does not require any physical exertion. Golfers, even at a professional level, do not need to run or even walk to the next hole. They can use a golf cart driven by someone else and even have a cattie carrying their golf clubs. It does require a fair amount of skill, but you do not have to compete against another team as I will discuss in the next paragraph. Golf fits the definition of a game much better. A game, according to Google, “is a form of play or sport, especially a competitive one played according to rules and decided by skill, strength, or luck”. Golf, as I said, has a fair amount of skill which is required to be a game. Luck is obligatory in all games and sports to have success. It is necessary in a game to have a set of rules. Golf has its own set of rules. Comparing these two definition golf falls better into the category of a game rather than a sport.

One could argue that because golf is scored it should be considered a sport. Golf is not scored how sports are normally scored. It is scored by how many swings you take with your club, not by how many goals you score or runs you get. It focuses less on how many times you can get the ball into the hole but on how many strokes you take to get the ball there. The less you get the better. You could also argue that because golf is scored, even if it’s in a weird way, it still should count as a sport. Band contests are scored but they are not considered athletic events. Band is not a sport even though it is scored at competitions.

In the sport of Baseball there are teams. This is true for basketball, football, soccer, Ping-Pong and even badminton. Golf does not. Golfers are competing against the course not other people. When you play golf you cannot do anything to undermine the game of another player without cheating. There is no defense. You aren’t allowed to try and block the ball from going into the hole or tackle the other golfer. You are playing against how high the grass is or what type of club you’re using. There is competition between people but in a dumb luck kind of way. Golfers do not do anything to make other golfers miss the hole. It is luck or the course beating them or helping them to win. When playing golf you are not being tested on how fast you can block that ball or how fast you can run. You are being tested on your ability to judge and select the proper equipment to overcome the obstacles in front of you. In that way golf is much more like a math problem. In math one uses formulas or equations to solve a problem and get the answer. Math is not considered a sport.
There are other sports that are fairly similar to the indirect competitiveness of golf. Track is a sport that you are not directly able to impede the success of other competitors. You are, however, running against them and they are the obstacle that you need to overcome. It’s about how strong you are and how fast you can run. Not your problem solving capabilities. Runners are thinking, “There’s the finish line, run at it as fast as you can!” They are not competing to have the fewest amount of strides or the fewest number of breaths. Track is still a sport because you’re running and pushing your body to the very limits. This would also be the case for sports like skiing or marathon running.
Golf should not be considered a sport by the professional sporting communities. It does not fit the definition of a sport, requires no physical exertion, and has no defense. Golf has also not been in the Olympics since 1904. That means that it has been 110 years since golf has been considered a worthy enough sport to be included. Golf is a game and an enjoyable pastime. People can compete in games and still experience the thrill of victory without it being considered a sport. Riding around in a golf cart on a sunny summer day with good friends and family can be extremely enjoyable. Seeing how many strokes it takes for you to hit a ball into a hole can also be very fun. Golf is the best game you’ll ever have the pleasure to play.