Golfers - Athletes?

[NDOM]

Golf sucks and they are not athletes. All you have to do is practice a little bit and anyone can play golf. I dont even call golf a sport. Its so boring and a waste of time to watch. You dont have to have a spec of athletic ability whatsoever to play the stupid game. Look at Craig Stadler and Jon Daly for crying out loud. You call them athletes???? Waste of time. Just my opinion.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by NDOM

Golf sucks and they are not athletes. All you have to do is practice a little bit and anyone can play golf. I dont even call golf a sport. Its so boring and a waste of time to watch. You dont have to have a spec of athletic ability whatsoever to play the stupid game. Look at Craig Stadler and Jon Daly for crying out loud. You call them athletes???? Waste of time. Just my opinion.

do you mean anyone can play golf professionally? because with a little practice, anyone can play any sport. going out and playing football with your boys is easier than going out and playing a round in my opinion. and guys like gilbert brown are considered athletes when all he is is fat and has to make sure nobody can move him. david wells is considered an athlete.

[SouthernIrish]

i saw an article once that listed the 10 components of athletics, made up by sports scientists from the USOC. Some of the 10 were endurance, speed, strength, agility, flexibility, hand-eye coordination, nerve etc. Can't remember the rest. Golfers ranked way at the bottom of their list, with table tennis.

Golfers have one or two athletic movements that rely heavily on a few of the components, but not most of them the way a basketball player does. I think that the mental part of athletics is more important in golf than the physical and that is why some don't see them as athletes.

So I would say they are athletes but not in the traditional sense. You can be a good golfer for a very long time. Tiger played for how many years with a messed up knee? You can't do that in the basketball, football, soccer, hockey, baseball etc.

Remember the John Kruk quote, when asked why he, as a professional athlete, was smoking and he said "I'm not an athlete, I'm a baseball player"

so there you go...

[Steve]

poll added

[Junkhead]

Originally Posted by NDOM

Golf sucks and they are not athletes. All you have to do is practice a little bit and anyone can play golf. I dont even call golf a sport. Its so boring and a waste of time to watch. You dont have to have a spec of athletic ability whatsoever to play the stupid game. Look at Craig Stadler and Jon Daly for crying out loud. You call them athletes???? Waste of time. Just my opinion.

Tell us how you really feel.

[SoCalDomer]

Originally Posted by NDOM

Golf sucks and they are not athletes. All you have to do is practice a little bit and anyone can play golf. I dont even call golf a sport. Its so boring and a waste of time to watch. You dont have to have a spec of athletic ability whatsoever to play the stupid game. Look at Craig Stadler and Jon Daly for crying out loud. You call them athletes???? Waste of time. Just my opinion.

all you need is a little bit of practice and anyone can play football, baseball, basketball, tennis, hockey, if you're talking about sports at the recreational level. if you're talking about golf at the professional level, and you claim all it requires is a little bit of practice, then i look forward to seeing you on the tour soon.

but that's not the point. the original question was are professional golfers athletic.

Daly no doubt wastes alot of talent, and no one would call him an athlete. But also note that he's not really competing with the top players on any regular basis. one or two examples does not make a general rule.

so I say that in order to be atop the leader board in professional golf on a regular basis, you do need to be an athlete.

[SoCalDomer]

Originally Posted by SouthernIrish

Golfers have one or two athletic movements that rely heavily on a few of the components, but not most of them the way a basketball player does. I think that the mental part of athletics is more important in golf than the physical and that is why some don't see them as athletes.

So I would say they are athletes but not in the traditional sense. You can be a good golfer for a very long time. Tiger played for how many years with a messed up knee? You can't do that in the basketball, football, soccer, hockey, baseball etc.

that is probably true that they are not athletic in the same sense as the other major sports; but that doesn't mean golfers aren't athletes.

it's true that there is a mental component to the game, but it is by no means the only thing a player needs to win. muscle memory, which is a physical skill, is by far the most important aspect. you can have the toughest mental focus but if you can't get your body to swing the same way every time, you won't hit the shots right.

just look at "athletes" who go out and play golf. If other professional players are true "athletes" and golf does not require athleticism, then these other professional "athletes" should be excellent golfers. Has anyone ever seen Charles Barkley swing a golf club? How well does Michael Jordan do during those pro-ams?