Originally Posted by
Hal...
Golf may or may not be a sport but golfers are not athletes. Hmmmmm.
First of all, to say golf isn't is a sport is to define the word "sport" too narrowly, which is a shortened form of "disport", an archaic word meaning "diversion from serious duties; relaxation, recreation; entertainment, amusement." And from that comes the second definition, "anything which affords diversion and entertainment; a pastime, game, sport." (both Oxford)
So what is "sport"? Oxford defines it as "an activity involving physical exertion and skill, esp. (particularly in modern use) one regulated by set rules or customs in which an individual or team competes against another or others."
By definition, golf is a sport because (a) physical exertion and skill are both required, (b) it is governed by a set of rules, and (c) individuals or teams compete against others.
So the question becomes, "is sport an athletic?" Oxford doesn't distinguish between the nouns "athletic" and "athletics" the latter of which is defined as "the practice of an activity requiring physical skill, strength, endurance, etc., often as part of a sporting competition. Now chiefly North American: physical sports and games of any kind."
So, a sport is an athletic. And by definition, an athlete is one who participates in athletics.
Thus, since golf is a sport and a sport is an athletic, a golfer is an athlete, especially considering golf requires physical skill (much more than any other sport, I would argue), (some) strength, and endurance.
The reason I say golf requires more skill than any other sport is because swinging a golf club properly is not a natural motion and it involves more than just your arms and shoulders. It also involves the hips, legs, back, neck, and wrists, which are all just as important. And if you took a person who had never participated in either baseball nor golf, and had them try to play golf, they'd swing the club with a more natural swing, like in baseball, and fail miserably in the process. It takes a lot of instruction and practice to swing a golf club properly.
And I would go so far as to say playing at the level where your handicap is 12 or less is one of the most difficult sporting challenges there is, forget about being a scratch golfer. At my best, I was a bogey golfer. My best round was an 80 but I never shot under 90 before or since.
I think you might be exaggerating here, a little. From what I recall, the only ranked golfer that had a beer gut was the Walrus, Craig Stadler. In their heydays, guys like Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack, Tom Watson, etc were all trim and in shape. Even Jack or Lee Trevino, who were more box shaped, weren't fat. When you walk 14+ miles in four days every weekend for 12 months, you tend to stay in shape. Although, it's true most golfers don't enter every tournament. Still, they put in a lot of miles. And due to golfers having longer drives in the 21st century, courses have increased their lengths; the average, now, is 7200 yards. Comparatively, the course I used to play on all the time, that was built in 1967, was almost 6300 yards from the amateur tees. The course from the pro tees was just under 6800 yards. A modern PGA course is like adding another par 4 to an older course.
If a golfer entered every tournament on the PGA tour, it would be like walking from New York to Chicago... or from Kalamazoo to Pawtucket Brewery in Rhode Island, if you were a character in Family Guy.
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