Golf, Rugby 7s and Karate recommended for 2016 Summer Games

[GirlySports]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...GT49QD9A270BO0

Golf would be fun. A Match-play and a Stroke Play tournament.
Or a two-man team tournament like the Golf World Cup.

Everyone wants to cash in on Tiger!

[Slava]

rugby 7's would be awesome! After watching some of the tae kwon do debacle last time around though that is the last thing we need.

[Kerplunk]

Rugby would be good to watch. Not sure how golf gets in over softball. Boooooringggg.

[transplant99]

Not sure how golf gets in over softball

WAYYY more countries have world class golfers than softball or baseball.

Its a no-brainer IMO.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by transplant99

WAYYY more countries have world class golfers than softball or baseball.

Its a no-brainer IMO.

Also, way more countries have golf courses or have need for golf courses once the Olympics would be over.

That was one of the problems with Baseball/softball, Athens had to build stadia that had no use after the Olympics, and no real conversion use either.

[edn88]

Looks like golf and rugby are accepted.

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/news-centr...tml?cid=rsstsn

Would be a good boost for golf, and I would love to watch this.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by edn88

Looks like golf and rugby are accepted.

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/news-centr...tml?cid=rsstsn

Would be a good boost for golf, and I would love to watch this.

Just a stroke play event? Would have like to have seen match play and/or a team event.

[CrusaderPi]

Originally Posted by transplant99

WAYYY more countries have world class golfers than softball or baseball.

Its a no-brainer IMO.

Waaaay more European countries have world class golfers then ball players

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Just a stroke play event? Would have like to have seen match play and/or a team event.

Absolutely. I can watch the best stroke play tournaments a half dozen times a year. Boring. What would be fun would be an individual golf medal and a team medal.

[metallicat]

Stroke play golf in the Olympics is the biggest no brainer in the history of no brainers. Really, why hasn't it been in yet?

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by oilers_fan

Stroke play golf in the Olympics is the biggest no brainer in the history of no brainers. Really, why hasn't it been in yet?

Probably because there was a time that there aren't enough countries playing it. Golf has been truly international for maybe 20-30 years?

And there was no Tiger Woods.

[HOOT]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

And there was no Tiger Woods.

The sad thing is in 2016 Tiger will be 42 and most likely not the same golfer. So hopefully the game can grow without him at the top of his game. Just look at ratings when he was injured.

[CGYNHL]

Golf actually was part of the Olympics in 1900 and 1904. Canadian golfer George Lyon won the Gold medal for Canada in the 1904 games!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golf_at...ummer_Olympics

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Why was Rugby 7's accepted and not regular Rugby?

[valo403]

Originally Posted by GreenTeaFrapp

Why was Rugby 7's accepted and not regular Rugby?

The full version of the game is dominated by 4-5 nations with a massive gap to the second and third tier nations. Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, England, France, and occasionally another European team kick the tar out of pretty much everyone else. Additionally, the 15 a side game is much more physical and doesn't really lend itself to a 2 week tournament. On top of all that there is already a 15 a side world cup that I doubt the IRB (International Rugby Board) wants to be diminished by olympic participation.

Sevens is a more evenly matched game and its tournaments are typically setup for brief periods. It also works to build the game without taking away from an established world cup without going to some sort of odd eligibility rules like soccer.

[JohnnyFlame]

Originally Posted by valo403

The full version of the game is dominated by 4-5 nations with a massive gap to the second and third tier nations. Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, England, France, and occasionally another European team kick the tar out of pretty much everyone else. Additionally, the 15 a side game is much more physical and doesn't really lend itself to a 2 week tournament. On top of all that there is already a 15 a side world cup that I doubt the IRB (International Rugby Board) wants to be diminished by olympic participation.

Sevens is a more evenly matched game and its tournaments are typically setup for brief periods. It also works to build the game without taking away from an established world cup without going to some sort of odd eligibility rules like soccer.

Plus at least Canada has some history of success at sevens. They have been in the top ten a few years in the IRB sevens. Recently not been very good but with some renewed emphasis can likely get back to at least being competitive.

[Zarathustra]

Rugby sevens is also way more fun to watch. When introducing a version of rugby to the world at the Olympics, sevens is the way to go.