Tiger Woods

[flambers]

Originally Posted by troutman

Yes. Some days. The further you go from the road, the better the fishing is. Some hikes up to a lake are steep climbs up a mountain.

You don't walk 15 km in 18 holes do you? Let' see, what is an average hole, 400 yards? That's about 7 km. Nice try.

If you look at last weeks event that Tiger Woods won. There were 64 players that started so he played 5 rounds in 5 days to get in the final pairing. Then they played 2 rounds on the last day. That would equal ~ 50,000 yards in 5 days (if he walked in a straight line). Which is around 50 KM I guess.

To stay at the top and be an dominate player like Woods this takes unbeliev-able skill IMO.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by fotze

Why do activities need to be classified into the sport or pastime? Isn't it more accurately represented as a spectrum between the two? Like the Y Axis is fitness level and the X-Axis is something such as skill with the z-axis as something else as I have not thought this through very far.

Golf would be closer to the pastime side than marathon running, but would require more skill than running. Darts would be zero on the fitness component but the hand eye skill department might be higher than truck-pulling.

Since there is no 100% acceptable definition of 'sport' no sport can be definitively called a sport.

That's probably the best way of putting it.

I still have a hard time calling baseball a sport, so just calling it baseball and moving on is probably the best approach.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by flambers

If you look at last weeks event that Tiger Woods won. There were 64 players that started so he played 5 rounds in 5 days to get in the final pairing. Then they played 2 rounds on the last day. That would equal ~ 50,000 yards in 5 days (if he walked in a straight line). Which is around 50 KM I guess.

To stay at the top and be an dominate player like Woods this takes unbeliev-able skill IMO.

And I don't think anyone doubts that. Tiger is the most dominate player in golf, probably ever. Even in the old days when many of the greats played, I doubt there was near as much competition.

But I still haven't heard a single thing that would differentiate golf from snooker.

I'm actually playing devil's advocate here - I feel that golf is a sport. Years ago I heard a radio sports reported arguing how golf was not a sport. My feeling was the same then as it is now, but I cannot figure out the criteria that classifies something to be a sport.

Not that it really matters, but it is an interesting debate.

[flambers]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

And I don't think anyone doubts that. Tiger is the most dominate player in golf, probably ever. Even in the old days when many of the greats played, I doubt there was near as much competition.

But I still haven't heard a single thing that would differentiate golf from snooker.

I'm actually playing devil's advocate here - I feel that golf is a sport. Years ago I heard a radio sports reported arguing how golf was not a sport. My feeling was the same then as it is now, but I cannot figure out the criteria that classifies something to be a sport.

Not that it really matters, but it is an interesting debate.

I find the arguement totally mind boggling that there are people out there that do not consider Golf a sport...

I guess for those folks pick up a club and try to master that game....

[troutman]

Originally Posted by flambers

I find the arguement totally mind boggling that there are people out there that do not consider Golf a sport...

I guess for those folks pick up a club and try to master that game....

. . . or a dart, or a bowling ball . . .

My conclusion - golf is a sport. It is at the lower end of "athletic". [the ESPN study had it 51st out of the 60 sports]

[flambers]

Originally Posted by troutman

. . . or a dart, or a bowling ball . . .

My conclusion - golf is a sport. It is at the lower end of "athletic". [the ESPN study had it 51st out of the 60 sports]

Wow.... I can only imagine what rated higher (i.e Darts or Bowling or Ball Room Dancing).

Personally I would rate Woods one of the top professional players in the world.... Yes compared to any sport...

[habernac]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

And I don't think anyone doubts that. Tiger is the most dominate player in golf, probably ever. Even in the old days when many of the greats played, I doubt there was near as much competition.

But I still haven't heard a single thing that would differentiate golf from snooker.

I'm actually playing devil's advocate here - I feel that golf is a sport. Years ago I heard a radio sports reported arguing how golf was not a sport. My feeling was the same then as it is now, but I cannot figure out the criteria that classifies something to be a sport.

Not that it really matters, but it is an interesting debate.

We have a 300+ pound guy on our pool team, he's an amazing player. Pretty sure he couldn't get through a single hole of golf without collapsing from exhaustion.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by habernac

We have a 300+ pound guy on our pool team, he's an amazing player. Pretty sure he couldn't get through a single hole of golf without collapsing from exhaustion.

But he isn't good because he is 300 lbs - that's incidental. It there any reason why there couldn't be a good overweight golfer?

Colin Montgomerie has had more than a few pounds on him and has been a world class player for a long time. When he lost weight his game actually went downhill. John Daly is strong but also has carried around more than a few extra pounds.

Do you really think you NEED to be in great shape to be a PGA golfer? I'm not saying it doesn't help to be in better shape when you are on the 18th (or 36th) hole, but they aren't carrying their own bags. I'm betting there are caddies in better shape than the golfer whose bag they are carrying.

Golfing is a skill/talent, but I don't think it REQUIRES the player to be in great shape. I think golf is more technique + skill + talent + mental ability. Physical fitness is down the scale on how much it contributes to making a player a great golfer.

[flambers]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Golfing is a skill/talent, but I don't think it REQUIRES the player to be in great shape. I think golf is more technique + skill + talent + mental ability. Physical fitness is down the scale on how much it contributes to making a player a great golfer.

I could say the same thing on lots and lots of sports...

For example; Baseball (i.e. David Wells) or Football (i.e. Fridge Perry).....

[OILFAN #81]

Easily the most dominant athlete in his sport today. The guy is phenomenal. To be consistently that good in a field of over 100 golfers at each tournament is amazing. Federer would be 2nd IMO in terms of dominating his sport.

[flambers]

Originally Posted by OILFAN #81

Easily the most dominant athlete in his sport today. The guy is phenomenal. To be consistently that good in a field of over 100 golfers at each tournament is amazing. Federer would be 2nd IMO in terms of dominating his sport.

I agree for sure...

[transplant99]

I have always found this "debate" amusing...

According to Websters Dictionary, the definition of a sport is:

sport /spɔrt, spoʊrt/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[spawrt, spohrt] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun 1. an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.

Using that as a basis, yes golf is most definately a sport.

I ask those who are detractors...

Are NASCAR drivers not athletes?

How about jockeys?

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by transplant99

I have always found this "debate" amusing...



Using that as a basis, yes golf is most definately a sport.

I ask those who are detractors...

Are NASCAR drivers not athletes?

How about jockeys?

The horse is an athlete, and I guess the car is too.

The driver/jockey is as much an athlete as a coach is.

[troutman]

noun 1. an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.

Yo! Send me to the Olympics.

[Sylvanfan]

To me golf is sport, but in terms of athleticism it would rate down on the list. Pretty much any sport has guys who aren't great athletes but have high skill levels that let them get by. I mean Angel Cabrera beat Tiger at the U.S. open last year while he was chain smoking. High skill level, good mental focus....the types of thing that sport requires, but not a whole lot of athleticism required. Although I think Tiger being a good athlete has allowed him be as consistantly good as he is. But really golf is a game where having the skills will always trump being athletic.

[You Need a Thneed]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Golfing is a skill/talent, but I don't think it REQUIRES the player to be in great shape. I think golf is more technique + skill + talent + mental ability. Physical fitness is down the scale on how much it contributes to making a player a great golfer.

Exactly. If Tiger Woods wants to become a better golfer, no amount of time spent in the gym strength training is going to make a significant difference to his ability to golf well. No, he'll go work on his swing and practice his putting. But strength training will help out the hockey, basketball, of football player.

Golf is very much like bowling, darts or billiards. Sure, it involves a little bit more exertion than those things, but lots of non-sports involve a lot of exertion, so that doesn't prove anything.

Originally Posted by Flambers

I could say the same thing on lots and lots of sports...

For example; Baseball (i.e. David Wells) or Football (i.e. Fridge Perry).....

I'll give you some Baseball players (like Wells), but football players, as big as they are, are some of the most athletic people around.

I have always found this "debate" amusing...


Quote:
According to Websters Dictionary, the definition of a sport is:

sport /spɔrt, spoʊrt/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[spawrt, spohrt] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun 1. an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.

Using that as a basis, yes golf is most definately a sport.

I ask those who are detractors...

Are NASCAR drivers not athletes?

How about jockeys?

Dictionary definitions of sport will usually open it up for lots of things, Simply because that's the way many people use it. That's fine, it's definately not wrong. I just like to have a stricter definition for a sport than most people do.

NASCAR drivers are not athletes, though they need to be very athletic to do their job. Auto racing is a weird entity. Drivers are glorified, though, who wins the race is not really who is the best driver, but who has the best car (probobly seen more fully in Formula One). The teams with the most money to do reasearch and development will almost always have the best car. Sure, it's a great competition, but the competition goes way beyond what happens on the track. I would go as far as to say that the track is really an insignificant part of the competition. Formula one racing has had many years where, if a certain teams' cars didn't crash, they were almost certainly going to place 1st and 2nd. They would have placed 1st and 2nd no matter which of the drivers was in that particular car.

Jockeys are not athletes, though they need to be very athletic to do their job. The horse is definately the athlete. The Jockey is more like the coach. I find it really wierd at the olympics for the equeatrian events when the jockeys win the medals - shouldn't the horse win the medals? They did all the work. At least, at actual horse racing events, it is the horse that gets all the attention.

That all being said, Tiger is undoubtedly the best golfer ever, and will almost certainly own every record by the time he's done. He would rank up near the top in a list of the most dominant "competitors" in their event, ever. What he does is often awe-inspiring, and I don't even really care for golf.

I'm by no means saying that golf is easy either. It is very difficult to master.

Baseball isn't really a sport either, by the way I like to define it, but it does involve some athletic elements, as well, same as golf.

If golf were changed so that the time it took you to play the course was taken into account -- then it would be a sport. A more interesting one, IMO.

[soulchoice]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

To me golf is sport, but in terms of athleticism it would rate down on the list. Pretty much any sport has guys who aren't great athletes but have high skill levels that let them get by. I mean Angel Cabrera beat Tiger at the U.S. open last year while he was chain smoking. High skill level, good mental focus....the types of thing that sport requires, but not a whole lot of athleticism required. Although I think Tiger being a good athlete has allowed him be as consistantly good as he is. But really golf is a game where having the skills will always trump being athletic.

Very well put. I agree, athleticisim is not a major need to be a great golfer. I have friends that play golf for a living and they are certainly not in shape nor athletic specimens. However, they are great golfers.

I would classify golf as a sport, yes, however on the lower end. Very similar to curling, with respect to actual athletic qualities(please dont start on the sweeping aspect, cause thats not talent). lol...

[Clever_Iggy]

Tiger birdies 18 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational to remain undefeated in 2008 after being down as many as 7 strokes earlier in the tournament.

I hope he stays hot throughout 2008 and takes the grand slam.

Unbelievable.

[atb]

That birdie on 18 was awesome

[Phaneuf_Rules]

Originally Posted by You Need a Thneed

Exactly. If Tiger Woods wants to become a better golfer, no amount of time spent in the gym strength training is going to make a significant difference to his ability to golf well. No, he'll go work on his swing and practice his putting. But strength training will help out the hockey, basketball, of football player.

Golf is very much like bowling, darts or billiards. Sure, it involves a little bit more exertion than those things, but lots of non-sports involve a lot of exertion, so that doesn't prove anything.

I'll give you some Baseball players (like Wells), but football players, as big as they are, are some of the most athletic people around.

Baseball isn't really a sport either, by the way I like to define it, but it does involve some athletic elements, as well, same as golf.

If golf were changed so that the time it took you to play the course was taken into account -- then it would be a sport. A more interesting one, IMO.

Tiger Woods would not be the amazing golfer he is if he was not in the physical condition he is in. His physical strength and endurance help him be the most dominant golfer of all time. Your right, if Tiger Woods wanted to be a better player he coulnt just hit the gym more often, because hes always there already! This is why hes so good at his sport. He dedicates life to it.