Boo, Tiger!

[chippa13 1844]

Chippa,

Your point about the economy is a good one, but is not necessarily responsive. Hockey is equally if not more expensive than golf. Yet it is growing on the amateur and pro level. Golf is on the decline on both levels. In light of those trends, it is hard to argue that Tiger has somehow done more for his sport than any hockey player--and that is the statement I was addressing.

Sports versus games: I start with the premise that any activity that John Daly or C.C. Sabbathia or David Wells can perform at a truly exceptional level can't be a sport. It is a game. For me, a sport must require high degrees of strength, agility, endurance, and dexterity. Sports usually also require high degrees of rapid cognition, whether in the form of reacting to plays or anticipating plays, but not always, such as in pure endurance sports like marathon running. I say that rules out golf, baseball, and driving a car in circles over and over again. I'm open to an argument that sports include other types of car racing, but am not sure. Of course, it's impossible to come up with a perfect definition, but the one above works pretty well for me.

Tiger has had a huge impact on the sport, possibly the biggest of any athlete since what Orr did for hockey in New England. One thing folks have to consider, there are plenty of golfers out there who aren't registered members of a league and don't log their rounds to get a handicap. I'm one of them, like my wife, my best friend, his wife, our other friends, etc......etc.....

Not to mention, the folks who rule out golf and baseball as sports have never played them seriously over an amount of time. Ask Jason Varitek if baseball takes endurance.

[heatley015 0]

Tiger Woods certainly is a fine golfer. The problem I have is that it's simply silly to compare a golfer to an athlete, any golfer for that matter.

You don't play golf, do you?

If golfers aren't athelets, then neither are major league pitchers or race car drivers. All three require ridiculous co-ordination and skill, but perhaps not the traditional 'athletic' aspects of being able to run fast, jump high, or be physically strong.

I play golf, and consider it an activity rather than a sport.

I'm with you, I play for fun, but golf is most certainly a sport. There are also people who consider hockey an activity, but it is most certainly a sport as well...

Personally, I don't really care what Tiger has to say. I respect him, he is a great athlete and has really good influences on kids like myself(16 yr.)Tiger along with other big time names such as Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh etc. are a big reason why I began playing golf. But, if Tiger doesnt like hockey, who cares? It is his opinion. He didn't say anything offensive about the sport or the people who play it.

[gxc999 7]

Golf is IMO, far easier than hockey. In 3 months of golf, I gained 40+ yards driving distance and shaved a crapton of strokes off. In 3 months of hockey, I went from awful to 2% less awful.

If you want to compare golf to hockey, require them to play golf in ice skates.

[FCHC53 0]

Tiger Woods certainly is a fine golfer. The problem I have is that it's simply silly to compare a golfer to an athlete, any golfer for that matter.

You don't play golf, do you?

If golfers aren't athelets, then neither are major league pitchers or race car drivers. All three require ridiculous co-ordination and skill, but perhaps not the traditional 'athletic' aspects of being able to run fast, jump high, or be physically strong.

I play about twice a week and like to hit the driving range once a week. Golf is a fun game and I'm not saying it's an easy thing to do. But it's not a sport, it's a game. It's takes a lot of skill to bowl a 250 point game, but bowling isn't a sport either. I'd also agree that race car driving isn't a sport in the traditional sense of the word.

Chippa,

Your point about the economy is a good one, but is not necessarily responsive. Hockey is equally if not more expensive then golf. Yet it is growing on the amateur and pro level. Golf is on the decline on both levels. In light of those trends, it is hard to argue that Tiger has somehow done more for his sport than any hockey player--and that is the statement I was addressing.

Sports versus games: I start with the premise that any activity that John Daly or C.C. Sabbathia or David Wells can perform at a truly exceptional level can't be a sport. It is a game. For me, a sport must require high degrees of strength, agility, endurance, and dexterity. Sports usually also require high degrees of rapid cognition, whether in the form of reacting to plays or anticipating plays, but not always, such as in pure endurance sports like marathon running. I say that rules out golf, baseball, and driving a car in circles over and over again. I'm open to an argument that sports include other types of car racing, but am not sure. Of course, it's impossible to come up with a perfect definition, but the one above works pretty well for me.

That is obviously your opinion of a sport, but 99% of the educated population would disagree with you, especially on Baseball.

Here is the definition of the word sport:

Main Entry: sport

Function: noun

Date: 15th century 1 a: a source of diversion : recreation b: sexual play c (1): physical activity engaged in for pleasure (2): a particular activity (as an athletic game) so engaged in

Here is the definition of the word athlete:

Main Entry: ath·lete

Pronunciation: \ˈath-ˌlēt, ÷ˈa-thə-ˌlēt\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Latin athleta, from Greek athlētēs, from athlein to contend for a prize, from athlon prize, contest

Date: 15th century

: a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina

By definition, which is how the educated world derives meanings from words, Golf, Baseball, and Race car driving are all indeed sports.

Also, by definition, John Daly or C.C. Sabbathia or David Wells are all athletes. An athelete needs to participate in sports that require strength, agility, or stamina. The operative word is OR. all are not required, nor does it specify any threshold of competence.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but perhaps you need to come up with a new word to describe your particular views of these sports and athletes.

Tiger Woods certainly is a fine golfer. The problem I have is that it's simply silly to compare a golfer to an athlete, any golfer for that matter.

You don't play golf, do you?

If golfers aren't athelets, then neither are major league pitchers or race car drivers. All three require ridiculous co-ordination and skill, but perhaps not the traditional 'athletic' aspects of being able to run fast, jump high, or be physically strong.

I play golf, and consider it an activity rather than a sport.

You would be wrong then, but one is always free to be wrong, right? :)

Actually, usage defines lingustics, not the other way around.

[eric42434224 1]

Golf is IMO, far easier than hockey. In 3 months of golf, I gained 40+ yards driving distance and shaved a crapton of strokes off. In 3 months of hockey, I went from awful to 2% less awful.

If you want to compare golf to hockey, require them to play golf in ice skates.

LOL, that is just funny! That only means you suck at hockey!

Also, if youre making golfers use skates, then make the net as big as a golf hole. OK, now a fair comparison.

LOL

Some of these posts are so ignorant it is making me chuckle. I am high though.

[Doctor Hook 0]

I never liked that dude and golf fans who jock him probably also think Nickelback is heavy.

[LegoDoom 0]

Golf is IMO, far easier than hockey. In 3 months of golf, I gained 40+ yards driving distance and shaved a crapton of strokes off. In 3 months of hockey, I went from awful to 2% less awful.

40 yards is what... a 20% increase at most? Are you saying that after 3 months of practice, you couldn't add 10 mph on your slapshot? (assuming you're as experienced in hockey as you are in golf when starting the 3 months).

Also, just because you're better at golf than hockey doesn't mean golf isn't a sport. I'm better at basketball and am a hell of a lot better a volleyball player than I am a hockey player. Does that mean those aren't sports, either?

[Tailboard Jockey 25]

Any game that has a chick in a golf cart driving around and selling beer to you for you to drink, while you're playing, shouldn't be considered a sport. Same thing goes for bowling.

[fatwabbit 93]

sticks and stones... let him say what he wants. At the end of the day, is it going to affect your desire to play?

Build a bridge guys...

[AWE46M3 0]

Golf is IMO, far easier than hockey. In 3 months of golf, I gained 40+ yards driving distance and shaved a crapton of strokes off. In 3 months of hockey, I went from awful to 2% less awful.

If you want to compare golf to hockey, require them to play golf in ice skates.

LOL, that is just funny! That only means you suck at hockey!

Also, if youre making golfers use skates, then make the net as big as a golf hole. OK, now a fair comparison.

LOL

Some of these posts are so ignorant it is making me chuckle. I am high though.

Well if you want to go that route hockey should all be played outdoors and on occasion in 40+ mph winds, 100+ degrees of heat, in the rain, and the ice surface should not be flat... haha

[gxc999 7]

Golf is IMO, far easier than hockey. In 3 months of golf, I gained 40+ yards driving distance and shaved a crapton of strokes off. In 3 months of hockey, I went from awful to 2% less awful.

If you want to compare golf to hockey, require them to play golf in ice skates.

LOL, that is just funny! That only means you suck at hockey!

Also, if youre making golfers use skates, then make the net as big as a golf hole. OK, now a fair comparison.

LOL

Some of these posts are so ignorant it is making me chuckle. I am high though.

Hey pothead, put down the bong and get over here. Don't worry, I won't break your jaw... Okay, so it was hyperbole. I improved a bit more than 2 percent, but felt like my golf improvement was quicker. Hockey is a very multifaceted game, skating, shooting, stick handling, defense, playing in front of the net etc, while golf is only 2 skills repeated indefinitely, ball striking and putting.

Take any beginner in both sports, and see which sport takes longer to truly improve in, is more physically demanding, and isn't exceptionally lame. BTW, I've played rounds of golf and hockey. If you can't figure out which is tougher, you're f'ing braindead.

[NuggyBuggy 0]

Golf is IMO, far easier than hockey. In 3 months of golf, I gained 40+ yards driving distance and shaved a crapton of strokes off. In 3 months of hockey, I went from awful to 2% less awful.

First tell us what you were driving to start with. If you start out driving say 100 yards, you could probably add 50 yards on that in one lesson, but that distance gets progressively and probably exponentially harder to attain. If you started driving 250 yards I'd be impressed, and if after 3 months you added a consistent, straight, 40 yards, I'd be moderately impressed.

In 2007 the highest driving average was 315 yards, and that is for players who probably hit hundreds of balls every single day. There are lots of people who can hit a ball longer than that, but obviously most not with the accuracy and consistency required to play on the tour.

Hitting a golf ball in the variety of ways needed to play a mediocre round of golf is incredibly hard, something which I bet any pro hockey player who plays golf (and there are a lot of them) would tell you. I'd bet that most of them would tell you that golf is a sport, and I'd even bet you that a few of them would say golf is a harder sport to play than hockey. Michael Jordan is arguably one of the greatest athletes to ever live, and didn't he try (and fail) to make the PGA tour ?

Take any beginner in both sports, and see which sport takes longer to truly improve in

In my experience, most people who take up hockey as adults show huge, dramatic improvements in the first few months of hitting the ice, going from not knowing how to stand on skates, to skating backwards and doing crossovers. The improvements are much slower to come in golf. Everyone can hit a ball when they start, but they can always hit it longer and straighter, and there are a huge variety of shots to learn.

If after 3 months of starting hockey as a beginner you hadn't gotten significantly better, unless you were a kid I'd say you should look for a different sport.

[eric42434224 1]

Golf is IMO, far easier than hockey. In 3 months of golf, I gained 40+ yards driving distance and shaved a crapton of strokes off. In 3 months of hockey, I went from awful to 2% less awful.

If you want to compare golf to hockey, require them to play golf in ice skates.

LOL, that is just funny! That only means you suck at hockey!

Also, if youre making golfers use skates, then make the net as big as a golf hole. OK, now a fair comparison.

LOL

Some of these posts are so ignorant it is making me chuckle. I am high though.

Hey pothead, put down the bong and get over here. Don't worry, I won't break your jaw... Okay, so it was hyperbole. I improved a bit more than 2 percent, but felt like my golf improvement was quicker. Hockey is a very multifaceted game, skating, shooting, stick handling, defense, playing in front of the net etc, while golf is only 2 skills repeated indefinitely, ball striking and putting.

Take any beginner in both sports, and see which sport takes longer to truly improve in, is more physically demanding, and isn't exceptionally lame. BTW, I've played rounds of golf and hockey. If you can't figure out which is tougher, you're f'ing braindead.

LOL. You're funny.....and not in a good way.

Name calling (why call me a pothead?....did I say pot?) thinly veiled threats of physical violence (on an internet message board..ROTFLMAO)

Comparing the two sports apples to apples is impossible, pointless, and stupid. Especially when trying to point out how one is "tougher". One would say that hockey can be physically tougher, and they would be correct, and one can also say that Golf can be mentally "tougher", and they would be correct too. If you dont know what Tiger does to prepare and train, and what pressure one has when one is the only person out there compared to a team, then you should really look into reading about what he does. It is insane.

Saying hockey is multi-faceted is true, but to say that golf only requires two skill only shows your ignorance. You obviously do not know that much about golf to say it needs two skills. That is like someone saying hockey requires two skills....skating and shooting. Please stop posting if you cant think critically and truly examine the subject you are debating.

Saying Hockey takes loger to improve in is completely biased to your own personal experience. Golf to me is SO hard, and I find it harder than Hockey. Not physically exhausting, but tougher mentally. The skills required in golf are just as difficult, just different. and when you call the sport "lame", it only shows that you cant be truly impartial, with your participation in the debate as it is colored by your distaste for one of the sports.

You realy aren't adding much of value to the discussion.

JMHO

[mrusse01 0]

This is a terrible thread.

Golf is a sport, period. If you choose not to acknowledge the common definition of a word, that's fantastic, but it's pointless to argue about it. I could sit here all day and say chicken doesn't count as meat, just because I think all meat should be red. According to a dictionary I'd be wrong, but according to my own personal usage, I'd be right.

The argument about which sport is harder is even dumber than arguing about the defintion of words. How do you measure performance between an individual sport and a team sport? It doesn't make sense to compare the two.

[eric42434224 1]

This is a terrible thread.

Golf is a sport, period. If you choose not to acknowledge the common definition of a word, that's fantastic, but it's pointless to argue about it. I could sit here all day and say chicken doesn't count as meat, just because I think all meat should be red. According to a dictionary I'd be wrong, but according to my own personal usage, I'd be right.

The argument about which sport is harder is even dumber than arguing about the defintion of words. How do you measure performance between an individual sport and a team sport? It doesn't make sense to compare the two.

AMEN!

[gxc999 7]

Back on topic, Tiger Woods sucks. I pushed my driving average from 175+ to about 210. I improved significantly just by playing twice a week. Golf might be a fun activity but anything you can do while drinking a beer is not a sport.