Who is the greatest?

[Ben_Itez]

I edited this in and cant be arsed repeating myself:

Already Woods has taken Golf to a new level....Federer for me has taken Tennis to a new level but not by such a big step up and Nadal has come along and arguably raised the bar again. No-one's going to come along in the next 10-15 years and consistently woop Tiger.

[Ben_Itez]

Now Federer has won the French on clay if he has a decent grass and hard court season he should reclaim number one.

Nadal needs to be careful or he'll burn out. His style will inevitably lead to consistent injuries and he must have been touring pretty much non-stop since he was 16 (maybe earlier).

With Federer's style there's no real reason why, if his desire remains, he couldnt continue at the very top for 3-4 more years and yet reach 20 Grand Slams.

[Neil Young]

...and after finally reading all the posts in this thread i can't believe SO many people think Golf isnt a proper sport

Why? The main argument that it is a sport seems to rest on the idea you have to walk - yes, walk - a whole five miles. Actually it's about four, a distance any ordinary, healthy person can walk in an hour and a quarter.

Of course it takes golfers longer to cover the distance not because they're all unfit - Woods certainly isn't now he has recovered from the sort of injury that seems very uncommon in golf - but because they have to stop about seventy times to hit a ball that is perfectly still.

If that's a proper sport, I'm a cat.

[Neil Young]

By the way, I have two sets of golf clubs for sale. Any offers?

[Joe King]

By the way, I have two sets of golf clubs for sale. Any offers?

I might take them - I'm going to swing some at some guy who lives near me. Can they catch fire, by any chance?

[Neil Young]

I might take them - I'm going to swing some at some guy who lives near me. Can they catch fire, by any chance?

I don't know. Why don't you buy them and find out?

[Ben_Itez]

What make are your clubs?

[Darkon]

I can't believe you are mentioning chess and golf in the same breath! Why stop at chess players? Why not bring in the world memory champion?

Chess is a game because you play it sitting down! You don't move. It isn't remotely physical. It's like Connect Four. You can drink pints while you play, as you can whilst playing darts, snooker etc.

Golf requires you to blast your way round a golf course of 5 miles and more. Anyone who's played 36 holes in a day will tell you how knackering it is.

Well I am playing the devils advocate a bit, of course I consider Golf to be more of a sport than Chess - just trying to say that the game/sports discussion is more than semantics really.

If game/sport is purely semantic as you argued, then Kasparov would properly be the greatest sportsman of all time, to take that argumentation to its furthest extend.

But as I have tried laying out earlier, I don't see Golf quite as being in the league of "proper" sports, as I don't see Darts, Bowling and billards as "proper" sports.

It is a hard game to master - no doubt, but so is snooker.

I just don't see the athletism or physical requirements are high enough to group it with tennis. You might change to poll to if he is better than Stephen Hendry

[Neil Young]

What make are your clubs?

Hmm, I say "sets" but actually I think they're half sets. One of them was a set but some clubs got nicked from work, many years ago.

I suggest they'd be OK for someone starting off. If anyone's interested PM me.

[Joe King]

I don't know. Why don't you buy them and find out?

Sounds like a scam.

[bobbyfallon]

Roger Federer on the account that when a man with the body shape below can be one of the best, it hardly counts as a real sport.

**** off

I voted for Fed because Golf isn't a sport

**** off

It's a walk in a park with a game of darts.

**** off

Woods has won 14 majors to Nicklaus' 18. He's way ahead at the top of the rankings, despite being out injured for ages.

He went to number one in the rankings in 97, less than a year after turning pro. It was the quickest ascent to the top in the history of the game. He's been number one, barring the two year 'slump' when he rebuilt his swing, ever since - 10 of the last 12 years.

Federer reached number 1 in 2004 and lost it in 2008. Four years of almost total dominance in tennis is an amazing feat, but IMO it still falls substantially short of Woods' phenomenal domination of all-comers for the large part of 12 years - with doubtless much more to come.

thats what were talking about.

woods is up there with the likes of ali. he has revolutionised the sport.

tiger woods is golf.

as for golf not being a sport or physically challenging why do the top players all spend min of two hours a day in the gym ?? is it cos they like having a six pack and nice big muscles ??

its hardly because you have to use approx 180 different muscles per golf swing swing ?? hardly anything to do with the stronger and more flexible the further you can hit the ball??

by hitting it further does it make the sport easier ?? course it does.

right yis ****ers - bring it on !!

as for sports that are not sports - well thats what rugby is for

[Neil Young]

How many muscles do you need to amble round a snooker table, lean over and play a shot?

Besides, Colin Montgomerie doesn't have 180 muscles (not including the jaw).

[red g]

IS golf a sport......

Not saying i agree, but this article was sent to me not long back......load of crap if you ask me


I'm at birthday party last weekend for my friend's 5-year old and his buddies find out I'm sports writer. Some nondescript LPGA championship is playing on the TV with no sound and one of the fathers tells to me how Lorena Ochoa ought to get more recognition. Another asks me if I think Tiger Woods will pass Jack Nicklaus' hallowed record of winning 18 professional majors - after all, Tiger's halfway there. So I jiggled the ice in my glass and offered a seasoned perspective: "Seriously guys, do you really consider golfers to be athletes?" I was friendless for the rest of the afternoon.

Are golfers athletes? Ichiro Suzuki, the fleet Seattle Mariners outfielder, commented on Tiger's Wood's athleticism last spring in USA Today: "Tiger is a great golfer, but ... when you say athlete, I think of Carl Lewis. When you talk about (golfers or race-car drivers), I don't want to see them run. It's the same if you were to meet a beautiful girl and go bowling. If she's an ugly bowler, you are going to be disappointed." I'll have to ponder the "ugly bowler" analogy a little longer but I think Ichiro raises a larger question: Is golf a sport?

Golf does not even rise to the level of "a good walk spoiled" because the primary action of walking is not required. So says PGA Tour v. Martin (2001) where the Supreme Court ordered the PGA to allow disabled golfer Casey Martin to use a golf cart in between holes rather than walk. The Court supported its decision by finding that whether a golfer walks between holes does not "fundamentally alter the nature" of the game. How can you call something a sport where being ambulatory is not a basic minimum physical requirement?

A "sport" requires athleticism. Athletes are people who demonstrate superior physical skill in the areas of strength, agility and stamina. Think of the mythological gods and heroes who personified the highest physical virtues: Hermes (speed), Hercules (strength), Aphrodite (stamina). There's got to be at least some running to call it a sport. I'd prefer some contact, too. But "no walking required"? You call that a sport?

Just because it's difficult doesn't mean it's a sport. Computer programming and brain surgery are difficult. They are not sports. Just because you compete doesn't make it a sport either. Pretzel vendors compete. Art galleries compete. Hell, a spelling bee is a competition. Golf is recreation--something to pass the time. It is no more a sport than marbles or cat's cradle.

That takes me to my final point: Golf is boring. You want to get a nap in on Sunday afternoon? Turn on golf. Looking for that TV show to help the kids get some shut-eye? Turn on golf. Do you want to see the least amount of physical prowess combined with the greatest dearth of raw emotion? Turn on golf.

Not long ago, I listened to a host on talk radio praise Hall of Fame play-by-play announcer Pat Sumerall for his ability to call any sport on television -- even golf. "Golf's easy," said Summerall. "Nothing happens."

That, my friends, says it all.

[wiw]

Sport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. Sports commonly refer to activities where the physical capabilities of the competitor are the sole or primary determinant of the outcome (winning or losing), but the term is also used to include activities such as mind sports (a common name for some card games and board games with little to no element of chance) and motor sports where mental acuity or equipment quality are major factors. Sport is commonly defined as an organized, competitive and skillful physical activity requiring commitment and fair play. Some view sports as differing from games based on the fact that there are usually higher levels of organization and profit (not always monetary) involved in sports. Accurate records are kept and updated for most sports at the highest levels, while failures and accomplishments are widely announced in sport news.

The term sports is sometimes extended to encompass all competitive activities in which offense and defense are played, regardless of the level of physical activity. Both games of skill and motor sport exhibit many of the characteristics of physical sports, such as skill, sportsmanship, and at the highest levels, even professional sponsorship associated with physical sports.

Sports that are subjectively judged are distinct from other judged activities such as beauty pageants and bodybuilding shows, because in the former the activity performed is the primary focus of evaluation, rather than the physical attributes of the contestant as in the latter (although "presentation" or "presence" may also be judged in both activities).

Sports are most often played just for fun or for the simple fact that people need exercise to stay in good physical condition.

[bobbyfallon]

IS golf a sport......

Not saying i agree, but this article was sent to me not long back......load of crap if you ask me


I'm at birthday party last weekend for my friend's 5-year old and his buddies find out I'm sports writer. Some nondescript LPGA championship is playing on the TV with no sound and one of the fathers tells to me how Lorena Ochoa ought to get more recognition. Another asks me if I think Tiger Woods will pass Jack Nicklaus' hallowed record of winning 18 professional majors - after all, Tiger's halfway there. So I jiggled the ice in my glass and offered a seasoned perspective: "Seriously guys, do you really consider golfers to be athletes?" I was friendless for the rest of the afternoon.

wrong

Are golfers athletes? Ichiro Suzuki, the fleet Seattle Mariners outfielder, commented on Tiger's Wood's athleticism last spring in USA Today: "Tiger is a great golfer, but ... when you say athlete, I think of Carl Lewis. When you talk about (golfers or race-car drivers), I don't want to see them run. It's the same if you were to meet a beautiful girl and go bowling. If she's an ugly bowler, you are going to be disappointed." I'll have to ponder the "ugly bowler" analogy a little longer but I think Ichiro raises a larger question: Is golf a sport?

Golf does not even rise to the level of "a good walk spoiled" because the primary action of walking is not required. So says PGA Tour v. Martin (2001) where the Supreme Court ordered the PGA to allow disabled golfer Casey Martin to use a golf cart in between holes rather than walk. The Court supported its decision by finding that whether a golfer walks between holes does not "fundamentally alter the nature" of the game. How can you call something a sport where being ambulatory is not a basic minimum physical requirement?

he can use a buggy all he wants, just not on the pga tour.

A "sport" requires athleticism. Athletes are people who demonstrate superior physical skill in the areas of strength, agility and stamina. Think of the mythological gods and heroes who personified the highest physical virtues: Hermes (speed), Hercules (strength), Aphrodite (stamina). There's got to be at least some running to call it a sport. I'd prefer some contact, too. But "no walking required"? You call that a sport?

in each round of golf you walk approx 5 miles in 5 hours or so and as ive said you use approx 180 different muscles in a single golf swing.

Just because it's difficult doesn't mean it's a sport. Computer programming and brain surgery are difficult. They are not sports. Just because you compete doesn't make it a sport either. Pretzel vendors compete. Art galleries compete. Hell, a spelling bee is a competition. Golf is recreation--something to pass the time. It is no more a sport than marbles or cat's cradle.

**** off

That takes me to my final point: Golf is boring. You want to get a nap in on Sunday afternoon? Turn on golf. Looking for that TV show to help the kids get some shut-eye? Turn on golf. Do you want to see the least amount of physical prowess combined with the greatest dearth of raw emotion? Turn on golf.

uneducated idiot - he should watch the ryder cup and tell me there is no emotion??

Not long ago, I listened to a host on talk radio praise Hall of Fame play-by-play announcer Pat Sumerall for his ability to call any sport on television -- even golf. "Golf's easy," said Summerall. "Nothing happens."

golf easy?? easy to commentate on you little fat cunt maybe - tell him to go take on woods for a few quid and lets see how he gets on.

That, my friends, says it all.

i know its not your opinion redg by the way