Golf, a well-known sport that millions of Americans watch as a pastime. Despite its growing popularity, many people still argue as to whether or not golf should be considered a sport. Dictionary.com defines a sport as “an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature,” while the “Merriam-Webster dictionary defines [a] sport as [a] physical activity engaged in for pleasure”(ProCon.org). Many argue that golf doesn’t fit all of these criteria and I find myself agreeing more with that side. To me, golf is boring and doesn’t require much skill or athleticism. Golf is not a sport, but rather more akin to a hobby or game that many people can enjoy.
Golf is infamous for being one of the most slow-paced and unexciting sports due to its length and how uninteresting it can be.
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Not much skill is required for golf either. As Jerry Barber said, “The more I practice, the luckier I get”(ProCon.org). From hoping you don’t hit a crocodile to avoiding a sand pit, golf is more reliant on luck than skill. There are tons of variables that can contribute to a bad swing. If the grass isn’t cut all the way, someone could mess up their swing entirely and have their ball land in water or knee-length grass. Overall, there is not much room for strategizing and planning when it comes to golf.
One doesn’t even need much physical prowess so long as they can swing a club. In fact, the most physically demanding part of golf is walking and carrying clubs, which burns “360 calories per hour” which pales in comparison to soccer which burns “900 calories [per hour]”(ProCon.org). Golfers are even allowed to play while injured or disabled, like when “Tiger Woods won the U.S. Open despite playing with his left knee missing an ACL and two stress fractures in his left tibia”(ProCon.org). An injury of this caliber wouldn’t allow anyone to play in any other sport, but golf is so low intensity, that someone can play while barely being able to stand