Tom
Watson's unlikely renaissance at this year's Open Championship has helped to relight
the nearly extinguished embers heating the often revisited question of whether
or not golf should be considered a sport.
At
the most basic level, a dry and direct dictionary definition, sport is defined
as an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess, often of a
competitive nature. It should be clear to even the most biased of dimwitted
national columnists, like CBS Sports.com's Mike Freeman, who we'll get to
shortly, that golf does indeed fall in line with these simple yet substantive criteria.
Yet, the real debate is framed in the form of a comparison to sports that require a heavier dose of athletic ability as opposed to skill. Those who attempt to discredit golf's inclusion in the category of sport often point to the lack of raw, awe-inspiring and sometimes superhuman ability on display during golf tournaments.
Tiger Woods swing is powerful, but it's not viewed as being on the same level as a hit delivered by Ray Lewis or Rodney Harrison to an unsuspecting wide receiver who flashes across the middle of a football field.
Woods physique, as well as other golfers who have hit the gym with increased frequency in the past decade or so, is impressive, but it's nothing compared to that of Albert Pujols or Shaquille O'Neal, men who are athletic and physically imposing.
When all of the working parts of a golf swing come together in perfect harmony, balance and grace, it's a sight to behold, but to some it doesn't measure up to a pull-up jumper by Kobe Bryant on the fast break, or an over the shoulder basket catch by Randy Moss because those athletes are in full motion.
And it's not reenacted over and again during a short time span like the swings of Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer during the course of a single game of tennis.
In a recent column that lacked intelligence, dignity and any type of self restraint, Mike Freeman wrote on CBS Sports.com, "We should all be thankful for Watson. To you, he's a gentleman, good sport and inspirational story. To me, he's a chance to once again beat a drum I've been pounding for years: Golf isn't a sport. The amount of athleticism required to play golf is about the same as it is to be a good bowler.
"It says that golf isn't a sport, that's what it says."
To me, it affirms a belief that golf should be considered the most difficult professional sport to break into and master, and that even after more than 40 years of intense training, practice and high-pressure battles in front of thousands of fans, an eight-foot putt can turn a man with eight major championships to his credit into complete mush.
It may not be original to use these overused words, but it was the great Bobby Jones who said, "Competitive golf is played mainly on a five-and-a-half inch course...the space between your ears."
The uniqueness of golf can readily be used against it to discredit it as a sport. It's self-governed, there is no running or jumping, it's played outside in the elements, it's enjoyed by young and old and it requires more mental dexterity and patience than any other so-called sport. We play against par and ourselves, a pursuit most representative of the ordeal we call life.
Golfers practice their craft nearly as much as surgeons do and even after years of training, a swing can be lost and never regained in an instant. Children flock to places like Bradenton, Florida to learn under the likes of David Leadbetter in hopes of being one of the fortunate few to make it to the professional ranks. A successful player will need to understand a complex swing and all of its working parts, not to mention on-course management. While caddies do an ample amount of work, golfers are required to handle the elements, read greens, understand a variety of different playing surfaces and block out every outside distraction.
If I have the size, speed and strength necessary, I can walk onto a basketball court and quickly compete at a high level. Most of the "skills" required to play in the NBA are present at birth. Practice and work ethic determines who will be mediocre and who will be great. The learning curve in golf is much steeper.
NFL athletes are required to learn pages and pages of plays and schemes, but football boils down to the ability to run, tackle, throw and catch. Players like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have distinguished themselves as superior quarterbacks and thinkers, but the league also has the likes of Michael Vick who can outrun their inability to make good decisions in the pocket. Athleticism wins out in the end.
Once again, I'll refer to Freeman's wonderful column where he attempts to pin down the public's reasoning for accepting golf as a sport.
"The general sporting public has been blinded on this subject by a bunch of media hogwash. There's a significant reason why they've been suckered. Golf has been gifted an elevated status because of its aristocratic heritage and this country's wealthy elite (including some of us the media) help push the notion that golfers are athletes because it benefits the powerful. The sporting public then laps it all up because they're told to."
I would contend that the reason behind the public's acceptance of golf as a sport is experiment and understanding. If you've ever attempted to hit a golf ball or play a full 18 holes you realize just how difficult it is. Golf makes many a natural athlete look ridiculous in a way that swinging a bat, kicking a ball, catching a football or dribbling a basketball doesn't.
Many a half-time show at your local sports arena has featured a fan attempting a half-court of three-point shot in an effort to win a trip to the Cayman Islands, a free pizza from Dominos or help with a semester's tuition, but you never see a fan being trotted onto the golf course to attempt sticking a 4-iron within 20 feet from 180 yards.
I remember a college professor of mine making the simple yet quite profound statement as to why English is so prevalent worldwide. It's the easiest language to speak poorly he said. I think we all consider sports like baseball, basketball and football to be superior to golf, but ask yourself which one of the four you'd look most ridiculous doing with a minimal amount of training. I bet your answer would be golf.
There are financial barrier to the game, such as private instruction, equipment and greens fees, so in that way it does lend itself toward a more affluent make-up. And unless you're playing some type of speed golf, there will be no running, jumping or tackling, so shocking "athleticism" doesn't really come into play.
But at its core, golf demands superior skill (both mental and physical) and requires a certain degree of athletic activity. Justifying that golf isn't a sport on the basis of Larry Bird's inability to come out of retirement and check LeBron James doesn't fly with me.
And when this argument crops up again, because it will, please do me a favor and YouTube Charles Barkley's basketball highlights and then check out his golf swing.