Only a Club-Breaking Cheater calls Golf a Sport!

Throughout the year, we bloggers at Golfstinks like to poll our valued readers on all things golf. In 2010, we received some interesting poll results and this past year was no different.

We conducted several polls in 2011, and below we highlight the results of five of them. What have we learned? Well, that golfers are drinkers and club-breakers and cheaters, of course!

Let's begin in October, when we asked how you cheat at golf. Mind you, we already knew you were a cheater...we just wanted to know how. Are you a rule-bender or a rule-breaker? Turns out 78% of the 37 respondents are rule-benders (golfers who will take the occasional Mulligan or gimmie putt, etc.). Just 8% of you were rule-breakers (golfers who will kick their ball to a better lie or conveniently forget to take a stroke when the situation warrants it). Which leaves 13% of you as liars - or those who claim to neither bend nor break the rules.

Back in February, we wanted to know if you've ever broken a club in anger. Well, the majority (62%) of you haven't. But of the 48 golfers who took this poll, 29% said they've broken a club in anger once. Interestingly, 8% admit to being an "occasional" club-breaker. We wish we were a little more specific in this poll answer (e.g. what does "occasional" mean)? Either way, golfers beware: Club-breakers are out there, so don't let them get their hands on your new Callaway!

In September, we asked the age-old question; Is golf a sport? We received some interesting comments both for and against it being a sport (many see it as just a "game"). But the poll results were not as split. Of the 51 respondents, 62% said yes, golf is indeed a sport; while 37% said no it wasn't. There's still time to vote is this poll - so feel free to add your 2 cents!

In another February poll, we wanted to know how often you visited the 19-hole after your round. Well, according this this poll (and its 59 respondents), it seems about a third of the golfers out there typically belly-up to the bar after nearly every round. What's interesting is that another third typically skip the 19th-hole altogether and head home. And what about the final third? Well, for them it depends - about half the time they'll head in for a drink or some food, while the other half of the time they'll just hit the road. Ah the lonely life of a 19th-hole bar tender...

Our final 2011 poll is from June, when we wanted to know if golf daily deal sites were putting traditional golf merchants out of business. Well, 47% (out of the 69 respondents) answered in the negative, while just 26% said "yes" - golf daily deal sites were indeed killing traditional golf businesses. What made this poll interesting though was that 26% also said it was "too early to tell" if golf deal sites were bad for traditional establishments. Thus there seems to be some concern about these daily deal sites and their potential impact within the golf world - which may not bode too well for an already struggling industry.

So, all you club-breaking cheaters who call golf a sport - Keep an eye out for more interesting golf polls from Golfstinks in 2012!

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You Beer-Drinking, Cigar-Smoking, Club-Throwing, Late-Arriving, Sorry Excuse for a Golfer!

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POLL: Is Golf a Sport?

The dictionary defines "sport" as: "an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment." The dictionary defines "golf" as: "a game played on a large open-air course, in which..."

Notice I stopped in the middle of golf's definition. Some will tell you there's no need to read any further - that my question (is golf a sport) has been answered. Right there, after the indefinite article "a" is my answer - it's the word "game" and that, they will tell me, is what golf is.

Well, I beg to differ.

You see to many, golf couldn't possibly be a sport...Where's the physical contact? Where's the offense and defense? And, perhaps the most commonly cited reason why golf is not a sport: You can be out of shape yet still play it. There you have it - apparently to play a sport, you must be physically fit.

Again, I beg to differ.

Let's examine the definition of "sport" a bit further. The dictionary uses the phrase "an activity" to describe it. To be sure, golf is also an activity, isn't it? And it does involve a fair degree of "physical exertion and skill" does it not? And would I be incorrect to suggest you play golf as an "individual or team" and you compete "against another or others for entertainment"???

Hmmm, that sounds exactly like what golf is to me. It doesn't say anything about having to be in shape. And it says nothing about bashing each other's brains in let alone an offense and defense.

This all being said, could it be that society has come to think of sports as all physical exertion and little skill? As if machismo is the only requirement - that the physical exertion part has to include some sort of impact with another player. Perhaps this is why so many are quick to exclude golf from the "sport" bucket? Golf to these folks is far too benign to be a sport.

But in my opinion, golf transcends the term "sport" and the term "game" - it meets all the defined criteria of a sport, yet includes no physical contact with other players (actually, it's quite the opposite: It encourages camaraderie with your fellow competitors)! It requires minimal physical fitness, yet can be extremely good exercise. And it's competitive as hell (ask any golfer), yet can be enjoyed solo.

But, perhaps I'm putting too much thought into this. What do you think?

Is Golf a Sport?

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