By Weston Kelly and Blake Kim
A popular activity for middle-aged dads, golf provides a relaxing way to end the day. But by no means should it be considered a sport. Sports take skill, athleticism, competition, and physical exertion. Golf only has one of those.
Hitting a 1.68-diameter ball into a 4.25 hole from over 300 feet away is no easy task. Not everybody has the skill to aim and hit the ball towards the hole, while also taking into account wind, slope, and even grass length. Only professionals have the ability to consistently control their shots, getting close-to-perfect swings on every round. Choosing the right club can be difficult with so much variation in the requirements to get the best possible swing. However, just because something requires skill does not make it a sport. Gardening, a labor-intensive activity that takes a certain talent in order to succeed, is not a sport. Although it does require extensive knowledge of plants and how they grow, the best conditions for them, and constant attention, gardening remains a hobby or job. In addition, board games – similar to golf – do qualify as games but definitely do not fall under the category of sports. You need to have well-crafted strategies as well as deep knowledge of the game in order to win, but not athleticism or physical exertion. Sounds similar to golf, right?
Despite the fact that the lower golf leagues require some physical exertion, the pro-level players easily drive from place to place on their motorized golf carts. They do not need the athleticism of a professional football player or long-distance runner, nor do they have it. Similarly, some argue that carrying a heavy golf bag requires decent strength, but once again, professional players have their own caddies to carry their bags; some caddies even offer advice for which clubs to use at different holes, which, to some extent, takes away from the technical and before-hand knowledge needed to play golf. Additionally, the average professional football player trains for 5-6 hours a day, meeting dietary restrictions, lifting weights, running, and practicing their physically demanding sport. Golf, on the other hand, calls for hitting small balls into holes, which does not have a challenging daily routine like football. The dictionary definition of a sport is “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment”. Golf might meet the requirement for the competition portion, but most definitely does not have the athleticism or physical prowess needed to identify as a true sport.
Westmont Golfers Diego Mantelli and Mason Vargas believe that golfing is most definitely a sport, requiring more skill than a “silly” sport like cross country. Though golf may be more technically demanding, cross country and other real sports require just as much, if not more, mental, physical, and competitive abilities. Both individuals, while very appreciated at Westmont High School, are completely and utterly wrong.
Of course, golf is a fun activity to do, having a high-skill floor and ceiling, but unfortunately does not meet the strict requirements of a real sport. To make our wonderful world sparkle with harmony, this misnomer of a ‘sport’ should be taken out of the Olympics, and cast down to the depths of hell. Golf deserves its recognition as a skillful activity, but it must stay as that: a hobby.