Comments

1. This is quite possibly one of the most idiotic articles Ive ever read. Undoubtably, Cedric Meyer is one of those pure athletes that tee’s it up and cheats his way to a smooth 120. All you have to do is ask some of the greatest atheletes of our time their opinion. Jordan, Wayne, etc. and you will undoubtably get the same answer. I leave you with one parting thought, have you ever seen the great athlete Charles Barkley play golf? Irest my case.

   Bogey | 2008-04-16 - 03:34:18 PM (CDT)

2. "Bottom line, golf is a skill that requires a minute amount of athleticism. Hand-eye coordination is minimal as the ball sits idle on a tee or in the grass."

   Are you kidding me? Hand-Eye Coordination is, by far, the most important thing in Golf. Where do you think the precision comes from? You’re reducing golfing down to the level of T-ball - if any 5 year old could just whack away, you’d see alot more 15 year old girl’s trying to teeing off against Tiger Woods.

   You obviously have never played this sport for yourself - get a t-time one day, and try it. I think you’ll be amazed at how pathetically bad you are for your first... 10 years playing the sport, and how many different ways you can screw up a golf swing and send the ball rolling between 6 inches and 40 feet, if you can even hit it to begin with.

   Matthew | 2008-04-16 - 04:06:59 PM (CDT)

3. Truly an inane article.

   You believe blood equates athleticism, when all it takes to bleed is get a cleat in one’s arm. How is that accomplished? By running straight and slipping. "Oh, my! Blood! He MUST be an athlete!" No. That’s more like a gladiator, or a sublimated desire to kill, as in football, into a sport.

   Consider the 350 yard drive, the 250 yard 2-iron from two foot rough with a 25 mph cross wind over water to a pin tucked on a ridge that leads to Lucifer’s dungeon. Cedric, you could hardly move the ball out of the rough in the first place. Tiger can put it within ten feet.

   The ’precision’ you lightly compliment is a sign of the utmost physical and bodily control man is capable of possessing. Golf is a nuanced and slow-paced game, but that does not mean its best players are not athletes.

   We could always talk about your physical health, typing away on a computer, disparaging the movers and shakers of the world, merely adding cellulite to your ass.

   Get a life.

   Jack | 2008-04-16 - 04:20:09 PM (CDT)

4. Bogey - there’s no way Jordan would admit that golfing is, excuse the pun, on par with basketball in terms of athleticism. It’s simply not true. A lot of people are bad at golf, but it’s not due to athleticism. The skill it takes to play at a high level is extremely difficult to acquire. But don’t confuse that with athleticism.

   Matthew - Hand eye coordination is minimal in comparison to other sports. Like I said, the ball sits idle while you swing. It’s not coming at 90 MPH, it’s not curving, nor do you have to worry about a 250lb linebacker lighting you up as you swing. I’ve played the game and it’s extremely difficult as I noted in the article. However, your flaws are due to your mechanics and skill, not your athleticism.

   Jack - I never equated needing blood to be a sport, but it was something I realized when doing this article. Tennis, Basketball, Soccer, Cycling, Boxing/UFC, any form of skating/skiing, and of course Football.

   CM | 2008-04-16 - 05:25:49 PM (CDT)

5. Yeah I don’t think the author of this article has the first idea of what golf entails. Tiger Woods is an athelete and probably the greatest our generation will ever see. The author sounds like he is quoting his grandfather’s memories of golf years long gone by. No matter, golf has survived throughout the years and will continue to survive long past the survival of this idiotic author.

   Wilson | 2008-04-16 - 05:54:27 PM (CDT)

6. Cedric Meyer is a tool.

   Jonathon | 2008-04-16 - 06:44:19 PM (CDT)

7. This is a deeply terrible article.

   I’d say more, but honestly, it’s not worth it. We seem to all be in agreement.

   Eamon | 2008-04-16 - 07:05:34 PM (CDT)

8. Truly ignorant. I have played all sports and golf is the most challenging mentally. Sure the baseball is moving, but they don’t have to play their foul balls where they lie. Walking a hilly course with your clubs and the torque on your hamstrings is tiring. Also, everybody uses the football analogy of the quarterback...undoubtedly great athletes, but what about the big lineman who just run into each other all day and can’t remember the snap count half the time? I have also seen many a pitcher or batter with quite the gut. Golf is about the proper sequencing of the body in the right order, tempo and force. It is about creativity of shots and different options. It isn’t just walk up and hit it...do you go low, high, spin in, fade it, draw it, etc. Why knock it? If you don’t like it, fine. Different strokes for different folks.

   Deej | 2008-04-16 - 08:03:45 PM (CDT)

9. Great Article!

   What a bunch of biased non-thinkers!

   What is athletic? and rate each 1-10 for golf. then 1-10 for Basketball. Or pick any sport and do the same. Be honest now...

   Golf Basketball
   Strength 2 7
   Speed 1 9
   Agilitiy 3 10
   Endurance 0 8
   Hand-Eye 7 8
   Foot-Eye 2 8
   Balance 8 10
   Concentration 10 8
   Strategy 6 8
   Team 0 10

   BTW: I don’t play basketball. I play a little Golf and a lot of Tennis. Played Baseball and wrestled in high school. And Jordan, Federer, Henry and Farve are many many times the athlete of Woods. He’s a helluva golfer though.

   Tom A. | 2008-04-16 - 08:19:05 PM (CDT)

10. Screw basketball. Sure Jordan...but how many play because they are tall and can barely tie their shoes? Pound for pound in difficulty is hockey. Anyone can walk or run, but throw in skating, the fastest pace of any game, the physical nature, stick-handling and the sort of top shape they need to be in. Of course, hockey players also make the best golfers, as do quarterbacks. Soccer also take far more skill than basketball. I would say Tiger Woods would be better at basketball, football or whatever than Jordan, Federer or Favre would be at golf. The problem here is that some people are cherry-picking athletic skills as if some are more important than others. They all make the athlete. Strength, speed, focus, clutch, coordination, etc. Jordan had four other guys helping him beat five others. Tiger has to beat over 120.

    Deej | 2008-04-16 - 09:23:55 PM (CDT)

11. No doubt Tiger is an athlete, but golfers in general are not successful because they are great athletes. Take out the #1 from several sports, golf, tennis, soccer, football, basketball and you will almost certainly find that #2 through 20 are still pretty good athletes. You take out Tiger from the equation and I have a hard time believing that the remaining golfers #2 through 20 would be considered great athletes.

    rhonin | 2008-04-16 - 09:39:42 PM (CDT)

12. This is a great article. Finally, someone comes out and has enough hutzpah to call a spade a spade. Golfers are not, by definition, athletes. As stated in Merriam- Webster, the definition of an athlete is someone who, "is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina." That definition clearly excludes golfers from being athletes as none of those traits are inherently necessary in golf. As stated by Cedric, that doesn’t mean a few golfers can’t be athletes, but most of them, by definition, are not.

    KC | 2008-04-17 - 02:56:01 AM (CDT)

13. Cedric, why dont you have a look at Tiger’s training regimen and then comment. 5:00 AM he runs 5 miles, then he spends 2 hours in the gym and then practices for three to four hours. Comparing your attempt at playing golf to playing at a high level is like comparing your fat ass shooting hoops with your buddies to the NBA finals. What a joke!

    Bogey | 2008-04-17 - 02:47:48 PM (CDT)

14. Bogey - Tiger is the exception, not the rule. I think everyone will agree that Tiger Woods is a legit athlete, but I think rhonin nailed it. Take out the top athlete in all the major sports and then compare next 10-20. Are you really going to say guys like Mantits Mickelson, Vijay, Goosen, etc are in anyway comparable to Chris Paul, Thierry Henry, Dwight Freeney, etc in terms of athleticism? I hope not...

    I never claimed to play at a high level. In fact, I said exactly the opposite:

    "I own a set of clubs, and when I play, I fail more times than not"

    And yes, I’m huge.

    CM | 2008-04-17 - 03:20:10 PM (CDT)

15. If i had to choose a sport to excel at, it would definitely be golf.
    Back to point in asking some of the top athletes of our time \\\"is golf a sport?\\\" I would confidently say that they would definitely agree. There was an interview with Brian Urlacher not so long ago and he was shown playing golf and quoted \\\"golf is a great sport...\\\" Michael Jordan has been quoted stating how much he loves the SPORT and how its a great GAME, numerous times. Now if anyone knows athleticism, its these guys and not Cedric or anyone else on this board. So lets go with the credible source instead of some no name that cant hit a golf ball to save his life. These guys call it a sport for a reason and its because it requires a certain amount of athleticism...It certainly requires a different type, but athleticism nonetheless...
    The golf swing involves moving your entire body...so if you were comparing this to pool or playing poker then are you playing golf with swaying your arms back and forth while looking at your opponent with a poker face?? I guess thats why you\\’re having such a tough time on the course. its okay, not everyone is made out to be a golfer...
    Endurance?? try playing 18 holes for four days straight and see how you do against a field of players who are working just as hard if not harder than you...
    I\\’ve played sports all my life and those that have know that golf requries athleticism.
    I guess its okay for some people to base their arguements off of a meriam webster dictionairy definition...i\\’m sure they know exactly what a sport is.
    OR, you can take it from a credible source (i.e Michael Jordan...who is actually a very good friend of Tiger Woods)
    Bottom-line: Cedric...why dont you come back and write your article when you\\’re at least a single handicap golfer and ask yourself again if it requires athleticism....

    chaz | 2008-05-19 - 08:44:03 PM (CDT)

16. "I never claimed to play at a high level. In fact, I said exactly the opposite:

    "I own a set of clubs, and when I play, I fail more times than not"

    And yes, I’m huge. "

    You can play any sport at a low level and it wont require athleticism...Cedric your arguement is flawed

    cc | 2008-05-19 - 08:49:27 PM (CDT)

17. I have a couple reasons that Golf requires you to be an Athlete. My first is that most people that play golf have played other sports most of them Football, Baseball or Basketball like myself. Tiger Woods could have been good at any sport he chose he proabobly could have been a pro in any sport he put as much work in that he did Golf but he choose golf and it was proabobly the one the smartest choice he could have ever made. Michael Jordan plays golf atleast once a week if not two times. He’s bad at it but he loves it because it takes skill and, Skill is most of the time related to athleticness.
    My second reason is that it requires more practice than any other sport it requires a training regiman that most sports wouldnt even dream of sure there are people like John Daly that hit the ball a mile but cant score to save their lives but then there are people like Phil Mickleson who spent all of his childhood perfecting his game mostly on the shortgame which I can promise you that will be your worst aspect of the game if you play.

    Eric | 2008-06-26 - 10:05:21 AM (CDT)

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