Jump to content
Washington Football Team Logo
Extremeskins

Michelle Wie proves golfers aren't athletes.


endzone_dave

Recommended Posts

Originally posted by Dexter's Better

Seriously.. Have you seen her swing? IT's amazing -- IF guys like Erine Els are raving about it -- its no shame losing to her.

And you obviously think its easy to pick a club up and go play golf.. IF you think so -- grab your bag - name the place.. and we can play for some real cash...

I never said golf was easy. Bowling a 300 isn't easy. Running the table playing 9 ball isn't easy. Neither is throwing 3 triple 20's in darts. The people who can do these aren't athletes though.

Take the best 14 year old girl baseball player and stick her on the Detroit Tigers. Do you think she'd hold her own?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Golf is not athletic. It does require SKILL but skill is something you can train and improve to varying degrees. I consider golf more like playing a stringed instrument. It's hard, and some may have a bit more natural ability than others due to flexibility in the fingers or wrists or hips or whatever, but, it's something ANYONE can acquire with enough patience and practice.

A true sport like basketball and baseball and football is entirely different. You need more than just repetitions to get better. You need certain athletic blessings. But, ED is right. Any sport where a professional male can be beaten by a 14-year-old girl is embarrassing. That said, you can take track and field as a sport where the BEST women can defeat 99.9999 percent of all men in the world.

Meanwhile, basketball is not a sport where the best women can even be competitive with an average high school boys team. So, simply having a sport -- tennis for example which is athletic and where women and even young girls can beat the majority of men -- where women are moderately competitive against men isn't the sole point upon which you should judge.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree with Mark P to a certain degree. I was able to hit a 90 plus MPH fastball yet hitting a stationary golfball with consistancy and accuracy is more difficult and frustrating. I played for the golf team in highschool too.. I've been able to shoot in the 80's at times. But like Mark said, walking 18 holes AND competing against others is pretty tough.

I think where the confusion is deals in the fact that most people want to equate an athlete with strength and speed. Is a MLB Pitcher an athlete? Most people would say so, but who's in better shape, Tiger Woods or David Wells? Just because golf doesn't have people running at high speeds doesn't mean that these folks are not athletes.

Just because golf doesn't include running, doesn't mean that it's not a sport. The abilities that are needed to be successful at golf are different than the abilities that are required for basketball and basketball's are different than those needed for baseball.

Most people would argue that basketball players are better athletes than baseball players? Why did Michael Jordan, the best athlete that most of us see suck at it then?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sorry Mark, but the ability to walk 18 holes with breaks in between is not a sign of an athlete. An inability to do so may be the sign of a lethargic pig of a person, but that's not really the measure of a man.

I've NEVER played golf and I can assure you I could handle the walking. I could even carry my own gear. And I'm not even a 14-year-old girl :).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A few years ago I left my corporate world job and "retired" for a almost a year. I spent most of my time working on my golf game. I spent about 4 hours a day on the range and putting greens and still only managed to get down to 5 handicap. I was sore and tired everyday. It may not be a 'sport" by the classic definition. But it is certainly athletic. That a 14 year phenom girl has a better day than a man isnt an indication of anything other than her own abilities.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I took lessons from a guy that was a great baseball player. He told me that the golf swing does require an atheletic move. This

was confirmed when got a lesson from Rick Smith couple of years ago.

The key to golf is not strength, but a repeatable swing and getting the club head square back to impact. Jim Furyk is one

that proves you don't have to have the perfect swing. Tempo

is a key element in the golf swing.

Golf and the golf swing requires a different set of muscles. Tiger Woods has a specific work out regiment, which he won't disclose,

to help his power.

How far you hit the ball is all a matter of club head speed. Being big, strong, and muscular then swinging as hard as you can doesn't mean you will hit is far.

This is why some of the longest hitters aren't big and tall. If anyone things golf is easy...try it for 18 holes walking.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by endzone_dave

I never said golf was easy. Bowling a 300 isn't easy. Running the table playing 9 ball isn't easy. Neither is throwing 3 triple 20's in darts. The people who can do these aren't athletes though.

Take the best 14 year old girl baseball player and stick her on the Detroit Tigers. Do you think she'd hold her own?

Umm, have you seen the Tigers lately? Having 14-year old girls on that team will improve them greatly.

:D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

umm also lets point out... that she is a freak of nature... i mean 14 year old that is, i think i heard, voer 6 feet tall... she was practically eye to eye with els when i saw them doing the practice round...

yeah golf might be a sport where you will need lots of skills but so does baseball... and gold is like baseball where you can have all the skills you can possibly have but if you dont the athletic ability then you would have hard time making it to the pros... but lets not be so harsh on those guys that lose to Wei... cause she is just a freak...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah, I forgot, golf is JUST walking. Hell my mother walks 5 miles a day. Not my point. However, you studs who claim you can walk it no problem I applaud you, good show. However, if you were golfer, and obviously you are not, I guarantee you would find it very difficult to maintain the level of SKILL required to hit a golfball with accuracy and consistancy on, let's say, hole 17 of the fourth day as you did on the first hole of the first day.

Athlete: A person possessing the natural or acquired traits, such as strength, agility, and endurance, that are necessary for physical exercise or sports, especially those performed in competitive contexts.

Professional Golfer are athletes, however, your buds, Jethro and Eugene, riding around in a golf card, hacking up acres of turf swilling beer and toking stogies...are not.

And just because your other bud, Tank, can take the softball field, hit a home run or two, miss a few routing flyballs, dive headfirst onto second base in a cloud of dust, etc, does not make him an athlete.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Originally posted by MarkPSkins

Ah, I forgot, golf is JUST walking. Hell my mother walks 5 miles a day. Not my point. However, you studs who claim you can walk it no problem I applaud you, good show. However, if you were golfer, and obviously you are not, I guarantee you would find it very difficult to maintain the level of SKILL required to hit a golfball with accuracy and consistancy on, let's say, hole 17 of the fourth day as you did on the first hole of the first day.

Athlete: A person possessing the natural or acquired traits, such as strength, agility, and endurance, that are necessary for physical exercise or sports, especially those performed in competitive contexts.

Professional Golfer are athletes, however, your buds, Jethro and Eugene, riding around in a golf card, hacking up acres of turf swilling beer and toking stogies...are not.

And just because your other bud, Tank, can take the softball field, hit a home run or two, miss a few routing flyballs, dive headfirst onto second base in a cloud of dust, etc, does not make him an athlete.

Great points...!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

at a family reunion 2 years ago, we scored a sweet deal that got us unlimited free golf at the resort. I played 45 holes saturday and 36 on sunday. both days, i was completely spent even though i used a cart on the last 9 and 18 holes respectively.

i'm in decent shape; i could run 5 miles now, 10 if someone was chasing me; i was a swimmer/vball player in hs and college. i know sports and what goes into it. it's the combination of physical exertion and mental focus in a competitive arena. golf definately is a test of mental (if not physical, which is also debateable) stamina.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Golf isn't a game of athleticism, it's a game of consistency. I have the physical ability to birdie every single hole on the PGA tour (except for the monster par 5's). The frequency would obviously be much, much lower then the pro golfers. So it's not about athletic ability, it's about consistency.

Do I have the physical ability to prevent an NBA player from scoring on me, no.

Do I have the physical ability to hit a baseball 400 feet, no.

Do I have the physical ability to keep an NFL WR from catching a pass, no.

Do I have the physical ability to cycle anywhere near as fast as Lance Armstrong, no.

Can I run 100m in 10 seconds, not even close.

Can I birdie a hole on the PGA, given enough chances, yes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...