he said, HE SAID: Golfers Are Athletes?

It’s a great discussion for the water cooler or the oak countertop at the corner bar. Golfers…Athletes? The Mouth That Roars says that golfers are athletes or, rather, they should be athletes, while Mo’ Golf takes a different view.

The Mouth That Roars

The idea that golfers aren’t athletes has never resonated with me. 

I understand the argument and how it originated. So many golfers ride in carts, drink beer and smoke cigars through 18 holes. I don’t play golf that way. I am a long way from being super talented, but I show up and compete. If I have the option, I always walk a golf course. I believe physical demands should be part of the game.

That’s why I love a walk full of hills, bumps and rumbly terrain. That’s golf at its finest. Not only does it ensure you’ll get some exercise but it also forces players to develop a “ground game.” A players creativity and imagination makes all the difference on courses where balls can run and slope away forever. It changes the game.

I grew up playing a course with significant elevation change. I play all sorts of courses now, but the ones that take me up, down and through a good sweat or two make my heart sing.

Mo’ Golf

“We went back inside, sat down, had a few drinks, but all he kept talking about, was glory days.” That’s right, glory days. For real athletes, the ones who stare across a line at each other, wear helmets, lift heavy things and heavy people. Not for golfers.

Golfers are athletes? Pass me summa that green cheese from the moon, then. Not in my day, not now, not ever. Golfers are dudes that have OTHER PEOPLE carry their clubs for them. Heck, their eyes are so bad, they have those OTHER PEOPLE stand behind them and tell them that they are aimed properly. Never seen no tackle ask his linebacker  “yo, dawg, how I look?”

I’ll give you this…golf can tire you out. There’s nothing unique about it. Same swing, same result, all day long. No lateral movement (unless you slice), no muscular exertion (unless the cart’s heading for the pond), no cheerleaders…what sport goes without cheerleaders?