Are Pro Golfers Athletes?

[AaronSmart]

Brooks or DJ or Tiger aren't athletes because they play golf. They had to take on extra activities to become an athlete.

 

That goes for any activity. If Lebron James joined the World Poker tour, you now have an athletic professional poker player.

 

 

If you can play the "sport" on a daily basis at a high level, that sport should then make you can athlete, thus calling that sport, an athletic sport (such as football, rugby, soccer, hockey, basketball).

An activity like golf, played at a high level isn't going to turn you into an athlete on it's own.

[bladehunter]

^^^^. Whoa, Brooks doing incline bench the morning of the final round of a major?

 

He won, great. I do not understand listing the morning of a final round. Lifting weights (and even for him at what looks to be 285 (bar + 2x45 + 6x25), that's going to create microtears in the muscle, DEPLETE GLYCOGEN, and fatigue the muscles.

 

Does anybody know what he was trying to accomplish, specifically?

 

 

 

 

 

One golfer who lifted weights in the morning and then played golf is now on his 4th back surgery. Two others basically drove themselves off the PGA Tour.

 

 

 

This is mind-boggling. I once heard that NFL athletes don't lift during the season (so 4-5 months). And they are guys who can squat 700 pounds.

 

It's not even close to 285. He's on a smith so the bar basically weighs nothing and there is about 130lbs total on that bar. He's just loosening up his muscles. Brooks is an awesome athlete and he has a great build for golf but he's not that big. He's about my size and plenty of guys in the gym make me look tiny. He's slightly taller than me and maybe 10lbs heavier than I am currently but when I train more often I'm about his size. His shirts do a lot for his build. I look jacked in my medium Nike golf shirts too.

 

 

 

sorry.. but i chuckled a bit when i read " i looked jacked in my nike medium golf shirts too".......

 

 

as a rule.. if you can get a medium shirt on your body you arent jacked.... lol i have a buddy whos a small guy .... and his nickname is "mens medium"..... why ? because once upon a time he worked for me and when ordering uniform shirts i made a mistake and assumed he was a large like most men ... albeit a loose large i admit ... when the shirts came in he complained " why did you order my shirts so huge" so i said " what size do you wear" he replied " a mens medium " ... i couldnt help myself.. i burst out laughing ... wth is a mens medium???!!....I have a 8 year old that can wear a adult small.... and he isnt fat...

[BearQ]

The only thing wrong with that Brooks picture is the location. Planet Fitness is a lol.

[bladehunter]

on a serious note... i dont understand these threads..... the answer is it totally depends on the golfer... golf doesnt make one an athelete.. BUT golf at any level doesnt make you a non athelete either.....

 

 

example.... I myself have excelled at several sports before and during golf.... in school i ran a best 400 meter time of 47.53... wayyy off the world record pace but for a high school kid with zero real training its pretty damn fast.... once had a 47.55 second leg in the 4x400 relay and the last 100 meter split was 11.30 ..... so yes i considered myself an athelete with the ability to kick like that after 300 meters... and i played golf at the time .... i also have been able to dunk a basketball since 7th grade.... ( one handed as two handed is of course harder) .... so in my eyes its a chicken or the egg argument.... yes some golfers are born atheletes... and some are not

[Hot Rod 71]

No.

Webster' s dictionary defines athlete as: a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina.

 

Golf simply does not require the physicality per the definition. Granted, some pro golfers are strong, agile and have stamina but the sport does not require these attributes. Hence, being skilled at golf does not make one an athlete. I find it a bit awkward when guys like Zach Johnson, Patrick Reed et.al describe themselves as athletes.

 

So walking 6-10 miles a day for four days requires no physicality? Try it. This doesn't include the practice rounds or pro ams........

 

By the Webster's definition you provide a Zumba instructor is an athlete and a NASCAR driver is an athlete.

 

If Zach Johnson and Patrick Reed cannot be considered athletes, how can many NFL linemen be considered athletes? Some of those guys are seriously overweight, which i can only assume you are implying by including Patrick Reed. You may say "but those guys can run a 4.8 40 and bench press 300 lbs". How do you know he can't? Looks can be deceiving.

 

You ever see an old NFL footage of overweight guys smoking on the sidelines? I guess they weren't athletes since they were doing something unhealthy and were not dedicating endless hours in the gym.

 

Golf is, by definition, a sport, which means per your definition a golfer is an athlete.

 

High jumpers, marathon runners, baseball pitchers, NFL place kickers, etc. all have a skill that other athletes cannot do at the highest level. Does this mean those athletes are not athletic?

 

Playing golf takes skill, advanced hand-eye coordination, endurance, and complete control of the mind and body for more than four hours, four days in a row.

 

Some may argue this makes golf more difficult than any other sport.

[teejaywhy]

No.

Webster' s dictionary defines athlete as: a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina.

 

Golf simply does not require the physicality per the definition...

 

Reading is fundamental. The definition you provided says OR, not AND.

 

From Webster's:

 

Definition of or:

—used as a function word to indicate an alternative - coffee or tea, sink or swim. The equivalent or substitutive character of two words or phrases.

[NetBogey]

I know we are discussing Pro Golfers here, but one thought that comes to mind:

 

Do High School golfers receive the title as Three Sport Athlete if they for example play golf, basketball and football? If yes, then golfers are athletes.

[nix]

yep

[new2g0lf]

Professional golfers and those who are good enough to compete on top college teams are athletes, the rest of us are likely not athletes just because we play golf.

[Czervik n Smails]

Did anyone see Brian Harman? Great golfer but not an athlete. Don't think he can dunk a basketball or play free safety in college. He's playing golf though so he doesn't need to be a high level athlete.

[The General]

nope not athletes, they are all ex-librarians and computer programmers.

[darredondo09]

I'd put golfers at least on par with any basketball player that primarily shoots, designated hitters, pitchers, or NFL kickers. Specialized motion that requires some coordination and endurance. I'd say athlete in all of the above cases.

[AThompson_3]

Did anyone see Brian Harman? Great golfer but not an athlete. Don't think he can dunk a basketball or play free safety in college. He's playing golf though so he doesn't need to be a high level athlete.

So because Lebron James couldn't hit a baseball for instance that makes him not an athlete? Being an athlete deal 100% with the ability to complete athletic acts. The golf swing is an athletic act. If you can complete any athletic act with proficiency that makes you an athlete. Running fast, jumping high, being strong, etc. don't make you athletic, they increase the likelihood that you can complete the athletic acts at higher proficiency which in turn make you more athletic.

[Jasonic]

Did anyone see Brian Harman? Great golfer but not an athlete. Don't think he can dunk a basketball or play free safety in college. He's playing golf though so he doesn't need to be a high level athlete.

 

So because Charles Barkley can dunk but can't hit a golf ball is he not an athlete?

[AaronSmart]

Did anyone see Brian Harman? Great golfer but not an athlete. Don't think he can dunk a basketball or play free safety in college. He's playing golf though so he doesn't need to be a high level athlete.

So because Lebron James couldn't hit a baseball for instance that makes him not an athlete? Being an athlete deal 100% with the ability to complete athletic acts. The golf swing is an athletic act. If you can complete any athletic act with proficiency that makes you an athlete. Running fast, jumping high, being strong, etc. don't make you athletic, they increase the likelihood that you can complete the athletic acts at higher proficiency which in turn make you more athletic.

 

Swinging a golf club doesn't make you athletic, unless you want to generalize majority of the population. An 85 year old who takes a cart, uses an oxygen tank and has a silky smooth golf swing from his youth, is then in your list of "athletes".

 

 

You can be an athletic bridge player, an athletic football player or a lazy soccer player, all shapes and sizes.

 

But if it's a heads or tails type of question (yes or no), a golfer is not an athlete. Sure we can break it down into "athletic" swings or motions, but that's just reaching IMO

[2putttom]

Vindog, your logic is garbage.

 

Things are lookin' up!

let's take it easy on the O P he's a newby...... :taunt:

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

 

 

 

O P you ruffian! I like your style....sorta. It can be frustrating tryin to find a place on this site, but posting questions like this on a golf blog were 99% of us are lovers and defenders of the sport takes some cajones!

[bscinstnct]

NFL players are active an average 11 minutes a game per week.

 

 

This guy is 6'5, 270. Runs 4.6/40. Broad jump 10 feet. 40 inch vertical and benches 225lbs 33 times in a row.

 

 

You want this guy beating on people for more that 11 minutes?

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ag1p68l6bI

[AaronSmart]

NFL players are active an average 11 minutes a game per week.

 

 

This guy is 6'5, 270. Runs 4.6/40. Broad jump 10 feet. 40 inch vertical and benches 225lbs 33 times in a row.

 

 

You want this guy beating on people for more that 11 minutes?

 

 

[media=]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ag1p68l6bI[/media]

 

His comment of "11 minutes of being active" is incorrect anyways. He heard that old "if you took out all the commercials and time outs in a football game, all that is left is 11 minutes of actual play"

 

Next up is how hockey players only play 18-21 minutes a game, they must not use any energy.

[2putttom]

While grasping that coca cola,ask yourself ... there are athletes and there are exceptional athletes, which one will I be today?

[SheriffBooth]

Have we finally settled this age old question of semantics that has plagued our sport (game?) for centuries? Clearly we have.

 

/thread