Tennis vs. Golf

[chopz]

I was wondering why tennis seems so far behind golf in the US? I really can't figure out why golf is so popular? And why do so many poeple seem to make such a big deal about it now when 10 years ago no one cared. Are golfers really athletes? Is golf even a sport? I think it's a game but not a sport, I'm sure some may dissagree but that's fine. Pro tennis players are 100 times more athletes than pro golfers.

Good question. Tennis seems to have been positioned as an elitest sport. Not televised as much as Golf (boring!) or Nascar (most boring!!!) but all the dumb rednecks like those (sports? or I should say spectacles).

I saw a WTT match with the two Martinas and the stadium wasn't even full.

 

[chopz]

Walking a Golf Course? Who does that? I tried to do that at my club and I was constantly harassed by dumb rednecks trying to hit golf balls through me. Yeah, right you can walk a course if you go out at 5 am on a Monday morning maybe.

 

[Puma]

A-Rodd,

I was not refering to instances in life that do demand a stiff constitution such as serving in the military, child birth & rearing our children, or how we make our livings etc. I was refering to playing golf. Re-reading my statement it is quite clear that I was refering to playing golf and I did not compare golf to the aforementioned.

I, as a habit do NOT participate in classless, personal, sarcastic comments to people I do not know, especially people who were not speaking to me. I would appreciate it if you would do the same.

Your response to my post was sarcastic, off handed and out of line. In my statements you nor any of your posts either past or present were refered to at all. So, if you cannot post in refernce to whatever I have to say without being sarcastic and childish keep your comments to yourself.

Thank You,

Puma

 

[bm99]

Don't get me wrong...I love tennis too....but Tiger Woods has more skill in his sport that anyone one the ATP in their sport. And Athleticism is not solely defined by the amount of running you do while playing a sport. Yes, there are alot of fat/ld people that golf but there are also alot of slow/weak (maybe not as much fat) people that play tennis.

 

[Deuce]

I've played golf only 3 times in my life - all within one summer, about 6 or 7 years ago. I enjoyed it, frustrating as it was. Shot 116, 115, 114, in that order. Barely missed a hole-in-one on a short (< 200 yards) hole - tee shot (7 wood) bounced twice & hit the pin - settled 2 feet from the cup for a birdie.

I found golf to be infinitely interesting - and challenging - psychologically. There is no opponent to feed off of; there are no momentum shifts... It's just you. Mental discipline is a must - and that is made more difficult to achieve by the fact that there is an awful lot of time to think.

In the end, as interesting as golf was to me, I concluded that I'll not be playing golf with any regularity until such time as I have aged to the point where I can no longer run after a tennis ball.

 

[A-rodd]

A-Rodd,

I was not refering to instances in life that do demand a stiff constitution such as serving in the military, child birth & rearing our children, or how we make our livings etc. I was refering to playing golf. Re-reading my statement it is quite clear that I was refering to playing golf and I did not compare golf to the aforementioned.

I, as a habit do NOT participate in classless, personal, sarcastic comments to people I do not know, especially people who were not speaking to me. I would appreciate it if you would do the same.

Your response to my post was sarcastic, off handed and out of line. In my statements you nor any of your posts either past or present were refered to at all. So, if you cannot post in refernce to whatever I have to say without being sarcastic and childish keep your comments to yourself.

Thank You,

Puma

Your welcome.

 

[A-rodd]

Good question. Tennis seems to have been positioned as an elitest sport. Not televised as much as Golf (boring!) or Nascar (most boring!!!) but all the dumb rednecks looks those (sports? or I should say spectacles).

I saw a WTT match with the two Martinas and the stadium was even full.

I agree with you 100%. I saw that match also.

 

[A-rodd]

golf is a joke. It's for old, out of shape, rich white guys to get together and do business deals. It's more popular in America than tennis because it takes no quick thinking skills and no physical conditioning.

We have no standards here as to what we call sports/athletes...just look at baseball and Nascar...there's a reason little league outfielders sit down, untie their shoes, and play with the grass during games, baseball is boring as h3ll most of the time.

I really like your point- it (golf) takes no quick thinking skills and no physical conditioning. I never thought about the quick thinking skills that are required in sport, and golf not being a sport requires no quick thinking skills.

 

[Deuce]

I really like your point- it (golf) takes no quick thinking skills and no physical conditioning. I never thought about the quick thinking skills that are required in sport, and golf not being a sport requires no quick thinking skills.

Well, that is probably the main reason that golf is so difficult - because, as I mentioned earlier, there is so much time to think.

In sport, thinking is often our worst enemy. When an athlete is 'in the zone', he is often described as being "unconscious". This is because conscious thought is interrupted - replaced by mere instinctive reaction and a sincere trust in one's abilities. This results in a free-flowing action which is, in effect, void of thought. In tennis, there is no time to think about our performance during the playing of points - and it is usually best to NOT THINK during the relatively little time we have in between points. In golf, however, there is plenty of time to think - literally hours -and that is precisely what makes it so difficult.

 

[newnuse]

Well, that is probably the main reason that golf is so difficult - because, as I mentioned earlier, there is so much time to think.

In sport, thinking is often our worst enemy. When an athlete is 'in the zone', he is often described as being "unconscious". This is because conscious thought is interrupted - replaced by mere instinctive reaction and a sincere trust in one's abilities. This results in a free-flowing action which is, in effect, void of thought. In tennis, there is no time to think about our performance during the playing of points - and it is usually best to NOT THINK during the relatively little time we have in between points. In golf, however, there is plenty of time to think - literally hours -and that is precisely what makes it so difficult.

I don't believe too much to think makes golf difficult. Maybe on a putt, people tend to gag.

Golf is difficult to master because it's a game that requires much practice. It's a game of repetition. You need to have the same swing over and over again. If you are off by just a fraction the results are a disaster. The difference between a great shot that lands on the green and one that goes in the water is very very very little. A slight change in the swing plain, not hitting the dime size sweet spot... etc and bad results. It's all about repeatability which requires much practice. You can't go out and play once a week and expect to be good.

 

[Chadwixx]

the main ppl like golf is because u can be out of shape and talentless and still be able to play the game. in tennis u couldnt even establish a ralley or physically last, which is no fun.

golf isnt really a sport but more of a game. the opponent cannot have a direct impact on ur shot.

 

[neoa1213]

How is nascar less of a sport than tennis? I would like to see you put your LIFE on the line everytime you race.

 

[Chadwixx]

because the car does the work and u only turn left.

putting ur life on the line doesnt make it a sport, lol.

 

[dozu]

In tennis if you are an average player you will always be around that level, granted you might play better or worse on some days, but if you equate that to the way your golf game can be if you are a higher handicapper it would go something like this. You are playing a tennis tournament and you just won the first round and have played great. You are all pumped up for your second match and you are about to start serving. Your first serve goes over the fence, and your second one goes in the bottom of the net you can't understand what just happened you were playing great yesterday. Not only that but due to one service fault you are now down 4:0, that is how I would compare the two, just from my personal experience. I think some of your golfers out there can probably relate.

I can certainly relate... 4.5/5.0 tennisor and 18-h golfer here. at the 18-h level, it's so tough on the course when you are having a bad day. you can't get your swing back and it's a LOOONG round! in tennis if my ground stroke breaks down, I can charge the net, if my volley aint working, I play from the baseline.... there is no such "give" room in golf. it's so tough

 

[newnuse]

because the car does the work and u only turn left.

putting ur life on the line doesnt make it a sport, lol.

:mrgreen: :mrgreen:
Very true, it's 1 long left turn. I put my life on the line everyday on the freeways of Los Angeles, I don't consider that a sport.

 

[federerhoogenbandfan]

I wish they would show womens golf more. When I watch womens golf on TV I much more enjoy it these days due to the quality of the field. The mens field is quite weak compared to other eras, except for Tiger Woods. I wish I was older and able to see more live battles between Nicklaus, Palmer, and Player; rather than just some old footage, and with a great supporting cast of players behind them that were probably atleast equal to Mickelson, Singh, and Els. The current field is basically Woods and the 7-dwarves. The womens field though possesses are more appealing and diverse cast to challenge their true great leader Anika Sorenstan.

 

[newnuse]

I wish they would show womens golf more. When I watch womens golf on TV I much more enjoy it these days due to the quality of the field. The mens field is quite weak compared to other eras, except for Tiger Woods. I wish I was older and able to see more live battles between Nicklaus, Palmer, and Player; rather than just some old footage, and with a great supporting cast of players behind them that were probably atleast equal to Mickelson, Singh, and Els. The current field is basically Woods and the 7-dwarves. The womens field though possesses are more appealing and diverse cast to challenge their true great leader Anika Sorenstan.

I gotta disagree with you. I think the PGA is in very good shape. The current crop of top players are good, Lefty, VJ, Els, Jasper, Goosen. Tiger stands out because he is just awesome. These days, Tiger's game is not as dominate. Can you blame him? Look at his wife.

If you reckon back to days before Tiger, the PGA was very bland. You had a new winner every freaking week. A guy would win 1 major & 1/2 other tournaments, would be player of the year. If a guy won 4/5 tournaments, that was a monster year.

Runs like Tiger's, Duval's, Singh's never happened. You had no dominate players. Faldo was probably the best due to his major results. But he never dominated the tour like these guys take turn doing.

 

[federerhoogenbandfan]

I disagree with you. When I first started following golf in the early 90s it had more depth among the top players than it had now, of course there was nobody of Tiger's level, but the top 5 or 6 were all better than any of today's top 5 or 6, minus Tiger. If Tiger is struggling, the rest of the top players are all shaky enough, that half of the majors will be won by total unknowns. I know golf is the most wide open sport there is, and somebody outside the top 100 is capable of playing winning golf on a given day, I am thinking though in a stronger era you would have those type of winners in majors 15-20% of the time perhaps; these day if Tiger is off his game you have it 45%-50% of the time as we have seen in the last 3 years with Rich Beem, Shaun Micheel, Todd Hamilton, Ben Curtis, and Michael Campbell taking half of the majors in that span.

I dont think Tiger would have been nearly as dominant in the era of Nicklaus/Palmer/Player leading the way; with a great supporting cast behind them, that is atleast equal to anybody minus Tiger today.

 

[federerhoogenbandfan]

I also like that in tennis anybody on tour, with only a handful of exceptions, looks like an athlete and are in reasonable shape. In golf you have a countless number of overweight older men, who dont look like world-class athletes at all.

 

[newnuse]

Fed,

Who were the top players of during the early 90's? Norman, Faldo, Seve, Couples, LoveIII? I can't really remember many, because they really did not stand out much. Those guys did not win 5-6 tournaments in a season like these guys have done. I remember Couples winning the Masters and 1 or 2 other tournaments and was name Player of the Year. This was fairly typical of golf during the mid 80's to mid 90's.

The era of Nicklause/Player/Palmer was before my time so I can't comment on that. I'm guessing the depth of the field wasn't what it is today. It was easier for the best to dominate. You had the top players dominate on a more consistent basis due to this. I would tend to agree with you about this era.

The 80's & 90's do not have as many dominate players compared to today.

 

[federerhoogenbandfan]

The only player who is capable of winning 5-6 PGA(not European tour or other tour events) per year, most years is Woods. Even if Woods did not play Els, Mickelson, and Singh would rarely accomplish this, even if you discounted the times they were 2nd to Woods. Singh won 9 tournaments last year, yes, but this is not a typical year for him, even if you took Woods out of the picture.

As for the players you named, I think you are very wrong about them. In their primes they were more capable of winning 5-6 tournaments a year than the current group, with the obvious exception of Woods of course. For the record you had the names mostly right, but add Greg Norman, and drop Davis Love who wasnt that much a factor yet. I do believe that group(minus Couples) during their primes was superior to Els-Mickelson-Singh, taking into account all the advancement in pro equipment at a quicker than ever rate the current group now enjoy in their primes, is enjoying.

As for lack of overall depth during the Player/Nicklaus/Palmer era I also disagree. I have found winners of majors during that time that were off the radar screen in rankings, career accomplishments, etc.....It happened then as well, it just did not happen almost 50% of the time, which from my view, is partially due to the vurnerability of the top players today with the exception of Tiger.

 

[Camilio Pascual]

Come to texas after you get those clubs and we'll play some golf and tennis.

That's right nice of you. I just might take you up on that someday.

 

[ThunderServe]

Tiger Woods Is so strong and fit and flexible he has like a ten pack.
No wonder he's the world no.1 and the best person off the tee.

 

[edgy]

What a dick. Chess a sport?? Sport is a clear cut definition that you should look up. Please do not confuse it with the term "competition". There is a new trend in our society to call everything dealing with competition a "sport"...i.e. Sport Fishing....HAHAHA. wtf. That's way off...considering the fact that the "playing field" is not equal to all players. The archaic term of sport is the true meaning of the word. In this sense...a sufficient amount of exertion along with equal playing boundaries is a must.

This stupid neo-sport trend is a fallacy. And if you think strip poker is a sport too then you can kiss it because that is a huge disgrace to the athletics as we know it!

Couldn't have said it better myself. I'm suprised most of you agree with me that it is not a sport. I like golf too, but I dont consider it a sport. Also sports are fast. You have to make quick decisions and commit to them or you'll be beat.