Is Golf A Sport Essay

The definition of “sport” is an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment. Golf is a fast growing sport with over 25.7 million people playing it. Golf is a game played on a large open-area course, in which a small hard ball is struck with a club into a series of small holes in the ground. The object of the sport is to get the fewest possible strokes to complete the course. Some people make claims that golfers are not athletes, since some professional golfers are sometimes overweight, old, or out of shape, and since their caddies carry the equipment for them. People also say that since golf does not require running, jumping, or any cardiovascular activity it should not be considered a sport. Other people claim that since other things like video games, spelling

Golf also requires athletic ability to walk long distances for about four and a half hours approximately four to five miles per 18 hole course. Golf requires consistency, the ability to hit shots with consistent depth and aim. In golf, like in other sports, there is a proven correlation between physical training and improved performance. A 2009 study found that golfers who focus on their balance, flexibility, posture, core, strength, power, and cardiovascular training have better results (ProCon.org). Golf has also proven to be so physically demanding that up to 62 percent of amateur golfers and approximately 88 percent of professional golfers suffer injuries each year. Playing golf can lead to problems in the lower back, elbow, wrist, hand, shoulder, or head. More than half of professional golfers have had to stop playing because of their injuries (Hughston