Golfers are Athletes
Sitting here watching the NCAA tournament final between Memphis and Kansas got me thinking how incredibly talented and athletic you have to be to play at this level of college basketball. Many of us have played pick up games, or are involved in basketball leagues. The majority of us however have never experienced competition similar to what people across the country will see in the NCAA Championship game tonight. There is no way for any of us to know who haven’t played at that level. If your wondering why the headline says “Golf” requires athletic ability I’m about to answer that question. It’s easy for some to sit back and say look at those PGA golfers, they stroll along the fairway with ease and every now and then swing a club. Seriously how tough can that be, it looks almost easy.
Lets start off and silence the ones who have no credibility. These people are the “athletes” out there that are absolutely terrible at golf that say it’s easy. In reality though the hand eye coordination and mental strength needed to play professional golf is unmatched. It’s incredibly intense, and it would be hard to match the pressure involved in the four grueling days of each tournament. So I go back to what I said above, essentially don’t knock it until you can do it yourself. The other glaring reason golf proves that athletic ability is essential is to simply look at the star of the game.
Yes, Tiger Woods is in perfect physical and mental condition and the fact he is number one by a long shot is no coincidence. That goes for almost any pro athlete across the board. Based on that I think we can all agree a good athlete makes a good golfer. Yes I know John Daly is fat and out of shape, but where is he now. I just felt it made sense to at least comment on this subject leading into the Masters this weekend. The majors are always the best, and we should all try and appreciate the mental and physical prowess these “athletes” will display. I wrote about this over the summer (http://www.roaminggolfer.com/sportsbeat/?p=54), but this continues to be a hot topic. Being a golfer myself I felt it was worth of taking a second look.
