The Greatest Challenge

Hole Number 17 at TPC

Before I get started, I have to say that we had a great Easter at church this past Sunday. Since I edit all the audio for the sermons I plan on posting a song that was sung by our worship team on this blog later this week. But in the meantime, let's see if I can rile up some hot sports opinions!

Of the three major sports (Football, Baseball, Basketball) Golf, by far, is the hardest sport to achieve victory and success in. The mental concentration required to achieve success in Golf far exceeds the physical demands of baseball and football (probably not basketball) over the course of a season.

In golf there is no impartial referee to monitor the game and keep it fair and just. There is no "even playing field." In fact the "field" can behave very differently depending on when you go out for your round. There is a greater reliance on integrity and a greater sense of honor and respect for the game in Golf. You keep track of your own faults and record them accordingly even if you make a mistake in recording your score. Case in point Roberto Vicenzo signed an incorrect scorecard in 1968 costing him the Master's and giving the victory to Bob Goalby.

Of the current tour exempt pro-players only 1/3 of have won an event in the last two years! There are 48 golf events and 6,474 spots available over the course of a year. That puts a pro players odds of winning an event at less than 1%. It is highly possible for a person to be a professional golfer for years and never win an event or even a single round! Part of the reason why it's so hard to win in Golf is that you are playing against multiple opponents. The weather, the course, the other players, and your own mental toughness all have a dramatic affect on your ability to play well. There is no team to lift you out of a bad streak. You don't get "pulled" if you aren't performing well, and the place where you play is designed to make you fail not succeed.

The other sports have their unique challenges. It is more difficult to become a pro-basketball player than any other professional athlete. Football requires greater athletic ability and toughness than any other sport. And baseball is older than football or basketball (but not golf). Just kidding! It's very hard to hit a home run off a 95mph fastball, especially if your not on steroids.

But when all is said and done Golf is ten times more difficult to play on the pro-level and succeed than basketball, baseball, or football. I would also say that more people play golf on the recreational level than football, baseball, or basketball. Basketball might be in a statistical tie (younger = basketball; older = golf), but if I had to bet I would say golf would win out in the long run. Of course soccer dwarfs all four of them as far as popularity and number or people who recreationally participate. Especially if you take the world into account, but we're Americans and we don't care about the rest of the world's sports concerns do we! Speaking of Soccer, how can you respect a sport that has "faking it" as an integral part of the game (thinking about the over acted slide tackle take-down).

So that's my hot sports opinion for the week.