Golf an Olympic sport?

[runninboy]

Poker is a game. Not a sport. There is a difference.

Seems to me "game" is used to describe golf by Pros & commentators.
People are always talking about their short game, long game the game of golf etc etc.

There are alot sports that have elements that are not as athletic but still have degree of sport, Synchronized swimming does require swimming, ice dancing does require ice skating etc.
If they play golf in the Olympics let them do it like american miler Steve Scott:

Steve Scott is also regarded as the founder of speed golfSpeed golf
Speed Golf is a sport started in California in 1979 by American runner Steve Scott and which involves completing a golf course in the lowest combination of strokes and time....
in 1979; on December 2, 1982, Scott set a record for the fastest round of golf played on a regulation course, completing 18 holes in 29 minutes, 33.05 seconds at Miller Golf Course in Anaheim, Calif. Using only two clubs and running from hole to hole, he posted a respectable score of 92.

 

[badboyberty]

I know this is going to drag an amiable and fun discussion into the mire, but it needs to be asked. How does a sport that has only three months ago started testing for drugs, and even then only then for an abridged list of substances, get accepted as an Olympic sport?

Sorry, but it just gets my goat.

 

[BroDeal]

I think sports where the Olympics are not the pinnacle of achievement are the exception rather than the rule. Sure, the few sports with top level professional leagues like soccer/football, baseball, hockey, cycling, golf, tennis etc, but those are a mere few among the hundreds of Olympic sports. I don't think the speed skating, gymnastics, or kayaking circuits bring the glory and endorsement opportunities that the athletes can obtain from Olympic success.

I think that the Olympics should clean house and get rid of tons of sports. There are too many sports that have little relevance today. Without a lot of thinking about it, my gut feeling is that any sport is not viable outside of the Olympics deserves to die.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Agree with the first half of your statement BroDeal. There are indeed a lot of sports that could be removed, or diminished.

But I wouldn't say that a sport must thrive outside the Olympics in order to be included. I think the opposite. Having sports like basketball, hockey, baseball, soccer, cycling, tennis, with professional athletes is not what I think of as the Olympic spirit. I also miss the days of more amateur participants. To me there is a special place for events like archery, canoeing, diving, etc. that makes the Olympics what they are.

To me, golf isn't much of a sport. Though it is quite challenging. The fact there is no defense, no head-to-head competition, no timer, it's just you against the course, every single time, plus the fact the crowd must be quiet, and they stop in any kind of bad weather, Plus there are a lot of older, fat guys, and no real drug testing, it just doesn't seem sporting. Though it is much more of a sport than poker, which is all over TV these days.