Sports are a topic people always debate over. Should women be allowed to compete with men? Should college players get paid? Which sport has the best athletes? Who are the greatest players? New school or old school? All of these topics are debated because everyone has their own opinion on sports. Even if the question is asking whether or not something, like golf, is a sport. As a golfer many people always tell me that golf isn’t a sport. However, as a golfer myself, I do believe golf is a sport.

Everyone has their own opinions on what a sport is, but what is the real definition of a sport?  Dictionary.com defines it as “an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, etc.”

The physical prowess and skill needed to play golf is like no other. Being under 18 and with no drivers license, I walk the golf course every time I play, carrying a 34 pound bag. Carrying the bag and walking the course is really tiring. Take it from me, I golf almost every other day, and I’m not licensed so I can’t rent a cart. Walking the course does really tire your legs out quickly. Your shoulders begin to burn from the constant dropping and picking up of your bag. Your back muscles working hard every step you take to keep your bag on your shoulder without having it slip off. Then based on the conditions of the day it can either drain or refresh you while playing. Just like in any sport. If it’s hot then you get tired a lot easier, if it is cold then your body feels refreshed in the sense you are not dying of thirst after completing one hole.

Yes, I know there are lots of players who rent carts and drive around while they play. It is part of the game and it allows the older people with less physical endurance to play 18 or 9 holes. But whether you’re old or young, walking or riding a cart, there is still physical agility and prowess needed to play golf. The flexibility, core strength, upper body strength, balance, and rhythm. These are all needed to play golf whether or not someone is walking the course with a bag ranging 30-50 pounds or driving a cart.

Unlike other sports, whose fields stay consistent, no two golf courses are the same. Every course is different, as a matter of fact every hole is different. Some have more hills than others or more sand pits or more trees or more water, or narrower, which makes golf so hard. No one can come pick up a bag of clubs and go out and play and expect to do well. Not even professional golfers, who are the best golf has to offer can have perfect matches, or even win the same tournament year after year.

This is where the mental aspect of the game comes in. The mental toughness required for the game of golf is like no other. Every single shot is just as important as the previous. And any shot could end up being a bad shot, and a good golfer just moves on to the next and forgetting about the last shot because then it’s a domino effect. If someone is still mad about their last shot then it is more likely for them to shoot another bad shot. For example, for me when I go out and play I can’t think about what my last shot was because if it was bad then I get nervous that my next shot will be just as bad. I like to keep a clear mind and personally I listen to orchestral music when I begin to get mad because in golf you need to keep a clear mind in order to play well.

In any other sport mental toughness, flexibility, and physical prowess are needed to play. So when people say that golf is not a sport because you don’t “do” anything like in other sports they are wrong. From the slow pace walking, to the small white ball flying through the air, to the small hole with a flag, golf is a sport.