[Jim Hoak]

In the new NCGA magazine, there is a very fine article about teaching pro Lucius Bateman from Oakland.  It is written by Al Barkow, who does a good job on golf articles.
In the article, he says that "golf is the hardest game there is to play well."  Do you think this is right?  And why?
I've never thought of it that way, but I can think of other very hard sports to master too.

[Peter Flory]

You don't move your feet and the ball and the target are stationary.  You can take as long as you want before you swing. You don't even have an opponent.  In some ways, it is one of the easiest sports.  No cardio required, you don't have to be tall or overly athletic.  Injuries are seldom seen and very minor compared to other sports.  For most of the performance there isn't much pressure involved. 

But the thing about golf is that because there isn't an opponent when you're going through the learning curve, you constantly move the goal posts on yourself.  There really isn't much difference between an 80 and a 75 (or a 90 and an 85) from a percentage standpoint, but it sure feels like it sometimes.  Golfers are always stressed about breaking personal barriers. 

[V. Kmetz]

Putting aside the game vs sport thought, I think golf is particularly challenging because it's so constantly changing...pinning it down in the past guarantees virtually nothing about a future task (shot, hole, round).


Wind, sun, heat, cold, body, mind, fitness, equipment, hole, hole location, distance of shot, style of shot, new techniques learned, abilities no longer available... EVERYTHING is in flux within the sport of golf, from round to round, from hole to hole.

[Adam Clayman]

Thankfully he added the "well" qualifier. Because as games go, nothing could be easier.


I agree with the writers sentiment because,,, The line that defines well, moves with the each and every situation.


The irony of all this is about how golf courses get altered in the name of increased difficulty, when in reality, the result is often the opposite.


Flatter greens has to be the saddest evolution of all this. Green's committee can mandate wall to wall green and chase faster and faster green's speeds, but both make the sport less challenging, and the game easier.

[jeffwarne]

Golf is no "harder" or easier than other sports.


The only difference is one's golf ability can be quantified with a scorecard.(of course how that is tallied varies widely)


A "great" basketball player may never have left his private school league and may well have been defended by future accountants and video game experts.


Someone who tells you they are a "great skier" may well have no measuring yardstick, other than comparing themselves to those they ski with on groomed slopes 10 days a year on school breaks.


In the end it comes down to expectations-golf is not hard, UNLESS you pin your love and success to a scorecard, and at that point you are comparing yourself to the greatest players in the game, and with the right connections and perseverance, can actually compare yourself to them on similar courses, though maybe not set up exactly the same-and certainly never in the same pressure cooker unless you are incredibly elite.


Imagine comparing your wide receiver ability in an NFL game or your tennis ability against Roger Federer.
You'd think that was pretty darn hard too.

[Jason Thurman]

I've run pickup 5 on 5 basketball at Elver Park in a game with one future college player, and I've played a scratch game with three pros from the tips at Cherry Hills. The basketball game was MUCH harder.

[Cliff Hamm]

Reminds me of the well-known story involving Sam Snead and Ted Williams.  To paraphrase  - Williams was telling Snead how there was nothing more difficult than hitting a major-league curveball.  Snead responded – but you don’t have to go into the stands to hit your next shot.

[Jim Hoak]

Coming back to course architecture--the purpose of this site--, is the difficulty of golf because we don't have a set playing field as most sports do?  Is it varying course design that increases the difficulty of golf?

[Adam Clayman]

Jim, Those are games that are played on rigidly defined surfaces. And I'd say it's more about extreme conditions that make golf more challenging, but, it's the thoughtfulness of the designer, that extracts the creativeness out of the player, especially under extreme conditions.

[Ally Mcintosh]

I disagree with most of you.


Golf is possibly the hardest sport to reach a level where you get a reasonable level of enjoyment from it. It takes perseverance for beginners to reach a point where there is any sort of consistency. This is one of the three reasons its popularity is declining (cost and time being the other two).


At the other end of the scale you have football / soccer. As simple as it comes. This is why it is so popular.

[David_Elvins]

I disagree with most of you.


Golf is possibly the hardest sport to reach a level where you get a reasonable level of enjoyment from it. It takes perseverance for beginners to reach a point where there is any sort of consistency. This is one of the three reasons its popularity is declining (cost and time being the other two)..

This an interesting argument but one I don't quite agree with.  My adult friends who are very casual inexperienced golfers don't enjoy the game because they hit it so inconsistently into the trees and water.  Yet my young kids have very little frustration and a lot of enjoyment.  The difference for them, I think, is that they don't hit the ball far enough for it to be ever out of play. They hit it, walk/ run after it and hit it again.


Which come back to architecture, I think.  Penal golf courses are just terrible for inexperienced golfers.  Ladies courses, executive courses, par 3 courses, short courses, and even some great courses if done well can provide a very pleasant experience to novice golfers.  I once played barnbougle dunes with a guy who had never played golf before.  He had a ball.  Played of the 4500m tees, had no forced carries, avoided the bunkers and played out 17 of the 18 holes without breaking a rule of golf.


There is nothing other than architecture and club culture stopping novice golfers enjoying the game imo.

[archie_struthers]

 


It's a real conundrum. In most sports if you are naturally blessed with speed and strength you have a head start on success. Not so in golf as it plays a lesser role. Think Bo Jackson, almost no sport (save golf) he wouldn't be in the top 1% just by his great physical blessings.


To the contrary golfers don't have to be great natural athletes to succeed, so the pool of potential greats is much larger!

[Joe Leenheer]

I've played many a game/sport and consider myself proficient at most.



I agree with the argument that golf is the most difficult in regards to playing surface/course and conditions.  Were most practice doesn't prepare them for the course.  And even the one shot that is similar (tee shot), even the greatest struggle with.  Courses are designed to challenge us....not just for us to play the game on.


Although we enjoy a mulligan, it isn't part of the game like a foul ball, fault, or 2nd/3rd/4th down.  Golf is the least forgiving of games in that respect.


The opponent argument is soft as this compares your ability against another's ability in defining difficulty. Someone can make the game more difficult for you, but does that make the game difficult? 


I would also guess golf has the smallest impact area and goal in sports. 


Golf is also a reverse game where the least wins and the most looses. You also cannot prevent your opponent from scoring well to offset your inability.


Golf also requires a wide variety of skills all of which you must master.  You cannot just be a great defender, re-bounder, shooter, have a dominant serve, or passer.  Long drive competitors are great at what they do...but they aren't great golfers...not even close.


And as a past instructor.....the process of hitting the ball itself is unnatural and difficult to repeat until massive amount of practice has been done. And even then....everyone still struggles..even the greats.


My closing argument is that feeling you get when you pull off a shot, sink a pressure putt, or close out a great round.  The sense of accomplishment is overwhelming (although it can be quickly diminished).  If golf weren't so stinking difficult, the highs wouldn't be so high and the lows so low.

[Kalen Braley]

But golf also has its advantages.

- Playing across varied terrain every time you play vs playing on the same set field
- Don't need any available friends to play vs soccer. basketball, etc.
- You can drink and play at the same time
- If you're hobbled, you can still play with a cart.

[Shane Wright]

Golf is hard, especially at a tournament level which has varying degrees from club tourneys all the way up to the tour level.  But golfers rarely play with much, if any injuries.  It doesn't take near the toll on the body as other sports.  The percentages of athletes that have to play through injuries during a season in say soccer, baseball, basketball, football, hockey, etc is much much higher than golfers. 




For that reason alone, I do not think golf SNIFFS baseball in difficulty.  Not only is the ball moving, and there are more technical things that have to be perfected in baseball, but you have to play through pain, almost daily, if you want to play at a competitive level. 

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