Is Golf A Sport Essay

Golf, first played in the 15th century in the Kingdom of Scotland, requires a club that the players use to hit a ball off a tee onto the course. Players try to get the golf ball in the hole in the least amount of swings possible. The fewer swings taken, the lower the score the player receives for that hole. A normal game of golf consists of nine holes. Whoever ends with the lowest score wins. A nine hole game typically takes around two hours to complete. Although many people classify golf as a sport, the sports world should reject it as merely a game. Fans of golf classify it as a sport because it fits the definition of a sport. The English Oxford Dictionary defines a sport as “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment” (Murray). While you can argue that golf fits that definition, Golf matches the definition of a game better. The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines game as “an activity engaged in for diversion or amusement” (Merriam Webster Dictionary). Because golfers don’t have to be in good shape, it

Injuries, however, do not make something a sport. Many injuries caused by golf result from the repetitive motion of swinging the club (Palmer). Similar injuries can result from small actions such as typing or pushing buttons (Repetitive Motion Injuries). Furthermore, if golfers can play through a major injury, then the physical exertion required for golf does not make it a sport. Tiger Woods not only played the 2008 US Open with two stress fractures in his left tibia, he actually won the whole event. Woods even played an additional 18 holes to break a tie score following the first four rounds