19th Hole

Golf 101: Is golf a sport?

Published

5 years ago

Jul 25, 2020

Is golf a sport? The question of whether golf is or isn’t a sport is about as divisive as you can get and the debate will likely rumble on and on. For a balanced take, here at GolfWRX, we will present both sides of the argument and ultimately allow you to make up your own mind.

Let’s start with the reasons why golf should be considered a sport.

Is golf a sport?

Golf is a sport because

1. The dictionary says so.

Sport defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary:

“A contest or game in which people do certain physical activities according to a specific set of rules and compete against each other.”

Golf certainly fits the bill here as it engages several key muscle groups. The golf swing is an athletic movement, golfers compete against one another, and as for the rules, I think it’s fair to say there are a “specific set of rules”, don’t you?

2. The skill level required is insane.

Golf is impossible to master. The skill level and precision required is out of this world. To call any competitive psychical exertion not a sport when it requires so much mastery is disrespectful.

3. The competition surpasses other sports.

In what other sport could the best player of his generation win approximately just 23% of the events he has entered in his career and that number to be lauded as insanely good? Golf is the hardest sport to pick up victories.

Roger Federer has to beat seven guys to win the U.S. Open. Tiger Woods has to beat 140+ guys to win the U.S. Open. Enough said.

4. Fitness is required.

It takes athleticism to hit a golf ball far. Tiger Woods in the noughties was head and shoulders above the rest of the competition in part thanks to his athletic build. Now look at the likes of Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau, all fit as a fiddle and all able to crack it 350-yards down the fairway.

Yeah, there are some out of shape players too, just like in bonafide sports such as football, baseball etc. The best players in any sport will always be in top shape.

5. The mental capacity needed is significant.

Concentration, focus and the ability to hold your nerve is required far more in golf than other sports.

A soccer player is much more likely to choke a penalty than a great chance in open play. Why? Because the player has time to think over a penalty while the majority of opportunities he’d get during a match he would go on instinct. Golfers have time to think before EVERY single shot.

Now let’s look at the counter argument.

Golf is not a sport because

1. No running is involved.

Yeah walking the course with your clubs might burn over 500 calories, but an actual sport leaves you exhausted by the end. The physical exertion in golf is minimal.

2. Old guys can win big events.

Tom Watson nearly won the Open Championship at 59. In what other sport would that be possible, and how can you consider golf a sport if that can happen?

To put it into perspective, that would be the equivalent of John McEnroe finishing runner-up at Wimbledon in 2018..

3. Overweight guys win.

Stamina does not equal athleticism. There’s been several out of shape golfers that have won multiple majors throughout the game’s history. You don’t get out of shape quarterbacks, who regularly drink and smoke, picking up the Vince Lombardi trophy.

4. Skill doesn’t really mean sport.

The majority of people wouldn’t consider pool, snooker, chess or darts a sport, so why should golf receive an exemption? If they don’t qualify as a sport, then why should golf?

5. The dictionary also says it’s a game.

Game defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary:

“A physical or mental competition conducted according to rules with the participants in direct opposition to each other.”

Whether you adamantly believe golf is a sport or merely a game or past-time, I think we can all agree that it is one of the greatest sport/game/past-times about.

But what side of the fence are you on and why?

Also, check out what our members have been saying about the debate: Golf – Sport or Game?

19th Hole

‘Don’t think I’ll sleep well tonight’ – LPGA pro offers candid take following rough AIG Women’s Open finish

Published

3 weeks ago

Aug 4, 2025

Gianni Magliocco

An opening round of 77 left LPGA pro Jenny Shin with a mountain to climb at last week’s AIG Women’s Open.

However, fighting back with rounds of 69 and 67, Shin found herself six shots off the lead and just outside the top 10 heading into Sunday as she went in search of her first major victory.

Shin, who won the US Girls’ Junior at just 13, couldn’t back those rounds up on Sunday, though, and after playing her opening nine holes of the final round in level par, she then bogeyed three holes coming home to slip down the leaderboard and eventually finish T23.

Taking to X following the final round, Shin offered a frustrated and honest take on how she was feeling, posting: “Don’t think I’ll sleep well tonight. What a crappy way to finish.”

Don’t think I’ll sleep well tonight. What a crappy way to finish

— Jenny Shin (@JennyShin_LPGA) August 3, 2025

Shin has made 11 cuts in 13 starts on the LPGA Tour this season, but has been plagued by frustrating Sunday finishes throughout the year. Shin ranks 102nd on tour this year out of 155 for Round 4 scoring in 2025.

Miyu Yamashita won the 2025 AIG Women’s Open with a composed final round of 70 to win her first major of her career by two strokes.

19th Hole

How a late golf ball change helped Cameron Young win for first time on PGA Tour

Published

3 weeks ago

Aug 4, 2025

Gianni Magliocco

Cameron Young won the Wyndham Championship on Sunday for his first victory on the PGA Tour.

Young dominated all weekend at TPC Sedgefield, running away from the pack to win by six strokes and put himself in contention for a Ryder Cup pick in September.

Ahead of the event, the 28-year-old switched to a Pro V1x prototype golf ball for the first time, following recent testing sessions with the Titleist Golf Ball R&D team.

Interestingly, Young played a practice round accompanied by Fordie Pitts, Titleist’s Director of Tour Research & Validation, at TPC Schedule early last week with both his usual Pro V1 Left Dot ball and the new Pro V1x prototype.

Per Titleist, by the second hole Young was exclusively hitting shots with the Pro V1x prototype.

“We weren’t sure if he was going to test it this week, but as he was warming up, he asked to hit a couple on the range,” Pitts said. “He was then curious to see some shots out on the course. Performance-wise, he was hitting tight draws everywhere. His misses were staying more in play. He hit some, what he would call ‘11 o’clock shots,’ where again he’s taking a little something off it. He had great control there.”

According to Titleist, the main validation came on Tuesday on the seventh hole of his practice round. The par 3 that played between 184 and 225 yards during the tournament called for a 5-iron from Young, or so he thought. Believing there was “no way” he could get a 6-iron to the flag with his Left Dot, Young struck a 5-iron with the Pro V1x prototype and was stunned to see the ball land right by the hole.

“He then hits this 6-iron [with the Pro V1x prototype] absolutely dead at the flag, and it lands right next to the pin, ending up just past it,” Pitts said. “And his response was, ‘remarkable.’ He couldn’t believe that he got that club there.”

Following nine holes on Tuesday and a further nine on Wednesday, Young asked the Titleist team to put the ProV1x balls in his locker. The rest, as they say, is history.

Check out Young’s winning WITB here.

19th Hole

Rickie Fowler makes equipment change to ‘something that’s a little easier on the body’

Published

3 weeks ago

Aug 1, 2025

Gianni Magliocco

Rickie Fowler fired an opening round of one-under par on Thursday at the Wyndham Championship, as the Californian looks to make a FedEx Cup playoff push.

Fowler is currently 61st in the standings, so will need a strong couple of weeks to extend his season until the BMW Championship, where only the top 50 in the standings will tee it up.

Heading into the final stretch of the season, Fowler has made an equipment switch of note, changing into new iron shafts, as well as making a switch to his driver shaft.

The 36-year-old revealed this week that he has switched from his usual KBS Tour C-Taper 125-gram steel shafts to the graphite Aerotech SteelFiber 125cw shafts in his Cobra King Tour irons, a change he first put into play at last month’s Travelers Championship.

Speaking on the change to reporters this week, Fowler made note that the graphite shafts offer “something that’s a little easier on the body.”

“I mean, went to the week of Travelers, so been in for, I guess that’s a little over a month now. Something that’s a little easier on the body and seemed to get very similar numbers to where I was at. Yeah, it’s gone well so far.”

Fowler has also made a driver shaft change, switching out his Mitsubishi Diamana WB 73 TX for a UST Mamiya Lin-Q Proto V1 6 TX driver shaft in his Cobra DS-Adapt X, which he first implemented a couple of weeks ago at the John Deere Classic.

However, according to Fowler himself, the testing and potential changes are not done yet.

“Probably do some more testing in some different weight configurations with them once I get some time. Yeah, I feel like we’re always trying to search, one, to get better but are there ways to make things easier, whether that’s physically, mentally, whatever it may be. So yeah, I thought they were good enough to obviously put into play and looking forward to doing some more testing.”

Fowler gets his second round at TPC Sedgefield underway at 7.23 a.m ET on Friday.