Is Golf a Sport?

I would like to share some comments with you about a newfound (to me) sport. I was asked if I play golf. Is golf a sport? I wasn’t sure.

My response was that when I want to dig a hole, I use a shovel. I must admit this sparked a lively conversation. When you see the following terms: bogey, birdie, condor, and eagle, what do you think about? At first, I was thinking about wildlife.

I was being set up for an awakening.

Let’s have a discussion about golf! According to Wikipedia, “golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.

Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not utilize a standardized playing area, and coping with the varied terrains encountered on different courses is a key part of the game. The game at the highest level is played on a course with an arranged progression of 18 holes, though recreational courses can be smaller, usually nine holes.”

I would like to introduce you to Rose Harper, a passionate golfer and a subject matter expert. Let me share some of her background, which included founding the PGA Tour Wives Association and initiating the Golf Digest Minority Summit. She established a minority joint venture golf course design team (Rose Harper, Gary Player, and Arnold Palmer) to provide a golf feasibility study for the nation’s capital. In 1998, Rose took the first African-American youth delegation to the Seoul Olympics.

Rose is the author of The Art of the Deal: Golf–Access to Success. Shelia C. Johnson, the CEO of Salamander Hotels and Resorts, a hospitality company she founded in 2005, states the following about the book: “The book is a wonderful resource to encourage people of all backgrounds to step off the sidelines and onto the green. My friend Rose Harper has seen firsthand that there is so much one can learn, contribute, and achieve on the golf course–and she has devoted her career to making sure that women and minorities are empowered to access those benefits as well.”

Harper was an early lobbyist to have golf as a part of the Olympics. The summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 marked the return of golf as an Olympic sport. According to Harper, there are a lot of commonalities between running and golf, as both require strong, good movement. A runner can make a good golfer.

Harper offers the following comments for the novice who wants to take up the sport. The first step would be to take golf lessons from a certified professional to learn the rules and etiquette of the game. It would take at least 10 lessons to learn the protocol.

The technology of the sport has changed, as with running. Just as a runner is fitted with shoes at a local store, a golfer needs to visit a local authorized fitter as well. The quality of the equipment is the key to success for golf as shoes are for running.

There is no good swing for a male or female. A person has to acquire knowledge about the basics of how and where to stand. The grip and hand sizes are different.

Harper states it is all about respecting the sport. Golfers adhere to time standards and follow the pace of play as runners follow the pace per mile. Golfers have a set number of minutes to play a hole. Runners have a time limit to finish a race. Golfers play for the love of the sport as a runner does for running.

Harper considers herself an amateur who has managed professional golfers. According to Harper, a bad day on the course is better than a day in the office.

The passion you have about your exercise is the same level of passion Rose has about golf. Each statement you make, Harper can give you a counter-statement.

Harper’s book takes you on a journey to develop a love for the sport to augment your current exercise program. I was assured that it’ll only take a few swings and you’ll be saying “Fore!” in your sleep. (I’m sure that if I check I will find the significance of saying the term before the swing.)

When asked, “Why do I need to learn to play golf, and why is it needed in my portfolio?” Harper replies, “The simple answer is that golf parallels life and golf parallels business. Golf is a sport intentionally designed to challenge the player to advance, to make choices, to take action, to accept the consequences of those actions, and to still advance to achieve a goal.”

The more I talked with Harper, the more I began to believe she was right—running and golfing are closely aligned.

So, when you’re ready for a change, maybe I’ll see you on the greens.