Why no Equestrian talk?

[couch 'em]

Curling is not a sport. It is a game, along with other finesse games like bowling, pool, darts, shuffleboard, etc.

[Pony Up]

and golf. Great game, but I drink when I play (believe me, it helps! ) and yes, I WALK the entire 18.

[ponyplayer]

and golf. Great game, but I drink when I play (believe me, it helps! ) and yes, I WALK the entire 18.

It is only a game to those who do not know sports..................

[Pony Up]

I figured somebody might respond to that, and I certainly don't mean any slight to good golfers, because they certainly work hard at what they do and have talent I'll never have (got to be honest, right?) I openly admit I am jealous of their skills and I wish I could play like they do.

Maybe our only difference is in the definition of what makes it a sport. To me, if you can participate with a beer (and I always do), that makes it hard to be a sport -- there's no running, no physical contact, no defense, and skill, technique, knowledge and practice seem far more important than raw physical gifts. In a way, it's sort of like fishing: the guys who do that also have skills I'll never master. I fully realize that there's an art to what they do, as well. To be able to cast a lure at a specific location takes a great deal of practice, and to understand fish and their feeding habits (or whatever) takes far more knowledge and understanding than the normal schmo has. But in both cases, they're a lot of fun, and a good way to spend an afternoon with your buddies while belching and talking about girls (I'm pretty classy on the golf course) -- and both get better still with a cold beer.

So with all that said, I'm not close-minded about the notion of golf as a sport (if you can convince me fishing is a sport, you ought to be negotiating peace in the Middle East). As I said, I walk the full 18, and I realize there's some exercise there. But I also walk my dogs every day, and I don't consider that a sport, either.

So what am I missing?

[ponyplayer]

probably not a sport to the fish, but there is something called a sport fish................

Did not mean to come across harshly, it is certainly anyones opinion and do not know if there is a right or wrong to this question, there are some non-athletic golfers for sure. But it has been my experience that a lot of professional athletes have said that golf is a harder sport than what they play. The golf swing itself requires a coordination of hand-eye skills and athletic moves combined, wheter it is low or high handicappers . I like to think of it as a sport but that is only my two cents. I do not mind a beverage or two when i play as well.

i played a round with the BUS and he took it to a whole new catagory........................

[Pony Up]

Did not mean to come across harshly....

You didn't - not at all.

.... there are some non-athletic golfers for sure....

Like me! Or, to be more accurate, John Daly. That guy looks like a sumo wrestler and can finish more Marlboros during a round than I can in a month (someone told me once that it's bad for you....), so maybe that's a very valid part of my view that it's not a sport. Hard to say.

.... But it has been my experience that a lot of professional athletes have said that golf is a harder sport than what they play. The golf swing itself requires a coordination of hand-eye skills and athletic moves combined....

Without question. The coordination and concentration to perfect a golf swing and repeat it time after time after time far exceed the levels most of us can hope to achieve -- which is why people like Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam make filthy amounts of money doing it, and I don't (dammit). However -- and not to argue just for the sake of arguing -- that the criteria you list (harder than other sports, coordination of hand-eye kills and concentration) also could be applied to brain surgery and microchip engineering.

.... i played a round with the Bus and he took it to a whole new catagory........................

Now that sounds like a story worth hearing. How's BUS's game?

[ponyplayer]

well.....the BUS..... not good.................. but had a great time...............i know that we could have put a dent in Daly`s miller lite stash...........

[Hoofprint]

You'd better take a 9-iron with you to get past Big John when there's a bunch of beer around.