Is Golf A Sport?

This has been an ongoing debate in our home ever since my brother picked up a golf club at  age five in Palm Springs and drove his golf ball into a nearby water feature.

My initial response to this question is no, golf is not a sport, because it doesn't look like players are physically exerting themselves when they play. In fact, every course I've kept my dad and brother company on in the Palm Springs area requires you to use a golf cart (the most physically exerting that ever got was when my dad once took a tight turn and the cart went one way while I went flying in the other direction).

Also, consider some of the players' nicknames: The Golden Bear and Fat Jack (Jack Nicklaus), The Walrus (Craig Stadler) and Big Momma (Joanne Carner). There's even a photo essay of "golfers with girth" at golf.com. It's obvious that you don't have to be physically fit in order to be a top pro golfer (I'm speaking to you, Phil), although thanks to Tiger's example, it's also obvious that being in good physical condition helps with your golf game.

To further bolster my "gut" feeling that golf is not a sport, the online dictionary defines sport as "an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against one another for entertainment."

However, I have also read arguments that counter that a golf swing uses at least 17 muscle groups in the coordinated movement of the hands, wrists, arms, abdomen and legs (according to a study in the British Medical Journal). And if you walk the course and carry your clubs, you can burn 721 calories per round (although these calories are literally consumed by the stop at the snack bar for a beer and hot dog mid-game). In fairness, golf does burn more calories than an hour of pool (216), fishing (302) or (dare I write this in Canada?) curling (345).

So is golf a sport? Or not a sport? Popular Science magazine did pose the question, "Is Tiger Woods proof that golf is a sport, or is John Daly confirmation to the contrary?" and determined that the answer "probably depends on whether or you've got a set of clubs in the garage."

For the record, there are two sets of clubs in our garage. And one subscription to the Golf Channel. So I'm going to sit in the golf cart on this one.