Golf- The most played sport?

[Swinglowandslow]

Hello
I'm watching the Asia Amateur golf on Sky from China. Thinking about how the game seems to have taken off in Asia,( particularly Korea)- and thus the potential in that area, I would not be surprised if golf is the game/sport played the most in the world now.
True, soccer commands the largest spectator numbers, I suppose , but I cannot think of a sport in which there are more participants, worldwide, than golf.
What do you reckon?

 

[Lord Tyrion]

The old comment used to be fishing but that is open to question as to whether it is a sport. I'd have it as a pastime so that disqualified it imo.

I suspect football still wins the day. Golf v football in S. America, most of Africa, Asia. Golf in most of those continents is a rich man's sport, football is universal.

 

[jim8flog]

The old comment used to be fishing but that is open to question as to whether it is a sport. I'd have it as a pastime so that disqualified it imo.

I suspect football still wins the day. Golf v football in S. America, most of Africa, Asia. Golf in most of those continents is a rich man's sport, football is universal.

But when you look at N.America it is probably American football.

Fishing probably applies to this country and probably a lot of the continent of N. America

Golf is probably still a very income based elitist sport in lot of countries and beyond the pocket of many people who may well only see a driving range at best (Japan used to be very much like this).

 

[howbow88]

Football is the answer.

 

[Pin-seeker]

I believe that golf is around the 10th most played sport,with table tennis,badminton & obviously football coming above it.

Yeah I googled it 😊

 

[larmen]

Seeing what happens at 9am every Saturday ‘world wide’ I would think athletics to be up there.

But it probably is something like field hockey or table tennis, something that is huge in China which is ranking top.

 

[hovis]

apparently fishing is the most participated sport in the world. the Chinese and Indians love it.
football is an obvious one but how many people do you know that actually play?

 

[Capella]

I guess it also depends on what counts as participating in a sport. Is kicking a can around on the school yard playing football? Because that is what we did as children ... like all the time. Sometimes we used a tennis ball instead of a can, if someone had thought about bringing one. And on rare occasions somebody brought a real football. But you could bet on it, if a group of three or more kids had to wait around for a while, for a school bus, for school to start, or were just hanging around in the afternoon on a playground, a parking lot or where ever else, a few backpacks, stones or whatever were set up as makeshift goals and a spontaneous game would ensue.

Not everyone played in a real club, but every child I know (including all the girls) has played football on the streets at some point during his/her childhood. Other activities were and still are very popular as well, which you could count as a sport, even though they are not done in an organized fashion: cycling, swimming and running, for example in the form of playing catch. Because you basically don't need any special equipment or a special playing field/course to do it. That is maybe the main reason that football is so popular worldwide. Despite the insane amounts of money it makes as an industry, you need next to nothing to just play it whenever/wherever. Golf is quite different when it comes to that. Even if you include "urban golf", you do need way more space and at least a little bit of specialized equipment to get started.

 

[howbow88]

Yep - the term participation and what it means is key to the question. If you just simply mean playing the sport whether organised or not, I think football will lead by miles. Every kid in the middle of Africa plays football if they have a ball available. Things like golf, snooker, table tennis, cricket, etc can't compete because of the logistical barriers of the equipment needed.

A side question - is Topgolf, golf? Does going to the driving range mean you participate in golf? What about crazy golf? Etc.

 

[Orikoru]

Fishing isn't a sport, I'm not having that.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Football is number one and the because of places like India , Pakistan etc cricket , hockey , badminton etc are up there - golf I suspect will be in the top 20 but because of the lack of people playing in both India , Pakistan , Russia etc then it’s lower than what people think

 

[sunshine]

Millions of kids all over the world kicking a ball around the street, the park, the beach, any bit of spare land. Not many playing golf

 

[inc0gnito]

It’s football 100%. As one anecdote to that, one of the courses I play I’d maybe see a handful of people during the round. Yet i see the five-a-side pitches full, the AstroTurf pitch with 22 people on it (and subs), and a bunch of kids league games on the grass pitches surrounding the course. Easily 1:50 ratio by the end of the week!

 

[Pathetic Shark]

But when you look at N.America it is probably American football..

The number of people who play football in the States is minimal compared to golf. Some kids play at pee-wee level and then junior school. Once you reach high school, it is more serious and competitve and if you are not in those teams, you do not play at all. And no adult plays outside of the NFL at all. There are no social leagues like we have Sunday football.

Even at a kids level, way more youngsters play soccer than football.

 

[SammmeBee]

Seeing what happens at 9am every Saturday ‘world wide’ I would think athletics to be up there.

But it probably is something like field hockey or table tennis, something that is huge in China which is ranking top.

Football? 9am, 10am, 11am, noon....3pm....Sat.....and Sun.....

 

[larmen]

Football? 9am, 10am, 11am, noon....3pm....Sat.....and Sun.....

I thought running (parkrun) with 200 to 1500 people at the same time in up to 1000? Locations. Plus the odd 40000 people race like in Berlin yesterday.

Having since googled it of course it is football, but hockey and table tennis were good top 10 shouts.