Is golf the hardest of all games to master?

[Dando]

I would say that golf is the hardest game to master.
I played Cricket to county 2ndXI and premier league standard playing against seriously good players and in all honesty hitting a hard red ball that's coming at you at up to 90mph is was a walk in the park compared to trying to hit a stationary little white ball!

 

[Paul77]

If you think about how crazy it sounds to try and put that wee white ball into a hole that's 500 yards away in 5 shots then yes it's crazy and we all do alright at it generally. It's easy to lose sight of how mentally taxing this game is.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

If you think about how crazy it sounds to try and put that wee white ball into a hole that's 500 yards away in 5 shots then yes it's crazy and we all do alright at it generally. It's easy to lose sight of how mentally taxing this game is.

..using a 3ft long stick with a lump of metal on the end. And often not being able to see where you want to hit it

 

[ger147]

I would always go for Snooker as the hardest as there is one very important difference betwween Snooker and Golf. No matter what happens at Golf, ultimately you are in charge of your own destiny i.e. you play your own ball. At Snooker, you can literally play perfect no mistake Snooker and still get beat, as when your opponent is at the table, you don't get a shot.

That is an additional mental aspect to Snooker that isn't quite the same in Golf.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I would always go for Snooker as the hardest as there is one very important difference betwween Snooker and Golf. No matter what happens at Golf, ultimately you are in charge of your own destiny i.e. you play your own ball. At Snooker, you can literally play perfect no mistake Snooker and still get beat, as when your opponent is at the table, you don't get a shot.

That is an additional mental aspect to Snooker that isn't quite the same in Golf.

True - though having a perfect opponent doesn't make the game harder - might make winning harder. And we do often have an opponent in golf - and you ALWAYS have that opponent called 'The Weather' - and snooker players don't have to contend with that often rather demanding and temperamental opponent.

 

[JustOne]

If you consider golf to be a sport then I'd suggest pole vault is tougher.. I mean how many of us here are any good at all at pole vault?

 

[Hacker Khan]

If you consider golf to be a sport then I'd suggest pole vault is tougher.. I mean how many of us here are any good at all at pole vault?

Then again how many on http://www.polevaultpower.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=41 would be good at golf?

 

[JohnnyDee]

Define golf in terms of 'Master'.

To be able to play to a level of reasonable competence. Say perhaps mid- handicap level.

 

[TheAlbatross]

Really interesting thread - having given up cricket to play golf 15 years ago I think the one thing golf has in it's favour over cricket is that (as a batsman) that one bad shot in cricket is the end of your day, whilst in golf you can go and find your ball or just take a penalty drop and let the game continue.

Bad shots in both golf and cricket are frustrating but depending on your luck you can get away with it and sometimes even benefit. The difference is when your luck runs out in cricket you are out! The same doesn't apply in golf.

The thing cricket has in it's favour is that you a playing against someone and if you get a ball with your name on then you just have to hold you hands up and say you got a good un - which eases the frustration. In golf there's no one to blame for your score but yourself. Psychologically that makes it tough!

 

[JustOne]

To be able to play to a level of reasonable competence. Say perhaps mid- handicap level.

Mid handicap.... so that means Homer has mastered the game???? oh lordy!!

 

[Snelly]

Mid handicap.... so that means Homer has mastered the game???? oh lordy!!

No-one ever masters the game of golf.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Really interesting thread - having given up cricket to play golf 15 years ago I think the one thing golf has in it's favour over cricket is that (as a batsman) that one bad shot in cricket is the end of your day, whilst in golf you can go and find your ball or just take a penalty drop and let the game continue.

Bad shots in both golf and cricket are frustrating but depending on your luck you can get away with it and sometimes even benefit. The difference is when your luck runs out in cricket you are out! The same doesn't apply in golf.

The thing cricket has in it's favour is that you a playing against someone and if you get a ball with your name on then you just have to hold you hands up and say you got a good un - which eases the frustration. In golf there's no one to blame for your score but yourself. Psychologically that makes it tough!

BiB - again - I'd say that that doesn't necessarily make the game harder - it might well in some ways make it more frustrating than golf and losing your front order for ducks might well may it harder to win the game.

 

[FairwayDodger]

No-one ever masters the game of golf.

I mastered it yesterday.... Tomorrow it will remind me that it can't be mastered!

 

[delc]

If you think about how crazy it sounds to try and put that wee white ball into a hole that's 500 yards away in 5 shots then yes it's crazy and we all do alright at it generally. It's easy to lose sight of how mentally taxing this game is.

Plus the fact that the hole is only four-and-a-quarter inches in diameter. No wonder players get the yips!!! :mmm:

 

[Hobbit]

If par for a course is 72, and someone regularly shoots level par or better, I'd say they've mastered it. And with that definition in mind, I think golf is easier than many sports.

 

[delc]

If par for a course is 72, and someone regularly shoots level par or better, I'd say they've mastered it. And with that definition in mind, I think golf is easier than many sports.

And what percentage of golfers get to that standard? Probably less than 1%!

 

[Hobbit]

And what percentage of golfers get to that standard? Probably less than 1%!

And there's a number of golfers at every club make scratch or better. How many top amateur footballers are there from your town and any town in the country? And ask the question of any sport.

Just because many of us don't master the sport it doesn't mean it's that hard, only that we aren't good enough and won't admit it.

 

[Khamelion]

Chess and Othello, easy to learn a lifetime to master. Golf may require a physical element, but a lot of golf is mental.

 

[Spear-Chucker]

Can't think of many games harder than golf - probably my lack of knowledge though.

Have thought for a long time that to be even marginally successful at golf requires physical dexterity, imagination, time, dedication, mental strategy and a level of resilience usually only reserved for those who are masters in other fields.