Golf

Golf is “a cross-country game in which a player strikes a small ball with various clubs from a series of starting points (teeing grounds) into a series of holes on a course. The player who holes the ball in the fewest strokes wins,” according to Encyclopædia Britannica. [3]

According to the American Golf Industry Coalition in 2025, golf generates a direct economic impact of $102 billion annually and supports nearly 2 million jobs nationwide. When golf’s indirect contributions (through its impact on travel, hotel stays, and home purchases) are included, the annual contribution to the U.S. economy tops $226 billion. Some 1-in-7 Americans participate in golf in some way, while the game’s total reach (when watching, streaming, and reading about golf are considered) entails about one-third of the population. [61] [60] [59] [58] [16] [17]

Early History of Golf

The origins of golf are murky because several countries invented games that involved hitting a ball with a club at a target. The most commonly cited precursors of golf (dates of origin vary) include

• the ancient Chinese game of Chuiwan, popular from the Song to Ming dynasties (10th-17th centuries),
• the ancient Roman game of paganica, which involved hitting a wool- or feather-stuffed leather ball with a bent stick,
• the 13th-century French game of “pall-mall,” a game similar to croquet,
• the Dutch games of “colf (kolf)” (13th century) and “chole” (14th century), in which the aim is to hit a pole with the ball struck by a club,
• the 14th-century English stick-and-ball game of cambuca, and
• the French croquet-like game of jeu de mail, popular from the 15th-18th centuries. [42] [43] [15] [12] [5] [3]

Reportedly, the name of the sport evolved in tandem with the nature of the sport. From Colf and Kolf to golf, which originated in Scotland around 1400. In the end, the invention of golf as we know it today—from the basic rules of the game and the 18-hole course to the development of the modern golf club and ball—is generally credited to Scotland. Historians say that golf was played at St. Andrews in Scotland even before the university was founded in 1411. [42] [43] [15] [12] [5] [3]

In fact, the Scots were so captivated by the game that King James II (ruled 1437-60) feared it was interfering with the archery practice needed to help protect Scotland from the English. Accordingly, on March 6, 1457, the Scottish Parliament banned golf with a decree that read,

it is ordained and the decreed that the lords and barons both spiritual and temporal should organise archery displays four times in the year. And that football and golf should be utterly condemned and stopped.… [W]e ordain that [those found playing these games] be punished by the local barons and, failing them, by the King’s officers.

The ban was lifted in 1502 when the Treaty of Glasgow temporarily ended the wars between Scotland and England. King James IV made the first recorded purchase of golf equipment in that same year and became an avid golfer. [1] [44] [45]

St. Andrews, the home of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews (R&A), originated the 18-hole golf course in 1764 when golfers felt that some of the holes on the then 22-hole course should be consolidated. To this day 18 holes remain the standard for a round of golf. In 1897 the R&A was recognized by existing golf organizations as having the authority to determine the rules of golf. According to the official rulebook, “The Game of Golf consists of playing a ball with a club from the teeing ground into the hole by a stroke or successive strokes in accordance with the Rules.” Home of the first course in the United States, St. Andrew’s Golf Club near Yonkers, New York was built in 1888 and is the oldest continuously running American golf course. The Amateur Golf Association of the United States (now called United States Golf Association, or USGA) was formed on December 22, 1894.[1] [46] [47]

Definition of Sport

The question of whether golf is a sport hinges on the definition of “sport.” Merriam-Webster defines sport as “physical activity engaged in for pleasure; a particular activity (as an athletic game) so engaged in.”[6]

John C. Phillips, professor of sociology at the University of the Pacific, asserts that people have an instinctual idea about what sport means. “In one sense,” he argues, “the word sport need not be analyzed. Anyone who speaks English knows what sport is and is not.” The topic has nonetheless been subject to significant analysis. [48]

Sports philosopher Bernard Suits names four elements that distinguish sports from games. “First, it is a game of skill, which marks it off from games of chance.… Second, it is a game of physical skill…. Third, a sport is a game that has a wide following…. Fourth, and last, a sport is a game that has achieved institutional stability.” [49]

Sociologists Tim Delaney and Tim Madigan define sport as “institutionalized, structured, and sanctioned competitive activity beyond the realm of play that involves physical exertion and the use of relatively complex athletic skills.” [48]

Lincoln Allison, founding director of the Centre for the Study of Sport in Society at Warwick University, notes that the definition has also shifted over time:

In English, the primary meaning of the word ‘sport’ changed dramatically in the period after 1880. Before that date, if you picked up a book on sport . . . it would certainly have been about some combination of hunting, shooting or fishing. [50]

According to Allison, the modern concept of sport began to solidify around 1930:

And yet, for all that sport can mean . . . the core of what people understand by sport in its serious and interesting sense can be defined briefly: sport is the institutionalisation of skill and prowess. [50]

Those who say golf is a sport point to the athleticism of top golfers such as Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. Woods, in his prime, reportedly bench-pressed 315 pounds, and much has been made of McIlroy’s improved results following his commitment to become more muscular. Those who say golf is not a sport point to the example of John Daly, a professional golfer who won two Majors even though he once weighed as much as 285 pounds and struggled with alcoholism. At a 2008 tournament, during one round of golf (18 holes), Daly notoriously smoked 21 cigarettes and consumed 12 Diet Cokes, six packs of Peanut M&M’s, and zero water.[20] [64] [65] [16]

As Popular Science reported Brett Zarda succinctly framed this debate: “Is Tiger Woods proof that golf is a sport, or is John Daly confirmation to the contrary?” Zardaeven ventured an answer, suggesting it “probably depends on whether you’ve got a set of clubs in the garage.” [7]

Golf in the Olympics

For many, the Olympics serve as a barometer for whether an activity should be viewed as a sport and its players athletes. Golf was included in the Olympics in 1900 (for men and women) and 1904 (for men only) before being removed. The golf events in the 1904 Olympics, held in St. Louis, Missouri, consisted of 74 American and three Canadian men. In 1908 the golf events were canceled reportedly because of a lack of international entries and a conflict with the R&A (one of golf’s governing bodies). Subsequent years also saw a dearth of competitors that resulted in the game’s continued absence from the Summer Olympic Games. [51] [52] [53]

The first major push to return golf to international sporting competition did not come until 1992, when the Atlanta Olympic Organizing Committee announced its intent to get golf approved for the 1996 Games. The proposal was met with opposition from major golf organizations, who were reportedly concerned about having their regular tour events overshadowed. The committee’s plan to hold the event at Augusta National Golf Club prompted concern because at the time the club had a male-only membership and just one Black member, and so the proposal was withdrawn. On August 20, 2012, Augusta announced that two women, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and businesswoman Darla Moore, were accepted as members—the first women admitted in the 80-year history of the club.[53] [63]

Another bid to include golf was rejected in 2005, reportedly due to lack of support from the professional golf tours. A Sports Illustrated poll conducted in May 2005 found that 29 percent of respondents thought golf should be added to the Olympics, second to rugby, favored by 38 percent. [54] [55]

In 2009 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) members voted 63–27 to return golf to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rugby was also voted in for the first time since it was removed in 1924. IOC president Jacques Rogge voiced his support for the decision, saying, “Both golf and rugby are very popular sports with global appeal and a strong ethic. They will be great additions to the Games.” [2] [56] [57]

Some people who opposed including golf said that the vote was neither a reflection of golf’s merit nor an endorsement that it is a sport, but rather that the IOC wished to add golf because of megastar golfer Tiger Woods and golf’s potential for increased sponsorships and television earnings. [37] [38]

Golf in the Supreme Court

On May 29, 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7–2 in PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin that the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour had to allow disabled golfer Casey Martin to use a golf cart, despite the PGA’s claim that “the condition of walking is a substantive rule of competition” in professional tournaments. Martin was born with Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber Syndrome, a degenerative disease that caused Martin’s right leg to atrophy and made him unable to walk across a golf course. The Court noted that Martin was a “talented golfer” who won his state high school golf championship and captained the 1994 Stanford University NCAA champion golf team.

The decision, delivered by Justice John Paul Stevens, said, in part,

We observe that the use of carts is not itself inconsistent with the fundamental character of the game of golf. From early on, the essence of the game has been shotmaking—using clubs to cause a ball to progress from the teeing ground to a hole some distance away with as few strokes as possible. [4]

The decision further stated that

Golf is a game in which it is impossible to guarantee that . . . an individual’s ability will be the sole determinant of the outcome. For example, changes in the weather may produce harder greens and more head winds for the tournament leader than for his closest pursuers. A lucky bounce may save a shot or two. [4]

In the dissenting opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia asserted that the issue of whether walking is essential to the game of golf was irrelevant, but noted that “Many, indeed, consider walking to be the central feature of the game of golf hence Mark Twain’s classic criticism of the sport: ‘a good walk spoiled.’”[4]

Casey Martin earned $206,874 over the course of his career as a professional golfer and is now the golf coach for the University of Oregon.

MET Values

Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET) values are a way to estimate how many calories are burned during a specific physical activity, according to the American Council on Exercise. A higher value correlates with more oxygen used by the body during that activity, so running has a higher MET value than sitting still, for example.

According to The Compendium of Physical Activities,

MET (Metabolic Equivalent) [is] the ratio of the work metabolic rate to the resting metabolic rate. One MET is defined as 1 kcal/kg/hour and is roughly equivalent to the energy cost of sitting quietly. A MET also is defined as oxygen uptake in ml/kg/min with one MET equal to the oxygen cost of sitting quietly, equivalent to 3.5 ml/kg/min.

To find the MET values for golf and more activities, visit the Compendium of Physical Activities.

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Discussion Questions

1. What is your definition of “sport”? Explain your answer.
2. Does golf meet your definition of sport? Why or why not?
3. Consider other Olympic events, do they meet your definition of sport? Explain your answer.