The Game has changed forever

[ScottRob]

I guess I see eye hand coordination as a characteristic of athleticism. Typical golfer, I guess! I understand what you are saying about Phil's physique, but tubby guys can surprise you sometimes. Wish he would wear a more generous fitting shirt!

 

[birly-shirly]

I looked up "athletic" in the dictionary and found this:

"having a sturdy build or well-proportioned body structure. "

I think Phil ought to qualify as an athlete under at least one of these criteria...

 

[wulsy]

Strangely enough, I've seen a lot of very good golfers who were pretty poor at most other sports and a lot of guys who were good a lot of other sports being pretty poor at golf. Just an observation, I have no theory as to why this may be.

 

[mjstrong]

Golf is hard.

 

[birly-shirly]

Golf is hard.

If that were it, Seve would've been a better footballer. Apparently he was passionate, but dreadful.

I think it's better to say that golf, like most sports, is pretty specific. It's rare enough for people to successfully cross over from one sport to another, even between such apparently closely related disciplines as triathlon and cycling or between road and mountain biking.

 

[ScottRob]

Strangely enough, I've seen a lot of very good golfers who were pretty poor at most other sports and a lot of guys who were good a lot of other sports being pretty poor at golf. Just an observation, I have no theory as to why this may be.

eye hand coordination!

 

[ekennedy]

Do you guys remember the topic of Tiger Woods being such a good athlete that they asked the players at the Super Bowl what position he would play? They just laughed.

A friend of mine was the captain of Stanford's Golf Team and he said that when Eldrick got to college, he couldn't dribble a basketball. Looks are deceiving.

I know we all love golf and would like to think of ourselves as finely tuned athletes, but lets not get carried away.

 

[birly-shirly]

Do you guys remember the topic of Tiger Woods being such a good athlete that they asked the players at the Super Bowl what position he would play? They just laughed.

A friend of mine was the captain of Stanford's Golf Team and he said that when Eldrick got to college, he couldn't dribble a basketball. Looks are deceiving.

I know we all love golf and would like to think of ourselves as finely tuned athletes, but lets not get carried away.

I agree with most of that. But then I'm equally sure that Tiger will have been paired up in pro-celebs with quite a few elite sportsmen from other disciplines and been less than impressed with how their athleticism translates to the golf course.

Tiger's got strength, speed, agility and co-ordination that could hardly be more finely tuned to his sport.

What I would love to see is an analysis of how much of golfing performance (let's say, clubhead speed) is responsive to physical conditioning as opposed to timing and co-ordination and other skill factors.

Isn't it true that in the time that Tiger's been out on tour, whilst he's bulked up, he's also lost clubhead speed?

 

[duckjr78]

Do you guys remember the topic of Tiger Woods being such a good athlete that they asked the players at the Super Bowl what position he would play? They just laughed.

A friend of mine was the captain of Stanford's Golf Team and he said that when Eldrick got to college, he couldn't dribble a basketball. Looks are deceiving.

I know we all love golf and would like to think of ourselves as finely tuned athletes, but lets not get carried away.

He also ran track and was quite good at it.

It takes all kinds. There is no one perfect description of an "athlete." That said, I'll bet Tiger learned to dribble a basketball in less than a week.

 

[wulsy]

What I would love to see is an analysis of how much of golfing performance (let's say, clubhead speed) is responsive to physical conditioning as opposed to timing and co-ordination and other skill factors.

Isn't it true that in the time that Tiger's been out on tour, whilst he's bulked up, he's also lost clubhead speed?

+1. I've a sneaky suspicion that the physical fitness/strength thing is a bit overrated in GOLF. In other sports involving direct physical contact/combat the physical side is obviously more important. Not saying its not important in golf, just that its not the mega-factor that many regard it as. Having said that, I'd rather have Dustin's physique than GMac's

 

[duckjr78]

What's the old saying from boxing? "A good big man will beat a good little man." Or something like that. It's true in golf just the same. Longer limbs + more muscle = more clubhead speed, all other things being equal and that is a massive asset.

 

[ekennedy]

He also ran track and was quite good at it.

It takes all kinds. There is no one perfect description of an "athlete." That said, I'll bet Tiger learned to dribble a basketball in less than a week.

Good point, Duck. He also didn't have a serious girlfriend. Seems he overcame that nicely.

 

[birly-shirly]

What's the old saying from boxing? "A good big man will beat a good little man." Or something like that. It's true in golf just the same. Longer limbs + more muscle = more clubhead speed, all other things being equal and that is a massive asset.

"all other things being equal" is rather a massive assumption though.

I would reckon that most professional golfers, provided their confidence is intact, expect to win through skill or experience or some combination of the many factors that make a contest unequal.

I don't imagine Ian Woosnam ever felt inferior or at a disadvantage to anyone. Of course, that's not to say that being 5'4" was a positive asset for him - but he would expect to beat taller, and by some criteria on this thread more athletic, opponents every day of the week.

Going back to boxing - most matches across 2 different weight divisions would be very uneven, and a real upset if the lighter fighter won. I don't think golf will ever be quite like boxing in that respect.

 

[mgranato]

Edit...

5'8"/145 lbs (Wilson) is plenty of athlete for professional golf.

 

[conkanen]

On to more important things...

How the heck we gonna "Mark-Wilson-Proof" Augusta?

 

[suns11111]

LOL conkanen. Make the course 6700 yds, cut all the rough, no groove rule and greens super slick. Watch Watson in contention........Tom or Bubba lol?!

 

[ej20]

"all other things being equal" is rather a massive assumption though.

I would reckon that most professional golfers, provided their confidence is intact, expect to win through skill or experience or some combination of the many factors that make a contest unequal.

I don't imagine Ian Woosnam ever felt inferior or at a disadvantage to anyone. Of course, that's not to say that being 5'4" was a positive asset for him - but he would expect to beat taller, and by some criteria on this thread more athletic, opponents every day of the week.

Going back to boxing - most matches across 2 different weight divisions would be very uneven, and a real upset if the lighter fighter won. I don't think golf will ever be quite like boxing in that respect.

Ian might be 5'4" but he weighs about 180 so he aint that small.lol

In boxing they go by weight,not height.

 

[Richie3Jack]

Professional golf will continue to get players, who for the most part, were not physically suited for the other more athletically prejudiced sports. What is one of the feats that is often associated with Dustin Johnson being a "great athlete"? He can dunk a basketball. While that is truly impressive in a lilliputian dominated demographic, its not such a big deal even in high school athletics. Heck, everyone of us on my 15 year old AAU team could dunk, and that was in the 80's.

I agree with most of this, but in regards to DJ, his trainer put him thru a 'combine' test, much like the NFL combine and his combine would've been excellent by NFL standards.

I think golf takes a different set of abilities from other sports. Baseball has plenty of fat players who are not great athletes, but they can hurl a ball or swing a bat quite well.

Plus, DJ was/is a legitimately good basketball player.




3JACK

 

[birly-shirly]

@ej20 - That's correct. Give or take 14lbs or so...

Woosie did actually box - do you think he got in the ring as a heavyweight?

Anyway, the original point was about both muscle and length of limb. Or does IW also have the reach of Ali?

 

[duckjr78]

I agree with the saying for some sports , but not for golf, and for arguments say, soccer.
Low centre of gravity is the key to golf in my opinion, and guys with big torso's and short limbs.
They must be supple and be able to turn \ stretch of course.

As for the game has changed, sure it has because of all these dumb clown clubs, built for clowns, with huge faces.

Even in soccer, "all other things being equal" a tall keeper will get to the ball faster than a short one. A tall sweeper will get to a header before a short one.

What I am saying is that in every sport, leverage and power wins. Longer limbs mean more leverage and more muscle means more power. I can not think of very many athletic or even "hand-eye" coordination games (darts?) where a person would choose to have shorter/weaker limbs. Power lifting is shorter limbs, but certainly not weaker.