but El Hozel will rear his ugly head around the corner at any given moment if you let him. One fraction of one millisecond off and you're screwed. What other sport has such a slim margin to obtain perfection?
Is Golf the easiest sport to maintain excellence?....
- Thread starter dawgstudent
- Start date
will be there. You guarantee that I will not win 2 games?? I guarantee I win the first two, and may even let you serve both games. And did I reply correctly? I so love your tutorial. And speaking of tutorial, go on and bring your notepad to the court next week. Make it legal size.
BriantheDawg said:
At the elite level? Nearly all of them. Don't see the attack in the Alps of Tour de France and jump the wheel, you lost. Swim against the rope in the pool and the guy behind you catches you and beats for gold by .08 seconds. Tennis at the elite level takes a ridiculous amount of precision. The tiniest hesitation at the start of the 100m and you lose. And so on.
That's not the mental grind, though. That's simply focus. The mental grind is waking up every damn day and swimming 8 miles, hitting a gazillion buckets, running 15 miles, etc., and not getting bored or slack. The difference is that at the end of the day, other athletes bodies are thrashed, and they have find a way to recover so they can do it all again the next day. Golfers? Yeah, they are tired, but the recovery is not in the same ballpark as other athletes.
And to show that I don't just hate golfers, I put MLB pitchers on roughly the same level.</p>
Seshomoru said:
Every elite athlete works hard, they all practice like crazy, but tennis players take time off during the off season. they will take a couple of months off then come back and hit practice again. Golfers cannot do that. There is another element I forgot to mention too, a tennis court is always the same size, same net height, and one of three different surfaces. Golf every course is different so they have to do alot more scouting as well.</p>
No doubt tennis is more physically demanding but the actually muscle memory, skills practice time for golf is harder than any other sport. Of course golf is a game, not a sport, but I think that topic has been covered.
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My 70-something year old uncle plays golf all the time, but he couldn't run 30 yards, hit a jumpshot, make contact with a baseball, catch a fade, throw a ball 20 yards, or hit a backhand. You need hand-eye coordination for Playstation also, but that doesn't mean you have to be athletic. I'm not dissing golf. Lord knows it's hard. But it's damn sure not athletic. The only people who think it is are the ones who convince themselves that they are getting a workout while playing.
but they're not millisecond slim. You can ride your little Euro bike all you want, but if you mis-peddle 1 single time, it's not going to cost you a race. You miss hit one golf shot, it goes out of bounds, and you lose. Don't let your Euro trash goggles blind you because you don't like a certain sport.
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Funny that I never seem to get bored when I play golf. If part of your mental argument is you have to keep from getting bored, then how bout trying a different sport? Or maybe you should just move to Europe, France in particular.
but it's definitely one of, if not the, only sports you hear about people taking up at 30+ and then being good at. The guy that won the senior British open this year only started playing pro golf in 1990 when he was only in one regular PGA tournament before the champion's tour. It's also one of the only sports that for the common man a 70 year old can kick a 20 year olds ***.
If a tennis player didn't take any time off, his body would fall apart in three years. The fact that golfers can play year round only cements the fact that it's an easier sport to maintain in.
Anyway...
This whole thread kind of veered off topic. We are talking about elite level dominance, of which I can think of just a handful who have done that in recent years (and I'm keeping this to individual sports). Phelps, Tiger, Lance (debatable since he really only specialized in one event), and Federer. Which one of those four had it easiest? Tiger. Which one was easy? None of them. Which one is most impressive? Again, none of them. They are all absolutely incredible feats.
Anyway...
This whole thread kind of veered off topic. We are talking about elite level dominance, of which I can think of just a handful who have done that in recent years (and I'm keeping this to individual sports). Phelps, Tiger, Lance (debatable since he really only specialized in one event), and Federer. Which one of those four had it easiest? Tiger. Which one was easy? None of them. Which one is most impressive? Again, none of them. They are all absolutely incredible feats.
I'm a middle aged and in decent shape. I used to be a very average basketball player who could dunk and a decent baseball player with occasional power.
Now I struggle to touch the net and can barely hit it out of the infield.
My golf handicap is the lowest its ever been at 4. Certainly not great, but nothing to sneeze at.
So, yes, golf is a much easier sport to maintain your effectiveness than many others.
Now I struggle to touch the net and can barely hit it out of the infield.
My golf handicap is the lowest its ever been at 4. Certainly not great, but nothing to sneeze at.
So, yes, golf is a much easier sport to maintain your effectiveness than many others.
AssEndDawg said:
The tennis off-season lasts about 6 weeks. The Masters Cup is in mid-November and by Jan. 2, the players are in full swing getting ready for the mid-January Australian Open. Some players even Christmas in Australia to get an early start on their preparations. No way golf's offseason is shorter than that. </p>
Maintain excellence???
Golf is far and away more difficult to reach a level of proficiency, but you can generally play it for a longer term. Very hard to maintain a good level. ( especially after drinking beer)
In tennis, if you have any reasonable athletic ability, you can develope a reasonable game quicker.
Level of excellence?? in tennis the favorite wins about 90% of the time, and in golf the favorite wins about 20% of the time ( with some exclusion for Tiger).
Golf is far and away more difficult to reach a level of proficiency, but you can generally play it for a longer term. Very hard to maintain a good level. ( especially after drinking beer)
In tennis, if you have any reasonable athletic ability, you can develope a reasonable game quicker.
Level of excellence?? in tennis the favorite wins about 90% of the time, and in golf the favorite wins about 20% of the time ( with some exclusion for Tiger).
BriantheDawg said:
</p> I get bored playing golf. I get to the point where I need a challenge everyone in awhile
but I don't think that's true. I hate soccer but I know it takes tremendous athletic ability to play it. I have bowled over 10 300 games and in various regional PBA tournaments, and I don't think bowling takes much athletic ability. They are both technically a sport, but one takes hand/eye coordination and one takes a more healthy athletic ability. Also bowling, much like golf and many other sports, has gotten tremendously easier with equipment technological advances. before the 1980s it took much more skill to bowl a 300, an average of 200 was the best in an entire bowling facility. Nowadays a 200 average isn't even the median in a normal men's league at most places.
So, in summary I hate soccer and love bowling and think soccer takes tremendous athletic ability and bowling...not so much.
So, in summary I hate soccer and love bowling and think soccer takes tremendous athletic ability and bowling...not so much.
[b said:
Come on, you really believe that? If so you are insane. Agree that none is easy, but Tiger's is easily the toughest. The margin for error in golf is so tiny. As has already been stated it's a fine line between major champion and club champion as evidenced by Duval and many others. Change the lie angle on a couple of Tiger's irons without him knowing and he probably shoots 2 or 3 shots worse. None of the others you mention can be affected by such a minor change.
Federer plays one person at a time and Phelps 7 others.</p>
Federer is a far more superior athlete than Tiger Woods. No comparison.
Tennis is 100x more strenious on the body and mind than golf.
Look at how many decisions the brain has to process in a single point.
Golf and bowling are about the only two sports you can drink and smoke while you are playing. Hard to keep a cigarette in your mouth while trying to make a volley.
Tennis is 100x more strenious on the body and mind than golf.
Look at how many decisions the brain has to process in a single point.
Golf and bowling are about the only two sports you can drink and smoke while you are playing. Hard to keep a cigarette in your mouth while trying to make a volley.
in golf you aren't competing directly against the other people. You are playing the course, and nothing you do physically is going to effect the other player. In tennis, you only play one person at a time but your skill directly impacts their ability to win. Tiger has a mental edge over other people because they all assume he will win, but he cannot directly influence the other people's scores like a tennis player can by hitting good shots.
It is my opinion that any sport where what you do directly impacts the other player or team is inherently harder to stay on top than otherwise. Someone will figure out a way eventually to return your serve, hit your curveball, or tackle your running back. You have to adjust when those happen. In golf all you can do it play as low as you can and hope the others don't go lower.
It is my opinion that any sport where what you do directly impacts the other player or team is inherently harder to stay on top than otherwise. Someone will figure out a way eventually to return your serve, hit your curveball, or tackle your running back. You have to adjust when those happen. In golf all you can do it play as low as you can and hope the others don't go lower.
I have picked up bowling lately. I have been playing at least twice a week for the last 2 months.
I have gained much more respect for bowlers, I be damned it is pretty damn physical. Not as much as tennis though, but a decent work out.
My whole hand, back and forearms are sore after rolling about 5 games.
And I to sweat allot; bowling is fun as hell and you can drink while playing. I quit playing tennis a few years back after playing my whole life. Bowling has taken its spot for now.
I have gained much more respect for bowlers, I be damned it is pretty damn physical. Not as much as tennis though, but a decent work out.
My whole hand, back and forearms are sore after rolling about 5 games.
And I to sweat allot; bowling is fun as hell and you can drink while playing. I quit playing tennis a few years back after playing my whole life. Bowling has taken its spot for now.
There are so many faulty assumptions that it's almost not worth it, but here goes anway:statedogg said:
The fine line for David Duval was a total mental meltdown... and besides you're going way off topic, because even though he won a major, Duval never achieved excellence. At least in the way I'm interpreting it. Tiger won a major on a torn ACL. Tiger won a major by 15 strokes. Apparently his margin of error is actually quite wide.
If Lance Armstrong didn't eat enough one night, he would have lost the tour. If he had his head raised too often in a TT, he would have lost. If he lost focus for a split second on a descent, he could have crashed and lost. Not to mention his training, which is pretty legendary in it's own right.
Federer? I liken it to what Brutius mentioned. He actually has people playing aGAINST him, not just on the same course as him. That makes it infinitely harder to be so dominant for so long.
Phelps? What he's doing pretty much speaks for itself, but what if he had swam his leg of the relay .09 seconds slower? What if he doesn't take in the right amount of calories overnight? Bye bye gold. What if Tiger didn't? Oh well, have a little more for breakfast, no big deal.
Sometimes I just can't finish that last bite of potatoes either. Man, it's just so damn hard to make sure I get enough to eat at night. What the hell does this have to do with anything? He rides a +%!*%%+ bike fore pete's sake. Wooooo. He may be in great shape and it obviously takes a lot of endurance to do what he did, but it's just riding a +%!*%%+ bike. It's a physical grind. Not a mental grind. That is, unless you get bored doing it or something.
the 2 sports are incomparable. Obviously. There are times when going up the steep climbs in the Alps that, yes, it can take a mental toll on you. And I'm sure coming down from those heights can be a little sketchy too. But, there are times when they are just peddling along. No thought going into it whatsoever. Just a physical grind.
Golf is not very physical. Obviously. But, you must be EXACTLY PRECISE over & over & over again in golf to be elite in that game. You can't be off a millimeter and get the ball to go where you want. There's just a much smaller percentage for error in golf. And that's why it's much more of a mental grind.
Golf is not very physical. Obviously. But, you must be EXACTLY PRECISE over & over & over again in golf to be elite in that game. You can't be off a millimeter and get the ball to go where you want. There's just a much smaller percentage for error in golf. And that's why it's much more of a mental grind.
Those guys are riding down narrow, steep, mountain roads with 180 degree turns at 70 MPH. One misstep and you could easily DIE. I'd say it's a more than "a little sketchy." In fact, it's the most terrifying thing I've ever seen in any sport.
You ever ridden a bike at 30 MPH in a crowded pack of riders with other riders within 6 inches of you on all 4 sides? Again, one misstep in 4 hours of riding and you're going down. You won't die, but good chance you break a collarbone.
I would love to get in on this too.
How about a little doubles action, and I bet I ace your *** two times in the first game.
I have 10 or 11 rackets you can choose from...
How about a little doubles action, and I bet I ace your *** two times in the first game.
I have 10 or 11 rackets you can choose from...
patdog said:
If you READ you see I said they take two months. Your witty retort is 6 weeks? Really? Why jump in the middle of a conversation with this retarded tidbit?
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I know I could never do what any of those guys do, nor would I ever want to try. Yes, bike riding can be dangerous. I totally understand that. But there are times when these guys are next to no one, when they are on flat ground for miles with no one within hundreds of yards of them. Each individual peddle at that time will not win the race or lose the race for you. If they were to misstep at one of THESE points in time, big deal. On the other hand, exact precision is what Tiger has to perform EVERY TIME he takes the club back. What is so difficult to understand about that?
I a typical Tour de France (or Giro d'Italia or Vuelta a Espana, the other two 3-week major races), riders will ride for over 80 hours. At least 70 of those hours will be in the tight peloton I described, i.e. a pack of riders riding 30 MPH about 6 inches apart. Yes, there are times they ride alone, but that's the exception rather than the rule.
And as a US American, I am very ashamed to not know everything about bike riding. That, and futbol. Apparently, I have no culture.
/somebody please lock this. I'm tired of arguing.
/somebody please lock this. I'm tired of arguing.
BriantheDawg said:
Dude, no one cares whether you like cycling or not. The fact that you claim you don't sort of diminishes your claims on the sport though. Yeah, maybe a handfull of people on this board have half a clue what it takes to win a grand tour, and day classic, a TT, or a crit, and that's ok. However, there are a few that do know about the sport, and we can definitely say your assumptions about the sport are far from accurate. If you don't like it, that's cool. However, don't use your misconceptions as the basis of your arguement. You're wrong, and that's ok, too. It's not a popular sport in the States, so it's not that big of a deal that you don't know.
For the record, yes, I'm the guy that tivos every stage of the Tour de France, so if you ever do feel like learning about it, I'll be happy to explain some things. If you have no interest, well it's fine with me if you want to keep it that way. And no, I won't think you're uncultured because you don't like it. I don't think I'm cultured because I do. I like cycling because I like bikes. Pretty simple really.
And no, I'm not locking the thread because you're tired of arguing. Somebody else might, though, because I've gone and geeked the **** out on cycling. </p>
Enough about all the talk, I'm ready to see this tennis match b/t dawgstudent and his challenger. Let's set it up for the intramural courts at noon before the Southeastern LA game.
Dawgstudent, didn't you say you were a 3.5?
Dawgstudent, didn't you say you were a 3.5?
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