Should Golf be in the Olympics?

[CatInASuit]

It already has it's four major tournaments that the Olympics is not going to be able to match in terms of prize money, kudos or points ranking.

The Olympics should be the pinnacle of the sport every four years, which every athlete should strive for. I can't see many of the golfers striving for the Olympic Gold when it will not matter anywhere near as much as winning the US Masters or any of the four majors.

So, not including a lot advertising revenue and money, is there any good reason why Golf shold be at the olympics?

[ivan astikov]

Not unless they are goint to include darts and bar billiards.

[glee]

Sadly the first priority of the Olympics is not sport. It's money.
Golf would bring in a lot of TV viewers, particularly from the US.

[Cluricaun]

Not unless they are goint to include darts and bar billiards.

I feel much the same. Golf is referred to as a sport, but to me it is really more of a game. The big difference is that in sports you can't drink whiskey and smoke cigarettes while participating without some major drawbacks to your performance. Games on the other hand easily facilitate smoking and drinking. Pool, darts, bowling and golf are all games, not sports.

[Boozahol Squid, P.I.]

There's already the Ryder Cup. Just like soccer in the Olympics being completely overshadowed by the World Cup (I can name every single WC champ since I've been born, and only vaguely remember Nigeria beating Argentina in '96 only because I was at the game), golf doesn't need to be in the Olympics.
If a sport already has a universal method of determining world supremacy, then including it in the Olympics is only going to weaken the import of the Olympics.

[ivan astikov]

I feel much the same. Golf is referred to as a sport, but to me it is really more of a game. The big difference is that in sports you can't drink whiskey and smoke cigarettes while participating without some major drawbacks to your performance. Games on the other hand easily facilitate smoking and drinking. Pool, darts, bowling and golf are all games, not sports.

There was a snooker player called Bill Werbenuik(?sp) who couldn't play at all unless he drank a pint of stout per frame... now that's what I call a "sportsman"!

[Zuul]

I feel much the same. Golf is referred to as a sport, but to me it is really more of a game. The big difference is that in sports you can't drink whiskey and smoke cigarettes while participating without some major drawbacks to your performance. Games on the other hand easily facilitate smoking and drinking. Pool, darts, bowling and golf are all games, not sports.

Fair enough viewpoint, but having played golf with a couple of very competitive guys I'll just point out that not everyone feels that way. Geez, my one friend would sit there for about thirty minutes on every shot just "feeling" it out. And then my brother would examine the terrain all over the place, running over to check out whether or not there was an incline near the hole before ever taking his first shot.

And it's not as though they're serious about golf. They just don't seem to understand "fun."

[ivan astikov]

I play Kerplunk competitively. It's still not a sport!