Argumentative response – Sorry, golf is not a sport

Cristina – Stage 11 May 2022

First Language English IGCSE argumentative response coursework
Response to ‘Sorry, golf is not a sport‘

Grade: A

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Dear Mr Atkins,

I recently read your article entitled “Sorry, golf is not a sport”, and I am writing this letter to explain why I completely disagree with your opinion. It is clear that you have no real experience in golf and the information you present to justify your opinion demonstrates this – it seems that you can name only a handful of pro golfers over the age of 40 and haven’t mentioned even one young golf professional throughout your entire article.

Whilst I agree that Tiger Woods’ feat of winning his third Masters tournament and seventh major professional golf championship is a great achievement, I think that it is extremely offensive that you state that we can’t compare Tiger’s accomplishments with athletes of other sports. You draw our attention to the opinions of commentators and writers that compare Tiger Woods with other athletes like Joe DiMaggio, Wilt Chamberlain or Carl Lewis and I personally think that your judgement is wrong, as they are all great athletes who have achieved major success – a professional golf player is an athlete just like those of other sports. Golf is a sport that needs practice, discipline and consistency to be successful in golf; this is why many athletes from other sports try to play golf and do not succeed.

You claimed that “golf isn’t a sport” – this sounds to me insulting and disrespectful to all those golfers who work extremely hard to achieve their goals and possess an enormous amount of self-discipline. According to the Cambridge dictionary a sport is “a game, competition, or activity needing physical effort and skill that is played or done according to rules, for enjoyment and/or as a job”, and this can be perfectly applied to golf. On average a pro golfer will practice for a minimum of six hours per day for a minimum of five days per week; moreover professional golfers require physical and mental training. You go on to say that it is a skill and therefore not a sport, but activities like football which you consider “real sports” are also skills.

In your article you stated that “pro golfers are a bunch of non-athletes”. I will refer again to the Cambridge dictionary, which states that “an athlete is a a person who is very good at sports or physical exercise, especially one who competes in organized events”, this strongly implies golf. In addition, you have mentioned that golf is an activity that “older people take up when their knees go bad” and I can say with authority since I have been exposed to this sport from a very young age, that to practice golf your knees need to be stable through the swing, so it is very important to have strong muscles around it. Pro golfers may not be able to run as fast as Craig Stadler or John Daly in a 100-yard dash because this is not their sport, they don’t train to be runners, they train for their sport – golf.

It seems to me that you are trying to say that professional golfers that have won major tournaments are older men, who are less athletic and physically weak and therefore you infer that it’s not a sport because older individuals play it professionally. So, you are inferring that if older people are able to play golf professionally, then this must not be called a sport? Sorry, but this doesn’t make any sense.

I find it disappointing that you try to compare two completely different sports in both of which players need to concentrate but their levels of arousals are completely different – it is incomprehensible that you haven’t taken this in consideration. While basketball players need cheerleaders and the crowd shouting to increase their levels of arousal, making them more excited as they must move fast during a game, golfers need to have a low level of arousal as their sport demands a low heart and breathing rate. This is why golfers need a quite and calm environment.

Ultimately, I can say with honor that golf is legitimately a sport since it requires and demands a incredible amount of mental capacity and physical exertion. You might see golf as just a game, but golfers are highly competitive. I think your article is insulting and I suggest you spend some time reassessing your understanding of what does and does not constitute a sport instead of offending all the golfers with these ridiculous and unjustifiable claims.

Your sincerely,

Cristina Albertazzi