The Golfer's Wife

Yes it's a sport. But John Daly is not an athlete.

My use of the words golf, sport and athlete in the same post( see previous post ) has been questioned. So let me clarify.

There is an ongoing debate that takes place whenever a group of people are sitting around drinking alcoholic beverages and watching ice skating on TV ( because the hockey game comes on in 10 mins on the same channel and, even with a remote, no one can be bothered to change the channel and look for something else ). Is it a sport? Which invariably evolves into 'What is a sport?', and 'What is an athlete?'. I am certainly not going to put an end to this debate here on this humble little blog. But I do feel some rules must be established so discussion can take place, without dissolving into this endless debate. So. For the purposes of this blog only, I here by establish The Golfer's Wife standards for determining if something is a sport and if someone is an athlete.

If there is no subjectivity what so ever in determining the winner, it is a sport. Golf is a sport. Ice skating is not. There is no question as to who wins a golf tournament. No discussion, no crunching of numbers and throwing out low scores. Either you had the lowest number of strokes or you didn't. Anything where there is human judging involved, requiring the subjective opinion of one or more people, is not a sport. It is a competition, it is NOT a sport. Swimming is a sport, diving is not. Downhill skiing is a sport, free style skiing is not. Curling is a sport, gymnastics is not. Running the hurdles is a sport, basketball is a sport, even ( and I can't believe I'm saying this ) bowling is a sport. Ballroom dancing is not. All these non-sports are competitions. I'm not saying it doesn't take a lot of work or dedication to perform, or that the participants aren't athletes ( see below ), or that they aren't fun and exciting to watch ( well, except for maybe the ice skating ). I'm just saying they are competitions, not sport. Are we clear on that? Good. Now let's move onto the athlete thing.

Anyone who spends time and effort working to keep their body in considerably better than average shape in order to perform in their given sport/competition, is an athlete. Tiger Woods is an athlete. John Daly is not. Annika Sorenstam is an athlete, Meg Mallon is not. I have never seen a competitive gymnast who is not an athlete. Many ice skaters are athletes. There are many baseball players who are not athletes ( you would think they would work out at least a little, knowing they are going to spend the summer in those tight uniforms ). Only about 1/3 of football players are athletes. Most hockey players are. No pro bowler is an athlete. I admit this is a bit more subjective than 'Is it a sport?', but I'm sure you can see the line I am drawing here.

So You can participate in competitions and be an amazing athlete. But just because you participate in a sport does not mean you are an athlete.

Oh. And I have participated in several sports over the years, but no one has ever mistaken me for an athlete. Ever.

And that is the standard here on TGW. As I said, this is certainly not meant to be the last word on the subject, and your mileage may vary, but that's the way things roll here.

P.S. I LOVE the Westminster Dog Show. Love it, love it, love it. Have forever. I watch every minute. Taped it back in the days of VCR's so I wouldn't miss any, and now it's Tivo'd with the HIGHEST priority. Love the announcers, love the dogs, even like the cheesy little 'dog at home' stories. Love it all. Really. BUT....announcers please. It is NOT a sport, and the dogs are just dogs, they are NOT athletes. Did I mention I love it? I do. But I cringe each time you refer to it as a sport and the dogs as athletes. So please. Stop it. Love you guys. Really.

This Blog is Biased

Let's get this out of the way up front. This blog is gender biased. There are more and more women golfers, which is a wonderful thing. This means more and more men will find themselves trying to avoid becoming golf widowers, and more and more women golfers will be working on becoming Golfers. This is fantastic. However, I am the wife of a Golfer. This means when I write a post it is from the perspective of the long suffering wife. I could make sure that everything was completely gender neutral, but that would really mess with my writing flow, such as it is, and that would reduce any reading pleasure I might have managed to introduce. And besides, it's a pain, and this is supposed to be fun. So, let me apologize right now for the gender bias. I don't mean to exclude anyone, or to imply that only wives of Golfers have these issues, or only men can be Golfers. It's just that it's my blog and I'm the one posting so it's going to be biased to my point of view. So, if a post doesn't seem to apply to you, just replace all the hes with shes, hims with hers, and wife with husband, and then read it again. I'm sure you'll find it's entirely relevant to your situation.

The First Post

I married a Golfer. A Golfer, not a golfer. There is a difference. And yes I knew he was a Golfer when I married him. It was not one of those after the honeymoon 'Oh, by the way...'s. I married him in spite of his habit of disappearing for hours at a time on the weekends. I actually played golf before I met him. I took lessons and played on a regular basis with people at work. However, let's be honest here, I played to meet men, not out of any love for the game. It was the means to an end. As it turns out it was not how I met The Golfer. And the fact that I played golf and had very little to do with The Golfer deciding I was wifely material. I was, to put it mildly, terrible. As I said, the point was to meet men, not lower my handicap.

I'm not much better now than I was then, but I've been married to The Golfer many years now, and have managed to develop an appreciation for the game, despite having a handicap greater than my age. You'll notice the title of this blog is The Golfer's Wife, not the Golf Widow. I am not a Golf Widow, mostly because the Golfer is a Golfer, not a golfer. As I said, I have managed to develop an appreciation for the game. And that is the purpose of this blog. To pass on a little of that appreciation. To help golfers become Golfers and to keep spouses of said Golfers from becoming Golf Widows/Widowers ( although, practically speaking, the former far outnumber the latter ).

You will not find course reviews, or equipment ratings here. You won't hear about the latest ways to improve your swing, or cure the yips. What you will get is a discussion of various aspects of the game and how it can be part of your life without taking over your life. And for those long suffering significant others we will examine everything from how to watch a tournament without falling asleep, to the proper head covers to purchase for the next birthday/anniversary. Don't know what the aforementioned yips are? This is the place for you. Or for anyone who is trying to understand the almost mystical appeal that using a stick to whack a ball into a hole in a ground seems to have for some people. And we will approach it all with a healthy sense of humor. Because Golf is, in spite of everything you may have heard to the contrary, just a game. And if you can't look at it will a sense of humor, then really, what's the point?