What sport is the most difficult to master?

I have this argument with my friends all the time. I say tennis is the most difficult sport to master. And that is closely followed by basketball and golf.

What does everyone else say, and why?

golf, baseball, bowling, basketball, tennis, football, and soccer.

I forgot the why part of the question. In inverse order, you can throw a soccer ball in with some five year old kids and they will wolf pack the ball and have a blast. You can take some kids and teach them rudimentary blocking and handoffs and they can play touch football all afternoon, and have fun. You can take four kids of low skill levels in tennis and they will have a blast playing doubles. You give a group of kids a basketball, and athleticism will separate some out, but they still will have fun. You give a kid a bowling ball and they are on their own, but they will have fun getting fouls and hitting the gate with their ball. Baseball can be a very lonely time for a kid in the batters box or when that ground ball is hit to them, and golf......well that is the ruin of many a good man.

boards of FL wrote:I have this argument with my friends all the time.  I say tennis is the most difficult sport to master.  And that is closely followed by basketball and golf.  

What does everyone else say, and why?

Golf. It's a mental game played opposite of what you actually think. If you want the ball to go up you it down. If you lift up it rolls along the ground. If you want to hit a ball far it would seem you have to hit it harder..not in golf....all that does is screw up you timing. Rhythm, acceleration and timing.

Not even close..this is a sport that is tough to master. A divot here means you look like a bug on a windshield...

Teo,

I'm not sure base jumping or Jeb Corliss would call that a sport. However, my pick is baseball because you are trying to hit one round object (a baseball) with another round/tubular object (a bat) and the baseball is changing speeds, curving, sliding, moving in/out, scuffed, and occasionally introduced to a foreign substance like petroleum jelly (spitball) to make it harder to hit. Oh and the occasional knock down pitch to keep you honest at the plate and not try to crowd it. Yeah, baseball and we've not yet talked about fielding.

True but I wouldn't call golf a sport either.

No chute landing on water in wingsuit..

Sal wrote:Baseball ...

... not even close ...

... you can teach a 15 or 16-year-old how to play basketball, football, or even golf ...

... you cannot teach a 15-year-old who has never played how to play baseball ...

... believe me, I've tried.

You can if he is athletic.

Joanimaroni wrote:

Sal wrote:Baseball ...

... not even close ...

... you can teach a 15 or 16-year-old how to play basketball, football, or even golf ...

... you cannot teach a 15-year-old who has never played how to play baseball ...

... believe me, I've tried.

You can if he is athletic.

Nope, lots of non-athletic baseball players...Babe Ruth...baseball isn't as athletic as it is a SKILL.

boards of FL wrote:I have this argument with my friends all the time.  I say tennis is the most difficult sport to master.  And that is closely followed by basketball and golf.  

What does everyone else say, and why?

There is no answer. All depends on the criteria.

For example, there are fewer licensed unlimited hydroplane drivers in the world than any other sport. There are also more fatalities than any other sport. The argument could easily be made that is the most difficult to master.

PACEDOG#1 wrote:

Joanimaroni wrote:

Sal wrote:Baseball ...

... not even close ...

... you can teach a 15 or 16-year-old how to play basketball, football, or even golf ...

... you cannot teach a 15-year-old who has never played how to play baseball ...

... believe me, I've tried.

You can if he is athletic.

Nope, lots of non-athletic baseball players...Babe Ruth...baseball isn't as athletic as it is a SKILL.

True what you are saying. The neural pathways must be established early on to develop the timing and hand eye coordination to hit a 95 mile per hour sphere that can do all kinds of dancing across the plate.

You know our old president had a LOT of flaws but he got a few things right....

It's not the sport...every sport has its challenges...I would say that sportsmanship is more difficult to master than any sport, but it helps to have a good teacher (coach).

I would say that very few people actually play golf. A lot of people play "at" golf but never get close to having any real skills. You very seldom see a amateur gofer spend the day working in his "flop" shot or practicing his wedges for any length of time. Most players hit a couple of buckets of balls and call it good. Sure some take lessons but as soon as they get "good" they dont bother with them any more. Golf has been bastardized in to a strange game of "Scrambles", Mulligans and best ball type of play. Why? Because most people can not really play with out some sort of "Handicap" or leverage to make them feel better about the game.

Golf is NOT a sport and it is elitist.

PACEDOG#1 wrote:

Joanimaroni wrote:

Sal wrote:Baseball ...

... not even close ...

... you can teach a 15 or 16-year-old how to play basketball, football, or even golf ...

... you cannot teach a 15-year-old who has never played how to play baseball ...

... believe me, I've tried.

You can if he is athletic.

Nope, lots of non-athletic baseball players...Babe Ruth...baseball isn't as athletic as it is a SKILL.

Lol... that has to be the worst sports related posts in the history of the internet. Even seagoat must be impressed.

Mr Ichi wrote:I would say that very  few people actually play golf.  A lot of people play "at" golf but never get close to having any real skills.  You very seldom see a amateur gofer spend the day working in his "flop" shot or practicing his wedges for any length of time.   Most players hit a couple of buckets of balls and call it good.  Sure some take lessons but as soon as they get "good" they dont bother with them any more.  Golf has been bastardized in to a strange game of "Scrambles", Mulligans and best ball type of play.  Why?  Because most people can not really play  with out some sort of "Handicap" or  leverage to make them feel better about the game.

I'll have you know I'm the whiffle ball queen of my golf class...

The question of 'which sport is the most difficult' is completely subjective. Perhaps the sport most difficult at which one can excel . . . . we all know it depends on the individual. That said, my choice is golf hands down! It is the player, the player and the player . . . no offense, no defense only the player and the course ahead relying on mental focus and their personal skill. Having played golf in college (not well) I grew to love and appreciate the game. I recently read an article in SI about Tiger and Jack N . . . who was the greatest? The magic number is 18 . . . the number of majors won . . . what I thought was telling in the article was the difference between Tiger and Golden Bear was the Bear could beat the best of the oldest seasoned players when he was young and he could beat the best of the youngest players when he was old. Tough game to be great . . .

Golf is NOT a sport and it is elitist.


I have played most sports. I have golfed with some very important people, and yes some were certainly elitist. I have golfed in a league with machinist who had more class on their rough hands than those elites. I guess what I like about golf compared to most sports is the dynamic nature of the game. The hand eye coordination is incredible, but certainly if anybody has pitched or hit a baseball can make a good argument for golf.......but that damn tree which blocks the green and the creek which narrows my choice of landing........those dynamic factors are seldom replicated in another sport.

I like how golf causes algae blooms and destroys the ecosystem so old men can ride around and whack a little ball.

I like how golf causes algae blooms and destroys the ecosystem so old men can ride around and whack a little ball.

I am sorry to hear about your girlfriend's condition, and you certainly should layoff whacking your balls if you have destroyed her ecosystem. You might try walking next time you play and allow some air to circulate around those little balls.......never could understand the need to rush home after the golf game and damage someone's ecosystem.

2seaoat wrote:I like how golf causes algae blooms and destroys the ecosystem so old men can ride around and whack a little ball.

I am sorry to hear about your girlfriend's condition, and you certainly should layoff whacking your balls if you have destroyed her ecosystem.  You might try walking next time you play and allow some air to circulate around those little balls.......never could understand the need to rush home after the golf game and damage someone's ecosystem.

So that's what ? Whit ? seems more like incoherent stupid stuff like.

Like I said, it all depends on the criteria.