the olympics
The Olympics now has tennis, softball, and even synchronized diving -- I kid you not. So why doesn't it have golf? True, it might throw a monkey wrench into the tour schedule, but tennis seems to have adjusted quite fine every 4th year. The golf Olympics would combine the best from the Ryder and Presidents' Cups, including all countries from around the world. You could even have a team event, too, not just individual matches.
5 Comments:
Something to consider...for a city like Athens, where would they have the competion if they did have golf. Since Athens barely had the finances to hold these Olympics, how could they afford the million-plus dollars to update a course to be able to hold a golf event of this magnitude (that's assuming there is even a golf course in Greece that is good enough to deal with the top players in the world). Secondly, would the players be willing to put themselves in an event where security may not be strong enough to keep them safe. In that regard, you have to assume that there is far more likely a terror-type event to occur since the Olympics in general is a situation where terrorists could make a worldwide statement.
I think with the size of the field that golf is played on, and the necessity for a large amount of money to create that playing field, it is unlikely that it will ever be an Olympic event again. Although...maybe a push for Putt-Putt would make for fun event to watch (hey, it's no more rediculous than the trampoline deal they did in the last Olympics)
Frankly, given the poor attendance in Athens, Greece may be hard pressed to get an Olympics soon. I'd bet most countries who actually bid for the summer games have plenty of golf courses to play. For security issues, they already do a lot, so golf shouldn't be an added burden.
There is more to this issue than just the venue, which has already been brought up.
Golf already was in the olympics for a few games, but then taken out. The modern olympics require a sport be played by a certain percentage of countries in order to be considered for an olympic sport. I'm not entirely sure that golf would qualify. While there are certainly golfers from all over the world, that doesn't mean that golf is played in those countries on a regular basis. Just like I'm sure there are Americans who know how to compete in hurling, we certainly don't participate in hurling on a daily basis.
All that said, I'd love to see golf on the olympic stage as well.
http://reference.allrefer.com/encyclopedia/H/hurling.html
I remember in 1997 when Cape Town, South Africa bid for the 2004 games, they had Golf as one of the sports they would add. (they were definitly looking at the young (then) Ernie Els to maybe win a medal.
The host city is allowe to suuggest one or two sports to the Olympic committee. Atlanta added beach volleyball, while Sydney added Triathlon.
I am not sure what the new sports are at this year's games, though.
this is insane, they need to add golf, it's almost the national pastime already!
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