Clearly you don't know what athleticism is, if you think it only entails physical strength and mental toughness. Strength, agility, flexibility, endurance and stamina is some of what separates athletes from the rest of the population. Of those characteristics, how many of them can you honestly say a golfer possesses? True athletes are elite physical & mental specimens, and to lump golfers in with them is insulting.
While some golfers may be great athletes on the side, they don't have to demonstrate much of it on the golf course.
... and the golf cart/caddy definitely doesn't help them in this argument.
Ok, well I can tell you that top golfers posses strenght, agility, flexibility, endurance, and stamina. You clearly have never been good golfer.
Strength: can you hit a golfball 330 yards, consistently? No. Professional golfers do it all the time. They swing the golf club in excess of 120 mph, you're telling me that it doesn't take upper body strength to do this and leg strength to stay anchored in a sound position to make solid connection and hit the ball that far? You think what you want on that front, but I'll tell you, even with my club head speed of about 105 mph, I sometimes have trouble staying stable.
Agility: Golf takes this too. Ever hear a camera click in the middle of your down swing and been able to stop? The answer is no. Tiger can do it. I golfswing happens in a very short period of time, being able to stop yourself is practically impossible, but professional golfers have the ability to do it. Ever know you were going to hit a bad shot at the top of your swing? I have, and I can tell you, I'm so agile that I can save that shot at make it turn out decent instead of horrible. That's part of what seperates a weekend golfer from a par golfer, Tiger does it all the time, thats why he wins, he can adjust himself so that when he's feels like he's going to miss at the top of his swing he can make the shot turnout alright.
Flexibility: Maybe you don't understand how much shoulder turn, hip turn, leg plant, etc, are required to hit a good golf shot consistently. I guarantee to you that I have as much or more upper body flexibilty as any other athelete. A good shoulder turn in golf is almost 90 degrees with your feet and hips staying in almost the same position they started in, it's hard to say the least, and even after years of playing and instruction I still haven't even come close to mastering it.
Endurance/stamina: Good golfers posses it both mentally and physically. Every tried walking 36 holes of match play golf ("one on one") in one day? Probably not, its grueling. It takes a lot of stamina to stay focused and to stay in the moment. It can equate to ten walking miles that takes 12 hours with a 30 pound bag of sticks on your back. I challenge you to do it, you'd be tired as hell by the time it was over. Sure, it probably doesn't take as much stamina as playing a 90 minute soccer match, but mentally, you'd better have a lot of stamina if you want to endure it and come out with the win. Also, ask any college golfer how they feel after 36 holes the first day of every tournament, they are generally very fit, I guarantee you they are quite tired. It takes tons of stamina to make it 36 holes, I've done it, I've also run cross country for 3 mile races and played water polo, 36 holes is definitely harder.
Many professional golfers are elite specimens (especially younger ones), to deny it is insulting.
In college, amateur, high school, and junior competitive golf the athletes don't get to ride in carts, although at the amateur level they do have caddies in many events. I rarely rode in a cart and I still rarely do it, I play better when I walk.
