Last week I got into the idea of the multi-sport athlete being a golfer.  But I really focused that on the idea of an athlete from another sport taking golf as their “other” sport.  So what about a golfer becoming a multi-sport athlete?  Could a PGA Tour pro make it in another sport?  Well, I guess that would partially have to do with what the other sport is.  But at the same time, there are reasons why I would have to say the answer is, quite simply, not a chance.

It’s not that I’m of the school of thought which believes golfers are not athletes, because I do believe they are…to an extent.  However, I do also believe that it most certainly does not take a finely-tuned athlete to be a professional golfer.  After all, just take a look for yourself.  But if you look at the athletes in some of the other major sports, you can see the conditioning, strength, durability and endurance shining through.  By comparison, most golfers look like they couldn’t handle a day of practice in another sport. 

Take a look at this list of multi-sport athletes – if you were to scroll down to the golf section you’ll find one name – Babe Zaharias.  The only other sport on the list with only one athlete listed is Netball…and I’m not even sure what that is.  So that should be your first clue.  Otherwise, I remember back when John Daly first began making a name for himself, the Indianapolis Colts had talked about possibly bringing him in for a tryout as a kicker, but that never actually came to fruition.   
But another reason I believe there are no multi-sport athletes in golf is due to the fact that golf is just too hard of a game to master.  Do you think a player can make the tour if they spend half of their time playing or practicing another sport?  I don’t care how superior an athlete you are, I just don’t see that happening without dedicating just about every waking hour available away from your other sport to golf. 

But as mentioned last week, with all of the money and big contracts floating around, another Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders is not realistic in this day and age.  But imagine what a multi-sport athlete could do for golf, especially if it was primarily a golfer who took up another sport.  At the very least, it sure would put a dent in that “golfers aren’t athletes” argument.

Swing ’til you’re happy!