Wednesday, May 30, 2007

The world’s hardest sport

I’ve been having a debate over what is the world’s most difficult sport, Golf or Polo.

Polo: The world's hardest sport?

In my experience, Polo has the highest barrier to entry of any of the popular sports.

Even a minimal proficiency in polo requires a sound foundation in horsemanship and amazing hand-eye coordination. It can take years of practice before you are even ready to begin playing Polo.



Golf: The world’s hardest sport?

Depending on your definition of minimal proficiency, it can take hundreds of hours of practice to be able to enjoy playing golf.

Folks used to say that you must strike at least 10,000 gold balls to be proficient, while others claim that you must hit at least 100,000 golf balls to achieve proficiency as a golfer.

To play “bogie” golf (a score of 90 or less), most experts estimate that it takes an average player six years of regular play and weekly golf lessons. On the golf channel they claim that an average proficient golfer takes about 300 weekly lessons while playing at least 32 holes per week over a period of many years.

Of course, some golf courses are easier than others: