I agree. Woods may be the most dominant athlete in sports history, but "best" athlete of all time?? I will name two people who are far better athlete's, Deon Sanders and Bo Jackson. They didn't dominate there sport like Tiger does, but again "dominate athlete" and "best athlete of all time" are two totally different things.

...I don't think many people consider you a writer either Doug.

Work on your biceps and that wont help you win NASCAR, work on your biceps and it adds yards to your game in golf. Stay physically fit like Woods and survive 5 days of golf in the hot sun and overpower rocco. Stop hating man because Woods is the best athelete ever. better then jack, I mean woods amatuer career plus PGA tops jack. It is not his fault Jack sucked in college. This is the second angry column about woods from a unsuccessful journalist insulting him FROM UTAH?? Get promoted to a bigger media market and talk like that good luck.

Didn't Johny Miller have a couple of seasons similar to Tiger's when Miller was in his hey day in the early 70s.

Shaun47 - Did you even read the article?

This conversation is old. All great athletes have the mental capacity to dominate their opponents. Speed, coordination, endurance, are all part of golf when it comes to the swing. If the argument is that he doesn't run or jump than I guess you are correct. By those standards baseball players are not really athletes because they don't require endurance, speed helps but the best baseball players are power hitters and pitchers which is no more athletic than a golfer. Give up on this old and mundane argument, he is an athlete and one of the greatest of all times.

One thing I've learned in life is that you can wear yourself out. Too much twisting, walking, running etc. makes for good muscle tone, but the joints are another matter...Be easy on yourself...I know one man who wore out his knees using stairs for exercise...Another weight lifter who at 50yrs. old wore out his his joints and said he would not have done it had he known what the result would be...MODERATION IN ALL THINGS.

Dougy, Don't be mad that you can't swing a club and can't break 100 so you have got to say that golf isn't as much of a sport as others.

Hey Doug,

If, as you say, "Sebrie, the defending Olympic champion and world record holder, can throw a 16-foot steel ball 53 feet," then he definitely gets my vote for best athlete. I wonder how much a 16-foot steel ball must weigh.

You make me want to read the Salt Lake Trib. I wish I could have back the 2 minutes I just wasted reading your article and posting this comment.

Let's leave it at that. He will probably go down as the best golfer ever when it is said and done. The argument of world's greatest athlete is worthless. No one will ever agree on that. Football fans can't even agree on who is the best quarterback ever, so how in the world will we ever figure out the WGA from every sport ever played.

I enjoy watching Tiger. He is a great athlete with probably the greatest will to win of any athlete of this era. But you still can't compare that with all athletes because some play on teams that depend on others that may not be as committed. So there is no way to tell.

Perhaps Minnesota Fats should also be the world's greatest athlete for his unmatched skills with a pool cue. I know some kids who play marbles or video games like the WGA. Tiger is the world's greatest golfer, nothing less and certainly nothing more.

Robinson, I can tell you actually have no idea what you're talking about. Do you have any idea how much athleticism is required to produce a swing like Tiger's? No, you don't. The other golfers you mentioned in the article, I agree, are not great athletes. You can't put Tiger in their classification. This is a guy who runs marathons, bench presses more than 400 pounds, takes thousands of swings everyday, and oh, still kicks everybody's butt every week on the golf course. He's an athlete!

This article is right on - golf is a pastime or hobby, but it is not a sport. And spare me your Freud about my insecurities - I'm a scratch golfer and even I recognize that it's not a sport.

The true measure of a sport is, could the average guy physically survive playing said game at the highest level? I couldn't survive an NBA game, but I could survive a round of PGA golf (my score wouldn't be anywhere near Tiger's, but I would physically survive the round). Therefore golf is not a sport.

Examples of games that are sports: Basketball, soccer, football, hockey, running, cycling.

Examples of games that are not sports: Golf, car racing, baseball, poker.

And you fellow golfers shouldn't be so defensive either. So golf isn't a sport.....so what? Let's enjoy playing our hobby regardless of what it's called.

Q. What do you call a person who writes for the newspaper (even if they are marginal at best)?
A. a journalist

Q. What do you call a person who plays a sport?
A. an athlete

I highly doubt the other journalists who were quoted at the beginning of the article were inferring that Tiger is more ‘athletic’ then gold medalist in the decathlon. It obviously must be a slow time at the D-News sports desk.

I agree with Karl- golf is a waste of good pasture land. The fact that the pro golfers have their boy-toys carrying their clubs says it all. The only good thing that came out of a golf game this year was Kevin helping Danny a little in Boston!

Speed Skating is the only true sport

running, jumping, speed, quickness, coordination, endurance, reflexes, strength, exertion? Lets see, you said that athletics requires all or most, so the only things not utilized in golf would be running and jumping-sounds like most to me. Sure golf is a hobby, but it is more athletic than poker, billiards, or car racing. Also, there are different levels of golf- the saturday hack, which typically involves carts and beer, and the tournament level side of golf-especially the 36 hole days of college golf. Sure Stadler and Herron have big bellies, but their forearms and legs are super strong. And to Golf Is Not A Sport, I could survive the pace and running of an NBA game, does that make it not a sport? There are plenty of people who are in good enough shape to survive playing an NBA game, or an NHL game, but their skill level just isn't high enough to compete. Sounds like you on the PGA tour doesn't it? I could run a marathon without falling over, but I wouldn't compete.

What about speed golf? Or, would golf be a sport if different players could wack you in the backswing?

What about Tiger's caddie? He has to walk everywhere Tiger does, plus carry around a 40-lb. bag of clubs and stuff.

I'd be willing to bet that if tiger were to train for a year to play football, he'd still be pretty darn good. He could have ran track in college.

TIGER WOODS is not a GOLFER, at least as defined by this article. TIGER WOODS is an ATHLETE. His training and off the course effort has never been seen in golf, and could rival many of the other "athletes" in different sports.

I would take Michael Jordan over Tiger any day of the week!

The only real difference between golf and baseball, for example, is the occasional running and jumping. Look at David Ortiz, John Kruk, Matt Stairs, Cecil Fielder, Fielder Jr., Carlton Fisk, etc. Because these guys occasionally hustled in to second base made them athletes where Tiger is not? Can you say DH? I don't get why running and jumping has to be involved in order to qualify you, but appreciate the debate.

A "16-foot steel ball"! That's the biggest steel ball I've ever heard of!

Bad writers are definitely not athletes. This article sounds like a jealous rant from a hack that didn't get an autograph.

Tiger, MJ, LeBron, LT, Bo Jackson and Lonczyna are all amazing athletes, but let's not overlook the greatest of all time ... Bill Brasky. That guy was a combination of all of the best! There will never be another athlete that dominates like he did.

The golfer "athletes" seem to be very nervous because you called their game. Nice work.

Bill Brasky uses a tree trunk he ripped out of the ground as his driver! And his golf balls are the heads of his fallen foes!

Same tired argument arrogant "athletes" used to discredit John Stockton and the Jazz of that era because he didn't jump as high or run as fast.

A HUGE part of being a good athlete is the ability to think in the moment or to outthink those against whom you compete. Another critical factor is being able to summon peak performance under enormous pressure, and there has never been an athlete who does it better than Tiger, not Michael Jordan (Although very similar), not anyone.

Consider that with some minor variances in field size in baseball, most sports have built in consistency. The rim is always 10', the bases 90' etc. If Michael was off his offensive game he could impose his will defensively. Tiger battles heat, wind, rain, rub of the green, selectively different pin placements on the same holes with a myriad of variations and almost seems capable of imposing his will on Mother Nature because of his intense ability to focus.

No one convinced he isn't an athlete will change their mind, but he is a flat out amazing athlete regardless of bias to the contrary.

To Mr. Robinson and like-minded folk:

There are several components to an athlete such as the following: strength, speed, power, anaerobic capacity, aerobic capacity, quickness, balance, KINESTHIC AWARENESS (knowing where your body parts in space), EYE-HAND COORDINATION and INTELLIGENCE (decision-making ability). The three areas bolded probably suggest the ones used most by elite golfers while balance is also important.

More or less, despite Mr. Robinson's extremely troubling and erroneous definition of an athlete, a golfer uses as many athletic components as say someone who runs a 100-yard dash. We also seem to easily dismiss eye-hand coordination as something that is athletic (hence the reason players in the NBA don't shoot as well leading to losses to Greece in the Olympics).

Tiger Woods IS an exceptional athlete as was Jack Nicklaus (who played football briefly at Ohio State) and Hale Irwin (played football at Colorado and was All-Conference I believe). And golfing does take more strength and endurance than Mr. Robinson suggests but trying to prove it to him would be futile I think. It also takes a toll on the body. And is John Daly any "fatter" than those NFL Lineman Robinson would tout as "athletes."

Great story by Doug Robinson; really appreciate the gaffe about the "16-foot steel ball". The Wall Street Journal listing was a nice inclusion in this story. I tend to think Tiger would be a great rifle-platoon leader, an "Ace" in an F-16, etc., as he uses the muscle power in his cranium to whatever his focus may be. Someone has said that to be a true athlete you would not be able to go to a sit-down restaurant in the same clothes that you compete in. Well, Tiger is a true athletic-sportsman as he has focused his mind to control his entire musculature to its peak effectiveness. Casual preparation leads to labored performance while labored preparation leads to seemingly casual performance. Why not ask atheletes (such as Deron Williams, recently seen swinging a golf club) how they size up their sport vs. the intricacies of golf. Don't ask Charles Barkley, though. In the meantime, I'll be tossing the 16-foot steel ball.

I completely agree that Tiger is not the WGA. So why muddy the issue by attacking golf as a non-athletic sport? Is a baseball pitcher athletic? Most coaches would tell the pitcher to just let the infielders handle the ball, so the only element is tossing the ball across the plate. Much easier than hitting a golf ball because the environment never changes - 60 feet, 6 inches, that's it. What about diving competition? How hard is it to fall off a platform into the water? No reaction needed there. Let's not forget skiers. How hard is it to slide down a hill of ice? Come on Doug, while you're out there for your morning run you should seriously consider that just because YOU are a runner, and your see YOURSELF as an athlete, it doesn't necessarily make it so that all athletes must run to be athletic. It doesn't take a ball, or a puck, or skates, or cleats. Perhaps the true measure of athleticism is the fulfillment and self worth that comes from achievement related activity. And if sponsors are paying you millions a year, it probably matters even less if pundits think of you as an athlete.

To settle this arguement all you have to do is listen to some of the greatest atheletes in the world talk about tiger woods as an athelete. Tiger has a DVD out with a few of his friends in it such as M J, and wayne gretzky. They are both quoted to say that when tiger training regime is unlike any they have ever seen and both believe by the time his career is over he will be know as the greatest athelete of all time. this is coming from arguably 2 of the best atheletes to play they sports, I think I'll take there opinon over the matter than anyone who disagree's. Tiger just happened to be an athelete who dicided to treat golf like other more physical sports, and train his stregth, flexibility, and endurance. to compete in golf you now have to be an athelete as well as physicaly fit to have any chance agaist the best players in the world, such as phil mickelson and ViJay Singh. Since Tigers arival to the sport are now training daily to keep up from tiger lapping them.

of an athlete:

Strength and Power

Muscle Endurance

Cardio Vascular Endurance

Anaerobic Capacity

Speed

Quickness

Flexibility

Eye-hand coordination

Kinesethic Awareness

Balance

Intelligence and Decision Making Ability

and maybe some intangible but somewhat measureable components such as mental toughness (dealing with pain, injury, performing under pressure etc.)

I think Tiger Woods is an athlete and if MJ and Gretzky say he is, that's good enough for me!

Dougy, I would call figure skating the greatest athletic event of all time. Look at all the strength that it requires to make those coordinated moves. Perhaps you could use some of that atleticism to get yourself out of the unpleasant situation that you willingly put yourself in by writing this condescending column. And by the way, don't you spend a lot of time playing golf with the foursome or are you just sucking up to the boss?

I can speak from personal experience with Mr. Robinson that HE is, even at age 54+, is a pretty good athlete. In his prime he was not only a tremendous college track and field athlete, but the guy could run routes on the football field, throw the ball from deep center to home plate, shoot the lights out on the basketball court....oh, and yes...hit a golf ball 250-280 consistently with the OLD shafts.....His vertical jump was in the mid 30's and even until a year or so ago was a weightlifting freak. So, all of you bloggers who consider him to be a hack (oh, I can't remember the last time he was NOT honored in the annual Intermountain Newspapers awards)....oh, he is also a 3 time coach of the year for track and field at the high school level and is seen by many of my peers as the best high school sprint coach in the state....all of you bloggers, please....get a life.

Thanks so much for this article! I totally agree! golf is not a sport at all! the only reason you get sweaty from it is because its hot outside, not because you get sweaty from playing it.