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What about Tennis?
Golfer.
Runners work much harder physically and have great mental strength, but on Sunday afternoon I can't imagine much more stress and pressure in a sporting arena. I think it is partly because of the amount of time you have to stand around and battle the demons. Actually similar to running in a sense, but I gotta say that holding it together on the back nine at Augusta with a 1 stroke lead is pretty tough.
Jack Nicklaus smoked 2 packs a day when he was dominant to deal with pressure.
Runner definitely. I would be at ease knowing I am almost guaranteed to take home more than the average person (50K/yr) makes in a year...
Its pretty comforting to me, at least coming from the perspective of someone who didn't grow up with a silver spoon in their mouth.
Dick Doobey wrote:
Golfer.
Runners work much harder physically and have great mental strength, but on Sunday afternoon I can't imagine much more stress and pressure in a sporting arena. I think it is partly because of the amount of time you have to stand around and battle the demons. Actually similar to running in a sense, but I gotta say that holding it together on the back nine at Augusta with a 1 stroke lead is pretty tough.
+1. Sooooo much time to think. Even standing over the put, everything is moving so slowly. And the intimacy and proximity of all those spectators reacting to your every move... personally, sounds nightmarish.
Dick Doobey wrote:
Golfer.
Runners work much harder physically and have great mental strength, but on Sunday afternoon I can't imagine much more stress and pressure in a sporting arena. I think it is partly because of the amount of time you have to stand around and battle the demons. Actually similar to running in a sense, but I gotta say that holding it together on the back nine at Augusta with a 1 stroke lead is pretty tough.
I think we are comparing apples to oranges. Imagine leading by 15 meters in the last mile of a marathon. Your body is begging you to slow down, but you don't know how much the other guy has left in the tank...
Good question to think about
Undoubtedly tons of pressure with golf. But with running I think of the pain, which golfers typically don't experience. Everything in your body is telling you to slow down, but you can't give in for one moment without risking your performance.
The elites say that they give everything in their training. Not just workouts, but what they eat, what they sleep, it's 100% lifestyle. Only by dedicating themselves completely to their performance can they have the confidence not to give in for a fraction of a second in those final stretches. Now that is focus.
its comes down to how you determine mental strength
if its determination then running gets the win
if its more like ability to deal with nervousness, then obviously golf. i get nervous in mini golf with the family
You can't compare the two.
Long distance running requires great mental strength to take pain. Their is no pain in Golf.
If you take the pain out of the equation then running requires some strategy but little mental strength.
wellletsseee wrote:
You can't compare the two.
Long distance running requires great mental strength to take pain. Their is no pain in Golf.
If you take the pain out of the equation then running requires some strategy but little mental strength.
Basically this. Golf's "mental strength" is a battle of nerves and control. You have to be able to take all kinds of different things in stride and not let them affect your decision making, focus, or routine.
Running is about dealing with large amount of pain and fatigue. It's about not settling and not giving in.
I'd almost think of it as running in mental strength/toughness and golf is mental control/focus.
When I posed my question, I considered mental strength to mean being able to deal with internal doubts and nervousness/jitters.
Professional Poker player beats these hands down.
although to be fair, some of them also don't give a crap about the money they're risking with some of the bets.
Distance running. Why?
1) You feel like you are going to die for a couple hours every day in practice/races. Since when do golfers ever hit the physical wall?
2) To be good at running, you basically have to be on a perpetual diet. Thinking about food all the time because you're hungry stinks. Eating like a distance runner takes a lot of mental effort.
3) You can't drink or party hard realistically if you want to be a good distance runner. The PGA tour is one giant party. Seriously.
4) You have to deal with the stress of competition in both running and golf. But taking into account anxiety over an all-out physical effort, I'd say running is harder mentally.
I would exactly call a marathoner a "distance" runner. There are races that are much longer than the marathon.
a golfer, does indeed need great concentration and mental power. so does a distance runner.
however, a golfer does it with no distractions whatsoever. a distance runner maintains focus while enduring a plethora of distractions, the greatest of which is pain, and pain inflicted by oneself, which for most people is the hardest to manage and maintain.
i suppose it depends on your definition. but in my book, there arent many people who have greater mental strength than elite distance runners, especially when it comes to training. lots of people can get themselves up to go golf everyday. not many people can inflict pain upon themselves the way elite runners do, day in and day out, and that is more mental than physical. i suppose however, it could also be a lack of mental power, because if nothing is going on up there, than there isnt much telling you to slow down haha.
Mentally nothing comes close to the PGA tour on Sunday at a major tour event. Ditance runner has much tougher prep work for sure and actual race is incredibly tough mentally, don't get me wrong, but PGA golfer on Sunday at Augusta or St. Andrews, distance runners can't even imagine.
"the greatest of which is pain, and pain inflicted by oneself, which for most people is the hardest to manage and maintain."
LOL, thanks for the laughs!
I played golf in college and competed on the amateur level since i was 10 years old. In golf you can hit what feels like a perfect shot, and not have it be close to the hole and sometimes you can even make a big number from what at the moment of impact was all you could have asked for. It makes it a very unique sport. you can hit it longer and straighter than your opponent, hit it closer to every flag stick. but if your put is one rotation shy of the hole, you lose!
I'll respect golfers when they start allowing crowd noise just like any other sport. Why does a golfer get complete silence when hitting a stationary ball but a MLB player has 20,000+ fans screaming when trying to hit a ball coming at him at 90+mph. Or a NFL field goal kicker or NBA player shooting free throws?