Instruction What sport trasitions into golf the best?

[Philpug]

@locknload brought up this point in another thread ...

What he meant was we are all "trying" to make the club swing the way we want and we all draw on different athletic backgrounds (baseball, tennis, even skiing) to create a feel that works for us...even if its incorrect.

It made me think what sport transition into golf? We see some of the best athletes in the world from every sport, Michael Jordon, Tony Romo, Mike Schmidt, Steph Curry, Wayne Gretzky and even "The Round Mound of Rebound" Charles Barkley give everything they got into golf and the ones that tried to take their game to the pro (PGA and Senior PGA) level and not even be able to sniff it ... well not Charles, but you get the idea.

So even taking the top athletes out, what sport is best to come to golf from?

 

[Tony S]

Bartending.

 

[Dwight]

Hockey

 

[Philpug]

Bartending.

Close, but I think more golfers digress into bartenders than the other way around.

 

[Tricia]

Hockey

And Happy Gillmore proves it.

When I took my first golf lesson in May, my pro asked me if I participated in any stick and ball sports.
I said the only ball sport was volleyball and he said, "That's not stick and ball, but we can work with it."

I think you're on to something with hockey.

 

[jmeb]

Not a sport. But I've never seen someone who does a lot of yoga that doesn't have a smooth golf swing.

As far as sport itself I'd argue it's less about the movement of the swing (hockey, baseball) and more about the mental game. Sports where you methodically make decisions, and then have to act instinctually in the moment prevail. Climbing and surfing both come to mind (reading routes/waves, planning movements, choosing the right approach, and then GO)

 

[Dwight]

And Happy Gillmore proves it.

When I took my first golf lesson in May, my pro asked me if I participated in any stick and ball sports.
I said the only ball sport was volleyball and he said, "That's not stick and ball, but we can work with it."

I think you're on to something with hockey.

I've heard it from golf pros before.

 

[Bad Bob]

Day trading stocks successfully.

 

[raytseng]

I agree with the hold a handle to get into an athletic stance and have to hit something with your tool. So beyond the obvious stick and ball sports, also think racquet sports like tennis, racquetball, pingpong and even badminton I think gives you a boost.
Beyond sports, if you've had your ten thousand hours swinging an axe, sledge, pick, even a pick, shovel or hammer; I think that gives you a head start too.

I think the celebrity athletes from the big 4 sports (baseball, football, basketball, hockey) may tend to play more golf, get better at it, then get the celebrity spotlight; more as a function of opportunity, money, and networking from their pro connections; rather than solely the skills they honed for their primary sport itself.

 

[SBrown]

I agree with the hold a handle to get into an athletic stance and have to hit something with your tool. So also tennis, racquetball, pingpong and even badminton I think gives you a boost.
Beyond sports, if you've had hours swinging an axe, sledge, pick, even a pick, shovel or hammer; I think that gives you a head start too.

I think the celebrity athletes from the big 4 sports (baseball, football, basketball, hockey) may tend to play more golf and get the spotlight more as a function of opportunity, money, and networking from their pro connections; rather than solely the skills they honed in their primary sport itself.

Except that the golf swing and hockey swing actually have a little bit in common, but mostly the eye-hand stuff that results from being able to violently swing a long thing at a little thing.

 

[locknload]

Great question...hockey seems like a good parallel...but if you've seen Mike Trout's video at Top Golf you'd be a believer in baseball players too and then of course we have Steph Curry. That incredible hand-eye coordination mixed with able to generate leverage in the swing...but its that mental piece that some great athletes have and can apply to anything they put their mind to.

 

[raytseng]

Not disagreeing with you on the parallel skills, but the downside of a contact sports is that it decimates the field with wear and tear and injuries,
so while the best of the best is always an outlier; you'll have a better chance to retire early and play golf (and practice and get better) with a healthy body from the other sports.

 

[FlyingAce]

Tennis. I am actually take tennis lessons (no interest in actually playing tennis) to help with my golf swing.

 

[Living Proof]

I'm breaking a promise to myself and going to comment about a thread with the word "best" in the title.

First, a little story about the U. of Texas longtime golf coach Harvey Pennick who wrote a book about golf instruction - The Little Red Book. Pennick lamented that young athletes played traditional sports and not golf. He finally got a great athlete, Ben Crenshaw, also coached Tom Kite who had to work a lot harder.

Any really good athlete should pick up golf easily. I've always thought baseball pitchers have to be very talented to throw a ball fast and with control. The baseball swing has a lot of common movements with a golf swing, so, I'd say Baseball may lead the pack off other sports.

Marty Fish, a tennis player, does very will in golf events. Hockey swings are also close to golf.
There was a time when Charles Barkley did play excellent golf, but his brain got in the way. Is there any sport where Steph Curry would not excel at?

Bottom line is I'm athletic to those who don't play sports, I'm less an athlete for those who do. Lifelong just ok golfer.

 

[geepers]

Cricket.

 

[aveski]

Horseshoes

 

[Tricia]

Hockey

I've heard it from golf pros before.

Except that the golf swing and hockey swing actually have a little bit in common

Does it help if you know how to cross check properly?

 

[Tricia]

I'm breaking a promise to myself and going to comment about a thread with the word "best" in the title.

First, a little story about the U. of Texas longtime golf coach Harvey Pennick who wrote a book about golf instruction - The Little Red Book. Pennick lamented that young athletes played traditional sports and not golf. He finally got a great athlete, Ben Crenshaw, also coached Tom Kite who had to work a lot harder.

Any really good athlete should pick up golf easily. I've always thought baseball pitchers have to be very talented to throw a ball fast and with control. The baseball swing has a lot of common movements with a golf swing, so, I'd say Baseball may lead the pack off other sports.

Marty Fish, a tennis player, does very will in golf events. Hockey swings are also close to golf.
There was a time when Charles Barkley did play excellent golf, but his brain got in the way. Is there any sport where Steph Curry would not excel at?

Bottom line is I'm athletic to those who don't play sports, I'm less an athlete for those who do. Lifelong just ok golfer.

All of this is interesting on more levels than one for me, as we were talking about athletes in a diner table conversation a while back.
Bode Miller was brought up and how well he plays golf. He has a unique way of playing, but he plays well.

Is an athlete just an athlete and able to do just about everything or is that topic for a different talk show episode?

 

[Wade]

I vote for baseball. There are just so many parallels between the golf swing and baseball swing (loading the right side, clearing the hips ahead of the chest and shoulders etc.) that a lot of the same principals directly translate from one to the other.

I got paired with a couple of minor leaguers a few years ago. Both pretty big guys who were decent golfers. Outside of tour pro golfers, I've never in person seen anyone play golf who clearly understood how to create club head speed and power as was apparent with these guys. They both hit the ball an unbelievably long way.

 

[crgildart]

Wealth.. and hockey..