Is Basketball or Golf a more enjoyable sport?

By: Clark Kinney

Golf and basketball are both sports I like to participate in, but I do not play on the teams for either of them at Wilson Hall. I played basketball growing up and all the way up until high school where I made the decision to put an end to my basketball career. My brothers and parents all played basketball and my dad actually was the head basketball coach at Sumter High School and won a State Championship there in 1985. Basketball definitely runs in the family; however, Golf also runs in the family. My grandma won the South Carolina Women’s Ametuer Championship and my older brother, William plays very often and is quite good. I also really enjoy golf to the point that if golf season wasn’t the same season of baseball, I would be on the team. 

Overall, watching basketball is entertaining for me, but I think you can definitely tell that the players aren’t always giving 100% effort which makes it more boring as a fan in my opinion. The NBA regular season is pretty much garbage to me because no defense is played and the players do not seem to care all that much. NBA playoffs, college basketball, and high school basketball are all fun to watch and entertaining. I find golf entertaining to watch at times. The 4 majors and very exciting and I could watch those for hours. There are also some regular PGA Tour events that are exciting like but most of them are only entertaining during the final round on Sunday.

Playing pickup basketball with your friends is very, very fun and a very good workout. One of my favorite parts of the year is on Christmas break heading up to the Sumter YMCA to play pickup basketball almost everyday. The atmosphere in high school basketball games is crazy with fans that feel like they are on top of you and student-sections chanting for their team. Despite this, I still think pickup games are more fun in my opinion, sorry Coach Rip :). Although the atmospheres aren’t the same, Golf is very entertaining to play also. The thing about golf is that people can love it and play it with their best friends for their entire life which is unique. Golf is also very addicting. You finish a round and think about what if the ball would have bounced this way or what if I would have hit this club and it just makes you want to go play again. 

Due to the more consistent entertainment and longevity of the entertainment I think Golf is a more entertaining sport overall. I do think basketball has its very entertaining moments though.