Golf In The Olympics

The golf community is applauding the decision of the IOC for including golf in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil. I think it is a terrible decision and believe that it will only last during the “trial phase” and won’t be included as an official sport in future games. The golf community thinks it will put golf on a stage, but I argue that golf doesn’t need any larger stage than what it has already. Here are my main reasons for not thinking its a good idea for golf to be in the Olympics:

• There won’t be many countries that can field a team/players that can compete.
• There are already several competitions played on the International Level (Ryders Cup, Presidents Cup, Solheim Cup etc). Will these events cease competition due to the Olympics?
• More than likely, professionals will be the representatives. This is my biggest concern (more below)
• There are already too many accolades in the golfing world (US Amateur Champ, US Open Champ, British Open Champ, FedEx Winner, Ryders Cup Winners, Presidents Cup winners etc). Another award dilutes the achievement

I wouldn’t mind it as much if we had our college/amateur players playing, but that leaves an even smaller pool of players for other countries. Our professionals are already showcased enough, lets put the spot light on the up-and-comers.

Lastly, if we do send our pros to represent the country, there is going to be the issue of money. Many of them, lead by Tiger Woods, almost boycotted the Ryder Cup a few years ago because they weren’t getting paid. The said that they would be leaving money on the table by not playing in a PGA event and choosing to play in the Ryder Cup. Some form of payment was worked out and the Ryder Cup was played. This is setup for a replay of that exact same scenario. If they play in the Olympics, they will be losing money.

Who is going to pay our professionals to play in the Olympics? Since tax money goes to the USOC, we pay them! Isn’t paying players the exact opposite of what the Olympics represent?

Leave golf out of the Olympics and let other sports that don’t have professional ranks compete. Let them have their day while our golf pros make millions