Is golf an Olympic sport?

We identify an activity as a sport when it has competition with a rival, requires a set of physical
skills, and has a certain set of rules. For the very nature of golf, it is often looked down upon as a
sport. It requires minimal physical movement and is not as aggressive as other sports that we
generally enjoy. Despite all that, is golf an Olympic sport? The answer is yes, and it has been a
part of the 2016 summer Olympics after a long interval of 122 years. Golf is a niche sport.
Despite that, more than 40 countries will participate in the 2020 Olympics from two events- men
and women’s events.

Golf: Why increased popularity?

Golf is a sport that is less popular among common people but we have all heard of this sport and
many of us even know the rules of this sport. Why the fascination around this sport, despite it
being inaccessible for many of us? The mainstream media has labeled golf as a rich man’s sport,
something a billionaire stock giant or the US president does for pleasure. We know who Tiger
Woods is and what a golf club is. Golf has been globally expanded and popularized for the past
few decades and has received a lot of appeals. Then why it has not been part of the Olympics for
such a long time? Because a number of steps must be taken and conditions must be fulfilled for a
sport to be included in the Olympics including the admission as a sport by the International
Olympic Committee (IOC), filing of an eligibility petition by International Sports Federation
(IF) and so on.

How golf became a part of the Olympics again?

From 1900 to 1904 golf had been an Olympic sport until it was discontinued in 1904. So, is golf
an Olympic sport now and how? After more than a century, in 2016, out of rapid expansion and
popularity, IOC declared golf an Olympic sport. To be included in the Olympics, a sport must be
identified by IOC. The initiative was primarily taken by Ty Votaw. He was the vice president of
the International Golf Federation. Several pro-golfers came in his support and finally in a 2009
session in Copenhagen, IOC reinstated golf for Olympics sport. Several golf legends namely
Pádraig Harrington, Michelle Wie, Suzann Petterson were the four players that came forward
and put their effort into making golf part of the Olympics. Then, the International Sports
Foundation provided golf with a set of rules and an anti-doping code along with regular tests.
Then, IOC admitted golf as an event. An event in the Olympics is a distinctive competition with
discipline. From 2016 Olympics, golf featured 2 particular events for both the gender.

Qualification process of golf Olympics players

The qualification process for player selection in the Olympics in the case of golf is unique. The
first fifteen players of each gender in the distinctive Official World Golf Ranking can participate
in the Olympics each year. But there is an exception to the rule. The total golf player
participating in the Olympics from each country can’t be more than four (combined both men
and women participants). Also that players that are not ranked in the top fifteen but have empty
slots in their nation's quota can participate. IGF also ensured that they would allow at least one
golfer from each geographical nation whether they are in the top fifteen rankings or not. This
rule ensures the scope of participation in more countries. Golf can also be more popularized
through this process. An exception to this rule is the USA. As it is a bigger country with many
prominent golf players, a total of seven players got the opportunity to participate in the 2016
Olympics.

Golf 2016 Summer Olympics

Brazil built a new golf course to organize the 2016 summer Olympics in Reserva de Marapendi.
Gill Hanse designed this particular golf course by collaborating with the World Golf Hall. In
2016, the head of the organizing committee, Carlos Arthur stated that he is much happy to
organize golf Olympics events in Brazil as these events would have marked the beginning of a
new era for golf. Golf had returned to the Olympics after more than a century and the
establishment of this unique golf course was the perfect way to commemorate that. The authority
expects that this course would be a prominent facility to develop golf and inspire many new
players to pursue golf. This course has now been turned into a public facility.

The Olympics committee wanted to promote environmentally sustainable sports through these
golf events. For that reason, they even selected the grass keeping water use in mind. While the
government of Brazil was allowing massive deforestation that led to one of the most destructive
rainforest fires in 2020, their organizing committee was using environment sustainability as a
marketing stunt. So the credibility of this sustainability motto is questionable.
Furthermore, a total of 420 players participated in golf in the 2016 summer Olympics. Before
that in 1904 seventy-two players participated in the Summer Olympics. An interesting fact is that
several golfers withdrew from the events because of the epidemic caused by the Zika virus. More
male golfers withdrew than female golfers showing that reason as this virus is mostly spread
through semen than blood.

Golf Records in Olympics

The USA has achieved the most medals and currently holds most records in the history of golf
Olympics. The USA has a total of seven medals that they have required throughout history. In
2016, they also acquired the bronze medal for the male event. Justin Rose from Great Britain and
Inbee Park from South Korea has acquired gold medals. Henrik Stenson from Sweden and Lydia
Ko from Newzealand have acquired the silver medals. The bronze medal for women’s event was
presented to Shanshan Feng from China. No country has dominated this sport in this Olympics.

Golf 2020 Summer Olympics: Postponed?

The 2020 summer Olympics will also organize two separate events for golf in the Kasumigaseki
Country Club venue. A total of 118 golfers are to participate in these events from July 30. But
due to the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic situation, the president of ICO, Thomas Bach has
postponed the Olympics to 2021.

Conclusion
People considered golf to be a niche game earlier but it has slowly expanded and attained an
appeal from mass people. People all over the world now started to like golf and giving it the
appeal of a prominent game. Still, playing golf is restricted by resources to the richer portion of
society.

Meta Description:

So, when the question pops into your mind- “is golf an Olympics sport?” you can now say “yes”.
It has had an interesting Olympics journey and now it is an Olympics game again from 2016. But
still, it has a smaller portion of the audience.