Which sport is the most difficult to master?

Federer can be more competitive on the golf course versus Tiger, than Tiger, WILL EVER BE, on the tennis court versus Federer. Straight up, Tiger beats Federer 12-18 strokes. Tiger wouldn't win more than 2 points in a best of 5 set match.

 

I still think hockey is the most difficult, given the skating aspect. After that, probably baseball or tennis.

I could be convinced otherwise on baseball and tennis though.

 

I think a part of the problem, to some extent, with this debate is the word "mastering." Are we talking about mastering it to the level that Tiger Woods has mastered golf? Or are we talking about mastering at the amateur level? People seem to be comparing being a scratch golfer to playing professional baseball. While a scratch handicap is excellent for an amateur golfer, that's far from mastering the sport at the highest level playing on 6,500 yard courses. It's a little harder to quantify "mastering" baseball because there is no score, such as par, which indicates your ability, it's far more subjective.

What do people think is harder, making the PGA Tour or MLB?

 

To me, football would be among the easiest to play at the highest leve -- if you have the size, speed and strength to do so. That's the catch.

Always amazes me in basketball, too, how many 7-footers absolutely suck at the game.

 

I'm not sure about that. What about standing in the batters box against Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez or other headhunters, knowing a 95-mile-an-hour fastball could be coming straight for your head.

That would scare the pants off of anybody.

 

baseball is a sport? [runs away]

 

I think my vote would easily have to go to pro wrestling! ;D

 

For the sake of this argument, I'm throwing hitting a baseball completely aside. That said, the overwhelming majority of the population still would look like a total fool out there. I'm betting my house that you would look like a total fool on the baseball field, and I'm assuming you're a good athlete. The big leaguers make fielding a smashing grounder or dashing for a sinking fly ball at 4.4 40 speed or launching the ball from the deep outfield to a cutoff man look so easy. Those are world-class athletic plays. That doesn't even include trying to hit a 90 mph fastball with deadly movement and the fear of it hitting you in the grill.

Still, I'm not saying any of us wouldn't look less a fool on the gridiron, hardwood or ice.

My votes, from hardest to easiest
1. Hockey -- simply to skate so well on top of everything.
2. Baseball -- so many different skills you have to master
3. Basketball -- lots of skills too, but you can be a decent player if you can shoot and think and have no other skills
4. Football -- if you have toughness, speed and aggressive mentality, and absolutely nothing else, you can still be a great player. (I played this sport at the D-III college level)

I won't put golf here. I'm in the golf-is-not-a-sport crowd. I admit mastering the game is incredibly difficult, but it doesn't require you to be a great athlete to succeed, even at the highest levels.

 

What the hell do sticks have to do with it?

Goalies often don't know where the shot is coming from nor can they often see the puck when they're screened by Ryan Smyth standing two feet from their face. It's called read and react.

Or when the Baby Jesus comes blowing in on a breakway and you don't know whether he's going to go high or low, deke or score from his knees.

And all this is going a helluva lot faster than what's going on in a football game.

If you're talking punishment, then defensemen in hockey going back to pick up the puck on the forecheck (with their backs to the play) take a lot more punishment than a QB.

 

1. Rugby
2. Hockey
3. Water Polo

 

My own two cents, as someone who pitched in pro baseball ...

I never played hockey, and have tremendous respect for the skills it takes to play that game. As many have said, the skating alone makes it one that goes high on the list. Add in the checking, the hand-eye coordination it takes to control the puck, then shoot it with any velocity and accuracy ... I have no argument against placing it high on the list.

I never saw anybody work as hard to compete in their sports as friends who played water polo and competed in wrestling. Just the stamina alone needed in these two sports — and I'd imagine boxing as well — is incredible, and that's not even taking into account the necessary skill sets such as elevating and shooting a ball with no hard surface to push off of (water polo) and the myriad moves and counter moves that are needed in wrestling.

All that said, I still say hitting a baseball is the toughest thing to do in sports. I'm not talking about mastery — I side with the golf folks in this debate, as someone who's played for 15 years and still has no idea where the ball is going on a given shot.

But for Joe Schmoe just showing up and doing it, hitting a baseball is No. 1 — you have approximately .7 seconds to determine how fast a pitch is coming, where it is coming, whether it is straight or a breaking ball, whether or not you want to swing or hit the dirt because it's coming at your head, determine where you need to swing, and use a round bat to hit a round ball and attempt to hit it square.

And, of course, to be considered a success, you not only have to do all of the above, but try not to hit it to one of the eight players out in the field. And don't even get me started on situational hitting (hitting behind the runner, trying to put the ball in the air with a runner on third and less than two outs, etc.)

Sure, Agassi might be able to hit line drives in the batting cage when pitches are straight and 95 mph. Let's see him execute a hit-and-run when Randy Johnson busts a 90-plus slider on his hands.

And my final point. A group of buddies can get together any time and play hoops, or tackle football, or a game of golf. They might not set the world on fire, but they can play.

However, you can't just take a bunch of schmoes and play baseball. Someone has to have the athletic ability to at least pitch the ball, and others have to be able to hit it and catch it, or you simply can't play.

 

I think the physical punishment hockey players take also has to be factored in. You might be involved in a few higher-than-football-speed collisions during a season, as well as a few more collisions not as fast, but still hard into the boards, over an 80-game schedule. Blocking a shot takes balls and is an unmentioned aspect of the game to master, if only for the courage of the player doing so with no goalie equipment to help absorb the blow. There aren't many who sarcifice themselves for that duty.

In addition to skating, stick-handling (you don't look at the puck just like basketball players don't look at the ball when they dribble), shooting (you're picking a spot right before your shot), and passing (you have to know the speed of the player to whom you're passing so you can hit him in stride) are all skills that go overlooked.