Why Golf is Harder than Baseball

This one is sure to awaken my co-blogger from his springtime slumber. 

 

This came to me today from a former manager - a list of quips about the game of golf:

 

21.  Ken Harrelson:  "In baseball you hit your home run over the right-field fence, the left-field fence, the center-field fence.  Nobody cares.   In golf everything has got to be right over second base."

 

And therein lies the reasoning why it is harder to hit a golf ball than a baseball.  Sure it's easier to *make contact* with the golf ball.  It's lying still, and all you have to do is hit it.  But consider that you have a 90 degree window in which you can make successful contact with a baseball.  Consider also that you do not necessarily have to hit the ball straight on its intended path, or hit it all that well.  Baltimore chops, bloops, and even drag bunts can be successful in baseball. 

 

But never has a good golfer drag bunted his way to success.  To successfully hit a golf ball, you have to hit it square, and you have to hit it straight.  And sometimes it is harder to set up over a shot and pull the trigger than it is to instinctively react.  Look at a guy like Rick Barry, who could make jump shots from all over, but struggled endlessly at the foul line. 

 

So I once again restate my case: it is harder to successfully hit a golf ball than it is to successfully hit a baseball.