BamBooBender
See-Moe
Interesting facts! I know I tend to crave golf more living here in the frozen north than when I lived in warmer climes and could play pretty much year round if i wanted.
The colder the state, the more popular golf is.
I'm wondering how any football player fits golf into his schedule. Don't those happen both in the fall? How did your QB do it?
In today's high school sports scene, I can't see any coach allowing a player to miss practice in order to compete in a different sport. Otherwise, I think moer kids would do it. I know several football players at my school who would love to competer on the golf team, but they can't afford to jeopardize their standing with the coach.
I always wonder how Hale Irwin played safety for U of Colorado & still golfed (although I guess the college golf season isn't limited to fall)
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- #28
Men's Golf has always been a spring sport at the high school and college level.
Otis32
Active member
Don't understand the need to address the per capita aspect since measuring golf participation on average per person was the whole point of the study. Coastal states with large populations will certainly have more golfers in total but that isn't what the study is measuring.
The view that northern states have fewer options for outdoor recreation and things to do in general would be incorrect. MN & WI in particular also have really high participation rates in activities like fishing, camping, hiking, hunting, skiing etc. etc. and an enormous wealth of natural resources & public land in which to pursue them.
Have lived all over the Midwest including the Chicago area over the last 20+ years and I suspect the primary reason MN & WI participate in golf (and other outdoor rec.) at such a high rate is the combination of wealth, high education levels, opportunity and culture. People up here want to be outside, are generally more healthy and more health conscious than the rest of the country and they do want to make up for lost time after the long winters.
The view that northern states have fewer options for outdoor recreation and things to do in general would be incorrect. MN & WI in particular also have really high participation rates in activities like fishing, camping, hiking, hunting, skiing etc. etc. and an enormous wealth of natural resources & public land in which to pursue them.
Have lived all over the Midwest including the Chicago area over the last 20+ years and I suspect the primary reason MN & WI participate in golf (and other outdoor rec.) at such a high rate is the combination of wealth, high education levels, opportunity and culture. People up here want to be outside, are generally more healthy and more health conscious than the rest of the country and they do want to make up for lost time after the long winters.
That makes sense. In Ohio, as far as I can remember, it's always been a fall sport.
AoxomxoA
New member
Living in California, it also seems like large segments of population in these coastal states, probably larger by several times over than the population of MN or WI, have little or no access to golf, either by location and/or issues of expense.
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The stat itself in the opening post is saying "per capita". So therefore how can it be addressed as anything else when that in itself is what its based on?
As far as anyone knocking what there is to do I think is just some generalized sarcastic humor not meant as any insult or anything. Winter sports and recreation are awesome and so are beautiful landscapes and snow and wildlife etc, etc,,
I don't know how one can say the people are more health conscious than the rest of the country. Again just like the golf perhaps in smaller communities people tend to think and do more alike. Where there are less people there are less mix of ideas and social patterns. But that too is a "per capita" thing and I think people everywhere today are much more health conscious n general.
moosejaa
Mr. Inconsistent
I want to see some stats to back up this.
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- #36
The irony in it is based on that chart, those stats are meaningless because Michigan is lower median average income than GA and ranked right near FL. Then combine places with high retirement skewing those numbers.
Nobody was viewing this as a knock on those places, which based on that post you quoted, it came across as some were. Just that the simple fact that it is listed as per capita means that the title of the thread is misleading at best.
Otis32
Active member
Thanks for omitting the "I suspect" portion of the quote. I was pretty clear this was was an anecdotal opinion and observation from living in several states. But since you demanded some stats here is 5-minutes of Google research.
http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/acsbr12-02.pdf
http://www.americashealthrankings.org/rankings
http://www.statemaster.com/graph/edu_bes_edu_ind-education-best-educated-index
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- #38
Come on now...No reason to get defensive. As has been explained, since it was done "per capita", the title is misleading and wrong, is all people have been saying on why they brought it up.
As to the stats about income and wealth, it does not support Michigan (as was noted), therefore it truly does not fit.
As to the stats about income and wealth, it does not support Michigan (as was noted), therefore it truly does not fit.
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- #39
You make valid points. The only meaningful way to compare states would be on a per capita basis as the most populous 11 states are home to over half of US residents. Per capita is almost always used when comparing income, smoking rates, obesity, or any other sport/activity participation. An example of why you have to compare on a per capita basis is California ranks second in number of registered boats but is 43rd in boaters per capita(only 2.49% of the population). I was shocked after moving to California how few people boat compared to Minnesota but after looking it up I realized that Minnesota has a much higher percentage of boaters, 17%, than any other state. Wisconsin is in second place at 11%.
I guess another way of looking at it is now that I live in California the people I meet are only about half as likely to play golf as when I lived in Minnesota.
You're also right about Minnesotans and people in northern states being healthier. I found living in the Minneapolis area for 33 years that the people there are very fit, health conscious, and embrace outdoor activites. It's easy to google it, so I did. According to America's Health Rankings, here are the healthiest states for 2013.
1. Hawaii
2. Vermont
3. Minnesota
4. Massachusetts
5. New Hampshire
6. Utah
7. Connecticut
8. Colorado
9. North Dakota
10. New Jersey
11. Nebraska
12. Idaho
13. Oregon
14. Washington
15. New York
Other than Hawaii, the warm weather and southern states are absent from the list again! Maybe it's too hot to enjoy the outdoors in the warmer states and everyone sits in their air conditioned environments most of the year?
moosejaa
Mr. Inconsistent
Sorry, didn't mean to come across like I was trying to pick a fight. Thanks for the info.
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- #41
How would that be different than being inside for half the year because it being too cold?
Mystery Meat
Ben Hogan Fan
Well I know everyone here in indiana is just chomping at the bit to play full time again . This will be one of the shortest seasons I can remember
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- #43
The norm is to get outside and embrace the cold. Many Minnesotans fill up the cold months with outdoor activities. I skied 80-120 days per year growing up there and also played hockey outdoors a couple days each week. After college I got a full time day job and still skied about 50 days each winter after work until 9 or 10 at night. My sister lives in Minneapolis and runs outdoors 300 days each year. Bicycling magazine recently named Minneapolis as the most bike friendly city in the U.S. My brother in fact rode his bike to work in Minneapolis all but 35 days last year. Here's some proof that it's not just my opinion.
And America's Fittest City Is...
New report highlights healthiest metropolitan areas
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, May 29, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- It's a three-peat. For the third year in a row, the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area is the fittest in America, according to the American College of Sports Medicine's annual rankings released Wednesday.
"Minneapolis may be under snow for three months, but they capitalize on the resources that they have," said Walter Thompson, chair of the advisory board that compiles the report, called the American Fitness Index, or AFI.
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- #44
Many Minnesotans fill up the cold months with outdoor activities. I skied 80-120 days per year growing up there and also played hockey outdoors a couple days each week. After college I got a full time day job and still skied about 50 days each winter after work until 9 or 10 at night. My sister lives in Minneapolis and runs outdoors 300 days each year. Bicycling magazine recently named Minneapolis as the most bike friendly city in the U.S. My brother in fact rode his bike to work in Minneapolis all but 35 days last year. Here's some proof that it's not just my opinion.
And America's Fittest City Is...
New report highlights healthiest metropolitan areas
By Brenda Goodman
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, May 29, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- It's a three-peat. For the third year in a row, the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area is the fittest in America, according to the American College of Sports Medicine's annual rankings released Wednesday.
"Minneapolis may be under snow for three months, but they capitalize on the resources that they have," said Walter Thompson, chair of the advisory board that compiles the report, called the American Fitness Index, or AFI.
Just as many in the south do as well.
Again, that is why Per Capita skews things.
There are more people doing physical activity twelves months a year in FL.
Just as there are more golfers in FL. Just as there are more golf courses.
However that being said, there are a lot more people too...Not a ton retire to MN, but a whole lot retire to FL, AZ, CA, etc.
Having the fittest town/city does not mean all others are disastrous. FWIW, here is a list of the fittest cities in 2014. 2 of the top 5 are in CA, another is in NM.
http://www.mensfitness.com/weight-l...-fittest-and-fattest-cities-in-america?page=2
An example would be the huge wealth in CA, while also having the most people below poverty line (last I checked).
And as a joke, if MN, OH, WI, MI would stop sending people to live here every single year thousands more, FL would not have this issue. It skews the totals on fitness and on paleness.
Brianbigoats
Active member
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- #46
Without a doubt. AZ as well.
Both places are strive to kind of places, hence the reason retirement is big there.
I dont ever dispute per capita numbers, just in this case based on the title/desciption of the OP.
It would be like saying this. Skiing is more popular on a small island off of Angola than Colorado. Despite the fact that they cant ski there, because there are only 7 residents and 3 of them go skiing once a year.
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- #47
Originally posted by JB
"And as a joke, if MN, OH, WI, MI would stop sending people to live here every single year thousands more, FL would not have this issue. It skews the totals on fitness and on paleness.[/QUOTE]
Lol, I like your humor!
I'll soon be one of those damn midwestern natives that will be invading your state and taking up 100+ tee times a year on your golf courses! We just bought a condo in Naples 12 months ago and plan on spending 7 months a year there in retirement starting in about 5-6 years. I'll try to work on my tan and fitness. My wife and I will leave your state alone during the oppressively hot summers - those months will be spent on Gull Lake, Minnesota, pictured below. The golf course are top notch there, alligators are rare, and the moccasins there are shoes, not snakes. I just hope a bunch of Floridians don't discover how great Minnesota is in the summer.:act-up:
"And as a joke, if MN, OH, WI, MI would stop sending people to live here every single year thousands more, FL would not have this issue. It skews the totals on fitness and on paleness.[/QUOTE]
Lol, I like your humor!
I'll soon be one of those damn midwestern natives that will be invading your state and taking up 100+ tee times a year on your golf courses! We just bought a condo in Naples 12 months ago and plan on spending 7 months a year there in retirement starting in about 5-6 years. I'll try to work on my tan and fitness. My wife and I will leave your state alone during the oppressively hot summers - those months will be spent on Gull Lake, Minnesota, pictured below. The golf course are top notch there, alligators are rare, and the moccasins there are shoes, not snakes. I just hope a bunch of Floridians don't discover how great Minnesota is in the summer.:act-up:
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- #48
I dont get it.
MN has the riches, the education and the amazing golf.
Why on earth would you want to come to FL with the obese, disgusting and mid tier golf?
MN has the riches, the education and the amazing golf.
Why on earth would you want to come to FL with the obese, disgusting and mid tier golf?
Texasbrons
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And Tahoebum just hit on a point that I was going to bring up. I know a LOT of people from Minnesota that retire and head south for the winter where they are playing golf in TX, FL, AZ etc... If they were polled for the stat, they would probably still claim Minnesota as their home though which would skew the data somewhat as well.
In the end, it really doesn't matter. Go out, swing your swing and enjoy yourself. If I don't move further south when I retire, I'll be a snowbird too and I only live in KC!!
In the end, it really doesn't matter. Go out, swing your swing and enjoy yourself. If I don't move further south when I retire, I'll be a snowbird too and I only live in KC!!
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- #50
I dont get it.
MN has the riches, the education and the amazing golf.
Why on earth would you want to come to FL with the obese, disgusting and mid tier golf?
Simple, I feel much smarter and fitter in places like Florida and California, and my declining golf skills will only be able to handle Florida mid-tier golf in retirement.
Seriously, we just spent a week in Florida on spring break and will be going back for 10 days in June and a week without the kids for our anniversary in November. We love Florida! I'm just starting to play some of the amazing golf courses in Naples. Damn bermuda!
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