What sport has the biggest separation between the professionals and amateurs?

[fuffle master]

So, looking at the tweet that wanted to show how good the PGA players are with the list showing the Average index in the list a +5.4 versus an amateur generally being in the negative numbers.

Here was the picture if you didn’t see it.



The tweet got my thinking of which sport has the largest separation from the professional to amateurs? Are PGA players really much better than an amateur versus another professional in their sport versus the amateur?

Most would say baseball and the fact that hitting a ball traveling at 95 mph breaking 6+ or more over 400 feet is an amazing accomplishment an amateur just can’t do. No matter how many tries you get.

But could you make an argument that a professional golfer is that much more ahead of an amateur on an equal field / course?

Is there another sport you would argue?

 

[JaxHax]

Aside from the painfully obvious answer of "synchronized swimming," it's pretty clear golf is gonna be really high on this list.

 

[G-Man]

Not a fan and don't watch but I think tennis is up there. I think it's tough to gauge.

Team sports are difficult because there's no way a amateur cold go out and at NFL, NBA

 

[Reframmellator]

Possibly the greatest rhetorical question ever.

The difference between the ins and the "just outs" at the highest level of just about any endeavor is a microschnitz. If you're talking averages - average pro vs average amateur - it might be baseball. Hitting a baseball is considered by many to be the hardest thing in all of sport. If you're talking gap - worst pro vs best amateur - I'd say tennis, and I can;t tell you why.

 

[MWard]

My first thought was baseball. Hitting a ball that could be moving 90+ and with more than a few inches of movement is pretty ridiculous. I'm never going to hit a home run in a professional ballpark. Mostly because, they won't let me on the field. I can go play the same course as Rickie Fowler, might even beat his score on a couple holes.

 

[OldandStiff]

I honestly don't think golf would be very high on the list. There's a big divide in accessibility in other sports compared to golf. It's not like every town has 5 competitive leagues a guy can go practice or stay sharp on hitting a hard slider. Where with golf, everyone has some access to facilities. Hitting a ball at a driving range doesn't really change much other than the quality of the balls and grass, and the view. So the method can at least be perfected more easily for the non-pro. Golf also doesn't have some of the same physical requirements as others to perform. There are guys who've never seen a gym in their life that can smash a golf ball. That doesn't translate as well to most others. Reaction time sports in general are a whole different animal in my opinion when it comes to separation of amateur vs. pro.

I think that's one of the beauties of golf. That anyone can go out on the same course as Rickie, like @MWard said, and knock one closer than they saw him on tv.

 

[ddstanford]

I'd probably go with baseball, but other sports have so few pros, because there are so few that good.

 

[baylrballa]

Sprinters

 

[davis20]

Tough question. I can see tennis being up there for sure. Track and field stuff might be a sneaky one as well. Golf is very expensive in a lot of areas I don't think it's as accessible as we would like to believe, it wasn't when I was a kid for sure. What about basketball?

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[fuffle master]

If you're talking gap - worst pro vs best amateur - I'd say tennis, and I can;t tell you why.

Interesting your thoughts on worst pro vs best amateur.

I could agree on tennis having a huge difference in the top players from the bottom pros, but the best amateur generally becomes a pro in tennis.

 

[baylrballa]

Women's gymnastics?

 

[AndyL0711]

Gotta go with baseball. None of us are hitting a 90 slider. We would look stupid. We could field balls and run from base to base but we would never get on base to run...lol

 

[WICHITAREJECT]

I am going to go with world class marathoners. There was a treadmill that simulated the speed of 2 hour marathoners, very few people could stay on it for a minute.

 

[MSEASU]

I am going to go with world class marathoners. There was a treadmill that simulated the speed of 2 hour marathoners, very few people could stay on it for a minute.

I am a runner and have run many marathons. I can’t match their pace for even a half mile.

 

[MSEASU]

This is tough question, but if I looked at it as a percentage. I’d say many could come within 20% of a pro golfers score but not 20% of a baseball players hitting percent.

 

[Thrillbilly Jim]

Wrestling...without a doubt! When's the last time you saw a wrestler in the Olympics hit someone with a metal folding chair?!

 

[fuffle master]

Another sport that came to mind, well due to ESPN, was cycling. The speed and stamina one must have to become a professional or compete in say the Tour de France far exceeds anything the better amateur could come close to.

 

[greenOak]

Gotta go with baseball. None of us are hitting a 90 slider. We would look stupid. We could field balls and run from base to base but we would never get on base to run...lol

Yeah but most people who are playing baseball into their adult lives are pretty good at the game. Its not often you see someone who have never picked up a bat before want to get into baseball. Also, I'd reckon there are a number amateur baseball players who could hit a 90mph slider - its hitting the 90mph slider while still being able to fight off the 100mph fastball that's damn near impossible.

Golf is going to rank pretty high on this list along with stuff like curling, bowling, and darts which a lot of people pick up late in life just for fun.

 

[Sox_Fan]

A lot depends on what kind of amateur we are talking about. There are elite amateurs in every sport that are just a tick below the pros and then there are us recreational amateur athletes. If talking recreational, there are huge gaps in every sport.

 

[fuffle master]

A lot depends on what kind of amateur we are talking about. There are elite amateurs in every sport that are just a tick below the pros and then there are us recreational amateur athletes. If talking recreational, there are huge gaps in every sport.

Let’s say the average Professional vs the better Amateur.

So, the ranked 75th person from a weekly PGA event to a scratch golfer vs similar in other sports.

 

[Canadan]

I think the argument for baseball saying an average person couldn't hit a pitch is an interesting point, but let's apply that to golf.

At the professional level, they are playing from massive yardages, on torqued out greens (speed), fairways that are narrow and dash into rough that's thick, and on challenging courses. If you take the average amateur golfer who hits the ball as short as they do, and put them on the tour tees in tour conditions, I'm hard pressed to believe if they putt everything out, they break 120.

What's interesting to me about this question, is that most of it allows for error. Whether it's the fact that you have a team to support you, or samples like tennis where you make a mistake and it's just one point that can disappear throughout the set. In golf, one mistake is sort of catastrophic as it relates to the basic goal of par.

The one argument AGAINST golf for me, is the lack of necessity that comes with physical fitness. In many sports, being faster and stronger are some of the more critical components of the game. In golf, it surely helps, but it doesn't hinder the golfer from success.

 

[OldandStiff]

Let’s say the average Professional vs the better Amateur.

So, the ranked 75th person from a weekly PGA event to a scratch golfer vs similar in other sports.

Yeah, golf would be low on that list for me.

 

[echico]

MMA/boxing

 

[tequila4kapp]

Honestly, I think the answer is all of them. Every sport we see on TV the pros are so good they make it look easy enough that guys like us think we could do it if we just had a little more time to practice. The reality is they are light years better.

 

[Mark_UK]

Honestly, I think the answer is all of them. Every sport we see on TV the pros are so good they make it look easy enough that guys like us think we could do it if we just had a little more time to practice. The reality is they are light years better.

Exactly what I was about to say.