PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem, in his PGATOUR.com blog, stated his support for Golf to become an Olympic Sport as soon as 2016. (If you haven't seen it yet, read his thoughts at http://www.pgatour.com/2008/r/01/21/commish.blog/)

Commissioner Finchem outlines two important benefits to adding Golf to the Olympic roster: One would be a significant boost to the popularity and perception of the game all around the world. The other is that it would further help bring the world of golf together to work on this major initiative.

Do you think Golf should be an Olympic sport? What might it look like and who should compete? Would you watch? Let's talk about it - post your thoughts here.

Oui le Golf au même titre que les autres sports individuels doit devenir une discipline Olympique.

Seuls une sélection d'amateurs et de professionnels évoluant sur le Challenge Tour, le Nationwide Tour etc... devraient pouvoir y participer.

Marc

I think golf would be a great addition to the world of the Olympics. I think it will help the golf community and golfers around the world be able to show their golfing talents on a world level and at a venue that would be a legitmate world stage. It would be an amazing event to watch, and would be yet another challenge for golfers everywhere. I'm for it.

i dont think it should due to the fact that it only comes round every 4 years and would have weaker fields due to only amateur status players being allowed to compete i am guessing

pros would be able to compete and there are many great amatures

Depends, Scheduling would be tough because you only have a 2.5 week window between opening and closing ceremonies. The course choice would be limited because it would need to be relatively close to the host city (i.e. Beijing). And the big question would be the field. No doubt Pros would be aloud to compete, but would they? With only medals at stake (no prize money) how many of the elite players would change their schedule for each Olympics when we all know they only care about the Majors?

I think the biggest issue here is what this would do to the ryder cup...There have been some really great ryder cups and bringing golf to the olympics would just dilute, yet again (presiden't cup), a great event. I understand Finchem's desire to bring more notice to golf worldwide, but does it really need the olympics. I don't think so...

Yes. I'd definitely watch it. Though I think that limiting the event to amateurs would be best for the sport, I doubt many would agree with me. If it were to include pros, then maybe a team sport like the Ryder Cup would be fun.

One word: curling. If this obscure sport of the frozen north can be considered a sport - if only every 4 years - then golf as an internationally recognized (and played) sport can and should be in the Olympics. There are far more sports that I have never heard of than those that I have competing in the summer games. If the Olympics awards hardware to those disciplined athletes that accel in their obscure niche it only seems reasonable that such a high profile activity such as golf should merit inclusion.

golf shouldnt be in the oplympics we have the presidents cup and ryder cup thats enough who cares that other countries dont play it thats there own fault golf is perfect as it is right now except the fed ex cup

Now that is something I as a golfer have been wanting to hear for months.The Olympics need golf badly.It would be the glamor sport of The Olympics.Think of it seeing Tiger, Sergio, Vijay, and Phil going for gold.On the Lpga watching Annika, Paula, Lorena, and Si Ri Pak going for gold too.What needs to happen is first let golf be a demostration sport at the 2012 London games.Then in 2016 an Olympic Sport.Their can be 2 fields of 66 players the pros in one and the amatures the other.Gold medal winners of the amatures and the ones with no tour status can be given 2 pro tour exemptions , a nationwide, challenge, or future tour status , silver and bronze winners can have a conditional status too.The medal winners can be given special exemptions in the 3 majors(masters, us open, and the open championship) if they were to remain amatures .This is a great plan Finchem.

The Olympics have football, the football community doesn't need the olympics, becuase to them the football world cup is highest honour a footballer can win, so the other olympic sports it is there highest honour so the sport of golf would benefit more from the olympics and not being a part of it, but it needs to be careful in the choice of format used, because you will want the best golfers in the world to attend. I suggest you could have multiple events (stoke-play, match-play and team event), that way the sporting world would see all version of the sport of golf. Lets say all major winners from the previous two years, top 50 world ranking, in total 64 players (no more than 4 per country), for both stoke-play & match-play. The team event, the top 16 nations in the world (over 2 days) , play in pairs on day 1 ( four-ball,four-somes), stroke-play (day 2). Both men and women golf need to be on display.

Thanks everyone for posting and adding your thoughts to the discussion. You are all making strong points and give reasons about how you feel.

Phillip makes a good point about adding more international events to the schedule and how that might impact existing events that are popular for fans and players. The responses that Thesby and Andrew make include some good ideas for different ways to hold the competitions, involve many players and help expand the reach of golf. Men and women golfers, competing as teams and individuals, could all be represented at the Olympics in the future. There are many different medal events in Snowboarding or Cycling (a new Olympic sport in '08). Could the same be done with golf?

Remember that the PGA TOUR and Commissioner Finchem is joining with the other golf leaders around the world to overcome the challenges of making golf an Olympic sport. There are no right answers as of yet, so keep posting your suggestions, comments and questions here on the board.

i think a lot of international stars would embrace it..look at basketball and how much the tony parkers of the world love the olympics..but i think some of the us players may have issues

I don't feel Golf has any place in the Olympics. Professional athletes have plenty of opportunity to further the game in the world stage.In a world of have and have not countries the usual supects would dominate the game as they do today. What would be the point of watching golfers compete from a have not nation unless there were minimum qulaifying standards that can be enforced.Even then between The Ryder Cup, President's Cup and the WGC events do our PGA tours need any more glory. This would also limit the countries that could host the summer games even further than it does now.

YES!!!! golf should be in the olympics why not??? i think every sport should be in the olypmics so that all their stars can compete against eachother for their country. i dont think the ryder cup and president's cup is enough mainly because of the past few year. europe raped the states and wasnt even fun too watch and the international team got spanked befor the last day even started! this should have golf in the olympics also because i'm sick of people saying that golf isnt a sport!!!! this would be exciting because it is almost imposible for one counrty to take a big enough lead into the final day like the ryder/presidents cup. i think if you were to ask any golfer if he would like to represent his coutry in the olympics for golf they would. If you dissagree then your not a golf fan .!

It should be an olympic sport as I believe golf is the last true sport with integrity. But I do believe that the players should be amateurs. Watching the pros in the olympics is like watching the regular tour or majors etc.. It would be exciting to watch the up and comers. Pete from fresno ca

It's a good idea...I'll watch it and all...but realistically no one will even come close to challenging the US....think about how many more players in the top 100 are from the US and there's not a single country that has a bunch of good players...maybe South Africa could compete but outside that i think it'd be non-competitive really...

Golf is certainly a better option then things like table tennis or badminton in the Games! Why not? If golf was to become an Olympic sport, how much more funding would be availible for those athletes who have natural talent for the sport, but no way to afford pursuing it, especially in underdeveloped countries!

Golf to the olympics. Yes Golf should be added. The biggest conflict we have is schedule. If we can somehow fit it in (and we should make time) Then we should go ahead. Look at hockey, Those players love to play for their country, and they have an extreamly busy schedule but they fit it in ( in most cases). All professional athletes love to represent their contry in the game they absolutly love. I think most professional Athletes would show up. I mean come on don't you other golfers watch the olympics on tv and wish you could be in them somehow, well professional golfers are just like us, only they are not Hacks . Im sure a Mike Weir for Canada would show up, and a Phil Mickelson from the states, sergio from spain, Bubba watson from australia, it would be fun to watch and grow the game. We need this.

Here are my views on this subject....Every 4 years I watch NBC or whatever channel it is shown on, and watch the Summer Olympics. Now I am a junior golfer at 17 years of age. I would like to turn professional someday and join the pro circuit. But, everytime I see the Opening Ceremony, I think that I will NEVER be able to represent my country (USA) and play the game I hold dearest to my heart, GOLF. I think that this sport should become an Olympic sport. And the process can be similar to that of the World Amateur Golf Tournament. (if you are unfamiliar this process is there are 3 amateurs for each country willing to play. individual scores are counted and team scores are counted. the Team with the lowest score after 4 rounds is considered the team champion. The low scoring individual is just that and maybe receives some honor or award.) Here is my plan: In every country planning to play there will be three ways to qualify: 1) The winner of the country's national open tournament (i.e. US Open, British Open, Open de France, etc.) 2) The winner of the country's national amateur championship (i.e. US Amateur, British Amateur, etc.) and 3) any of the best professional players that represent their country.

For clarification, i will continue...
If a player, for example Lee Westwood (ENG), or any international player, were to win the United States Open or not their own national open (in his case it would be the British Open = his own national open) then Westwood would be a member of the United Kingdom Olympic team, and the lowest American would also be made a member of the US Olympic team. HOWEVER, the countries of USA and the UK only have 2 more players to put onto their own teams regardless.

Now I believe that this can work. and i heard that golf wasn't admitted into the 2012 games which is a pity because St. Andrews would have been the perfect venue, but others like Royal Lytham & St. Anne's or something else near London ( I know ST. Andrews is in Scotland, its just the home of golf is on the same island why not have it there.

Anyway, I hope that the International Olympic Committee accept the game of golf into the olympics. It would be great to have an Olympic gold medal in the trophy case for any golfer. This would truly GROW THE GAME OF GOLF. Let me know what you think of this plan.

I honestly think golf should become an olympic sport, and yes the field is limited and its limited to where they can play, but i dont know if they will make it one because they will argue that we allready have the presidents cup and ryder cup going. Plus for all those assholes who think golf isnt a sport, they will have something to say as well.

The biggest issue I see would be the course. For the Olympics everything is built new, such as the weird Bird's Nest they built for 08. Anyway, is the Olympics going to pay to build a new course, worthy of that stage? Grant it, the Ocean Course at Kiawah was built for the Ryder Cup and it turned out just fine, but I don't know about an Olympic Course. Unless the Olympics comes to San Fran and we can have the tournament at the Olympic Club, then it'd be OK, lol.

I certainly don't think the US would dominate, depending on if it was an individual sport or team sport. As seen in the Ryder Cup, we don't play as a team. Even at that, who wouldn't want to see an Australian National Team? As an indy sport, obviously American does have a lot of big guns who could win.

I don't think scheduling would be an issue. It's scheduled years in advance and the PGA could easily work around that.

the ryder cup is only one format of play though they would have different formats like swimming and gymnastics

not gonna do it.nobody wants the olympics. the majors are the only thing that counts. who cares about other tourneys or personal lives.

Here's an update on the progress made by the International Golf Federation to get Golf in the Olympics:

IGF Presents Case for Golf’s Inclusion in 2016 Olympic Games
To International Olympic Committee Programme Commission

Lausanne, Switzerland (Nov 14, 2008) – Representatives of the International Golf Federation formally presented their case for golf to become an Olympic sport to the International Olympic Committee Programme Commission at the IOC headquarters in Lausanne.

Making the presentation were Peter Dawson, chief executive of The R&A and joint secretary of the IGF, and PGA TOUR executive Ty Votaw, Executive Director of the IGF Olympic Golf Committee.

Among the key points they highlighted were golf’s worldwide participation and diversity; the sport’s economic and charitable impact; and its commitment to the youth of the world. Golf, they noted, has grown significantly in these three areas and would continue to grow as an Olympic sport, thus influencing the relevance and attraction of the Olympic Games.

The IGF will be soliciting input from the world’s top players to help finalize the proposed format for Olympic golf competition. While specifics of the format will be based on the input of top players and outlined in the formal bid, Dawson and Votaw presented an overview of the IGF’s initial thinking, which includes 60-player fields for both men and women playing in a yet-to-be determined individual competitive format.

Each of the seven sports being considered for inclusion starting with the 2016 Games made a half-hour presentation today. Also under consideration are baseball, karate, roller sports, rugby sevens, softball and squash.

UPDATE: See the video of the world's top golfers expressing their support for Golf in the Olympics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwtHP4DH-vE

Softball and baseball have already been kicked out of the Olympics. They will not feature in 2012.

Before I posted my comments, I was firmly against having golf in the Olympics. But after reading everyone's thoughts, I'm now of the mind to support golf in the Olympics, but with only true amateurs as competitors. This would allow for the most level playing field internationally which would encourage participation in golf worldwide. And that I believe is one of the main benefits noted by the PGA. I'm sure there would be some complaints from the pros, but they already have enough sterling venues. I believe the Olympics lost a lot of it's luster when the pros were allowed to compete.

I think they should play PUTTLE instead. http://www.iloveputtle.com

I think Golf should DEFINITELY be an Olympic Sport. The game is rapidly going global. I hope that the qualifying process is inclusive and gives anyone who wants to try and qualify a fair shot.

If such is the case, then I look forward to representing the US Golf team in 2016.