Stephen A. Smith knows how to start a debate. This time, the ESPN personality took aim at golf, saying he does not consider golfers to be athletes. According to reports, Smith argued on SiriusXM that golfers may be highly skilled, but walking a course for four days does not automatically make someone an athlete. (Fox News)
It is the kind of take built for television: loud, simple, and guaranteed to irritate an entire sport. But when the target is golf — and when Rory McIlroy is the easiest counterargument in the world — the claim falls apart quickly.
McIlroy does not need a shouting match to answer Smith. His résumé answers for him.
In 2025, McIlroy won the Masters in a playoff over Justin Rose, completing the career Grand Slam and becoming just the sixth man in modern golf history to win all four major championships. (PGA Tour) That is not merely “skill.” That is endurance, precision, pressure management, strength, balance, flexibility, and competitive nerve operating together at the highest level.
Golf is easy to underestimate because its athleticism is not always obvious. There is no full-speed collision, no sprint down a sideline, no dunk over a defender. But athleticism is not limited to speed and contact. In golf, the body has to generate elite clubhead speed while staying balanced within inches. The mind has to reset after every mistake. The legs have to hold up across miles of walking, uneven lies, heat, wind, rain, and four straight days of tournament pressure.
That is why Smith’s argument feels dated. It confuses visible exhaustion with athletic demand.
McIlroy is a useful example because his game is built on more than touch. His power off the tee, rotational speed, physical conditioning, and ability to repeat a violent motion under pressure are all athletic traits. The same applies to players across the modern game. Today’s top golfers train like professional athletes because they are professional athletes.
Smith is right about one thing: golf requires rare skill. But that is not an argument against golf’s athleticism. It is part of the argument for it. Elite sport is almost always skill plus body control plus pressure. Golf simply expresses those traits differently.
Calling golfers “not athletes” may make for a viral clip. It does not survive contact with reality.
Rory McIlroy does not need to shout back. Every major trophy, every pressure putt, every 320-yard drive, and every walk up the 18th fairway with history on the line says enough.
