Which is More Popular Amateur Golf, Tennis, or Racquetball?

Which do you prefer, golf or a racket sport like tennis or racquetball? I used to play all three when I was younger, now it's just golf. At one point, about 25-years-ago, I was on a racquetball league. I made it up to the intermediate level. I also used to play with a couple of guys from work.

Playing in the league was frustrating because the advanced players kept dropping down a level to play the intermediates. So basically it was hard to score a point, let alone win a game. There was also a paradox. It seemed that the older and out of shape appearing players looked, the better they could play. The young guys that looked like bodybuilders couldn't play very well at all while the old bald, pot-bellied players with thirty years experience could get you will a kill shot every time.

One college football player and I played full contact racquetball. We would slam each other up against the wall until we were both black and blue. One time he hit me in the face with the ball so hard that the ball broke my safety glasses. The glasses saved my eye, but I still had a shiner for several weeks.

According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch: "When you think about, golf and tennis have a lot in common. Both sports were once the exclusive pastimes of the well-to-do; they are largely individual competitions; and they are a sport many people continue to play into their 70s and even beyond."

I sort of view tennis as a game that you play when you are younger, while golf is a game for older men and women. Except in the professional arena, there they are sports played primarily by young folks, men and women.

As far as watching the sports on TV, neither of them are very high on the excitement meter, although tennis certainly moves a lot faster than golf. Slightly faster than golf is soccer, then baseball, football, and probably other than speed racing, hockey is the fastest sport to watch on television. Another thing I don't like about tennis is the grunts are getting louder and louder. Did some coach tell them that going ARGH! after every shot lets them concentrate their energy like the HAI! in karate?

But both sports are steadily increasing in popularity with the general population because they are fun to play at all levels. Maybe I'll buy a new tennis racket and find a slower, much older man than myself to play. Naw, those are probably the best players.

Source : http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/columns/joe-holleman/article_6461e038-a3ec-11df-a0bf-0017a4a78c22.htm