Should golf be in the Olympics: Yes or No?

As Paris 2024 gets under way, it’s time to revisit that old chestnut: the subject of golf’s involvement in the Olympics.

This year marks the third consecutive Games in which the sport has taken part, following its reinstatement to the quadrennial showcase’s programme in Rio de Janeiro eight years ago.

Sixty of the best male and female golfers from around the globe will do go for gold at Le Golf National, looking to emulate Justin Rose and Inbee Park, and Xander Schauffele and Nelly Korda, who did so in 2016 and 2021 respectively.

However, the sport’s very involvement in the Games is a contentious issue and one that has been debated vigorously for years.

So, should golf be an Olympic sport? Michael McEwan and Bryce Ritchie see it very, very differently…

Yes, says Michael McEwan

Here’s the thing. I’ve yet to hear a cogent, never mind convincing, argument for keeping golf out of the Olympics. The contentions range from personal to petty and hold little water.

“If winning gold isn’t the pinnacle of your sport, it shouldn’t be part of the Olympics.” Why? Who in their right mind is offended by that? You’re not seriously telling me that Usain Bolt looks at the three gold medals he won in Rio any differently to the three he won in London because, “Oh, well, Justin Rose won gold in Rio but his US Open win probably meant more.” Don’t be ridiculous.

“Nobody cares about judo unless the Olympics is on.” So? What does that have to do with golf? Are you suggesting the sport suffers from an association with ‘sPoRtS I dOn’T lIkE’? Because, actually, the opposite is true. According to Peter Dawson, the chairman of the International Golf Federation, golf being part of the Games has directly resulted in government funding going into the sport in countries that weren’t getting it before. How is that a bad thing?

Then there’s the increased publicity the sport enjoys. The Olympics are understood to trail only football and cricket’s World Cups and the Tour de France in terms of global audience. Each renewal draws a whopping two BILLION viewers. The most watched golf event? The Masters, with 15 million worldwide viewers. For every one person that watches the Masters, 133 watch the Olympics. Only a fool would disregard that opportunity.

Look, Olympic golf isn’t perfect. The format could be tweaked. But that doesn’t mean golf shouldn’t be part of it. That is, demonstrably, prejudiced guff.

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No, says Bryce Ritchie

Cards on the table, just for clarity: I hate the Olympics. Correction: I hate what the Olympics has become, and it pains me to see golf as part of this charade.

Golf is not an Olympic sport, regardless of ‘history’. None of the attempts at getting golf in the Games in the early 1900s were taken seriously. Golf was not officially recognised as part of the Games back then. There are no quotes from Bobby Jones and Ben Hogan talking about how their careers were never fully fulfilled because they didn’t get the chance at a gold medal. Nobody cared back then.

The Olympics is track and field, and the only reason it has strayed – MASSIVELY – from that is because the IOC wants to make even more money. There is a bigger story about IOC executives and their exorbitantly high salaries – not made public, by the way – and the increasing attempts to get more sports into the Games. Why? To make more money.

The Olympic golf course that was built to the tune of $19m in Rio has, effectively, been left to rot. Do a little research and you’ll find purpose-built stadiums left in decay in Rio, Beijing, Athens and beyond. Golf shouldn’t be part of this corporate sham.

Sports involved this summer in Paris include basketball, handball, skateboarding and, the biggest laugh of all, break dancing. Except the IOC doesn’t call it that. Instead, it calls it ‘breaking’, describing it as a series of “acrobatic movements” that originated in the Bronx borough of New York. Patrick Cantlay will love that.

When this golf season kicked off, there wasn’t a golf fan anywhere who had one eye on Paris. Not one. And we all know why.