European No1 Tommy Fleetwood chats to title winning Manager Pep Guardiola

Differences and similarities between Golf and Football

The obvious differences between Golf and Football of course is that golf is an individual sport and football is a team sport. Golfers have only themselves to blame if they scuff a shot whereas footballers can blame team mates if they make mistakes. One thing they do share, though, is that both sports are great draws for punters who are looking to turn their passion and knowledge of the game into smartly and strategically placed bets. Just look at what’s happening in the world of football right now to see this at its most profound. With the FIFA World Cup taking place in just a few weeks, World Cup betting has become the big-ticket item for most football fans. By the same token, the bigger the golf tournament – the PGA World Tour is coming soon, isn’t it? – the more sports betters it attracts. Not that smaller games should be overlooked on either side, though.

Just like any sport, the only way to become a professional in any sport, it takes practise, time, consistency, sacrifice and discipline. Both professionals have to be fit in their own disciplines. Golfers have to be mentally fit as they compete in tournaments that last 18 holes a day for 4 days in a row which is mentally draining. Footballers have to play 90 minutes of football but they have to be very physically fit as football is a contact sport and there will be collisions and tackles during a football match. In golf on the other hand there are minimal physical injuries as there is no physical impact besides the striking of the ball with the golf clubs.

All professional golfers have caddies who assist them during their tournaments. Caddies support and give advice to the golfers on which club is best to use and which shots are best to play. They study the layout of the courses and they know exact distances and wind directions that the golfer will experience when taking to the course. Football coaches are there to guide their teams and manage them through the 90 minutes of football. It is about out witting your opponents and coming up with tactics and formations that make life as hard for the opposition as possible. A good football coach will study the opponents and know all of the players weaknesses and strengths and they will work out ways in which to expose the weaknesses and beat the team.

Golf is a very frustrating sport and if it is not your day, it is not your day! Your drive can be perfect, your approach shot could be perfect and if the putt is off and you miss your putt then your whole game suffers and your scores will be poor. So too in football if your defence is solid and your midfield is solid, but your players are struggling to score goals then the who team suffers and you will not be able to win matches.