Jeez, a lot of people here have a strict definition of sport. Wiki's definition is IMO a good one: "Sport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. Sports commonly refer to activities where the physical capabilities of the competitor are the sole or primary determinant of the outcome (winning or losing), but the term is also used to include activities such as mind sports (a common name for some card games and board games with little to no element of chance) and motor sports where mental acuity or equipment quality are major factors. Sport is commonly defined as an organized, competitive and skillful physical activity requiring commitment and fair play."
The only difference between golf and other active sports is that the amount of expertise and precision involved with about 1/2-2/3 of the game (chipping and putting) has little to do with the athleticism aspect of it. Bowling is similar - it's an athletic activity for sure, but someone could barely put the ball on the lane and throw strikes...the precision involved is clearly the forefront of it, and so as long as someone can remain consistent, they can do it well into old age (which is what kicks ass about bowling - even 90+ year olds can do well at bowling). No one ever argues that baseball is a sport but there's been guys play in the pros into their late 40s.
I can certainly see why some people might view things like bowling, curling, darts and billiards as not being sports but what's so bad about considering them sports anyways? Sports are more about the competitive nature than they are the activity. People who dog curling need to sit down, maybe look at the rules of it first if they aren't sure what it's about, and watch it sometime...it's basically the chess of the Olympics. People think the sweeping and yelling make it goofy but it's all about precision and the best at it are pretty damn good. The last winter Olympics was the first time I really sat down and watched it and I'm glad I did. Speaking of which, even though chess isn't in the Olympics, the IOC actually recognizes it as a sport.
