Sky Sports Golf podcast: Is golf a harder sport to play than snooker?

Golfers of all abilities have experienced just how challenging the game can be, but where does golf rank in difficulty compared to other sports?

Former snooker world champion Shaun Murphy reignited the debate between different sports on social media in recent days when he tweeted: "Snooker is the hardest single-player sport in the world. Change my mind."

The post received thousands of comments offering mixed views on the subject, with golf and darts among the other sports being considered as requiring a similar level of technique and precision.

Murphy's post was among the talking points on this week's Sky Sports Golf podcast [21 minutes in], where Jamie Spence put forward his argument why he feels that golf poses a more challenging test than snooker.

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"It [the hardest sport] has to be golf," Spence told the Sky Sports Golf podcast. "If you put a beginner with a golf club, having never played the game before, they generally miss the ball during the first lesson.

"They don't even make contact with it, they keep just hitting the ground and duffing it and missing it, but if you put them on a snooker table I guarantee you they'll hit the cue ball and hit it into the next red.

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"In Snooker, you can have perfection with a 147 and all the world's top professional players have done it. You show me what perfection is in golf because no matter what you shoot - and we've all shot some scores - you can always do a little bit better.

"As far as I'm aware, I've never seen Ronnie O'Sullivan playing in a waterproof jacket with the wind blowing at him in the pouring rain, playing off of sand and rubbish behind your ball and all the rest of it.

"I understand snooker is incredibly difficult, but golf has so many different facets to it that you have to master and you're never going to master this game. You can have a 147 in snooker but you can't birdie every hole in golf, as nobody has ever done it."

Is golf harder than snooker? Which other sports could be considered more difficult to play? Get in touch via @SkySportsGolf or comment below to get involved in the debate, but please adhere to our House Rules. If you wish to report any comment, simply click on the down arrow next to the offending comment and click 'Report'.

Also on the podcast…

This week's episode sees Jamie Spence and John E Morgan join host Josh Antmann to reflect on a thrilling finish at the Sony Open, look ahead to the start of the new European Tour season and offer their golfing predictions for 2021.

There's also an extended interview with Solheim Cup star Anne van Dam ahead of the new LPGA Tour season, where she discusses her work with Sean Foley, her friendship with AIG Women's Open champion Sophia Popov and the areas of her game she is looking to improve.

Download and listen to the latest Sky Sports Golf podcast and don't forget to subscribe! The Vodcast version is out now on Sky Sports On Demand, with the show also on Sky Sports Golf this Tuesday at 8pm, and Wednesday at 2pm and 7pm.

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