Obviously Emily Yoffe has no interest in the sport of golf because her article, “The Most Dangerous Game,” negatively focuses on how dangerous golf is, rather than the skill, concentration, and attention to detail it takes. Yoffe’s thesis, “I have never played golf. So why, oh, why, did I start now?” portrays her point of view. She views golf as a difficult sport because it’s not reactionary; the player acts by swinging at a ball, rather than reacting to a ball projected toward them. This is where the skill of the player comes in, which clearly she has none. The author doesn’t understand how to acquire the skills needed or see any point in doing so.

Yoffe focuses on how more people die on the golf course than any other sports played. She tells of Bing Crosby “dropping dead” after shooting an 85, or Mike Douglas becoming sick on the golf course and later dying. Without even thinking for one second about how relaxing and serene a trip around the golf course can be, she goes to the negatives, or freak accidents if you will: The five percent of total deaths from lightning each year occurring on the golf course, the people who are killed by blows to the head from golf balls, or the rare incident of golf carts going over cliffs.

Golf is commonly referred to as the game of life. Yoffe seems to think of it as completely the opposite. Instead of learning new things and improving on them she seems content to just learn a few things about the game and just give it up as millions of Americans do every year.


At the end of her first round, she is absolutely relieved to get off the course even though, self admittedly, the round was not horrible. Yoffe even goes as far as to write, “I had played my first round of golf, and I had survived. I will never risk it again.” Instead of even considering golf a getaway, she thinks of it as a method of torture.