Why Amateur Golfers Stink

Posted by John

November 6, 2008

OK, maybe stink is a little harsh. But, fact of the matter is that the average amateur golfer has only improved his game by one half stroke in the last 30 years. Said another way, the average score has only dropped from 100 to 99.5 over the last three decades. We just aren’t getting better!

Why is this thought provoking? Because, except for the golfer himself, everything has improved over that time period – balls, clubs, metal woods, shafts, grips, training aids and teachers to name a few. Even tees now give us more yards.

So why aren’t amateur scores plunging like an elevator in free fall? To find out why, let me offer up myself as a typical amateur.

I know my golf ball goes further and the graphite shaft in my driver has added more yards off the tee. My putter is perfectly balanced and my perimeter weighted clubs make off-center hits a lot less sorry than they used to be. So why aren’t my scores better? Because golf is harder than it looks and we all suffer from bad swings. Technology just can’t fix a bad swing. No knew equipment is going to stop you coming ‘over the top’ on the downswing.

What’s the biggest reason our basic swings are so poor? It’s the inability to drop the club into the slot and attack the ball from an in-to-out path. How many golfing buddies do you know that don’t have a slice or a week fade? Counted them all up on one hand didn’t you? So now you know what’s wrong. But, you already knew that didn’t you? Therein lies the rub. It’s a damn hard game to master even when you know what you’re supposed to do.

There is a silver lining. You don’t have to be good to enjoy the game and you don’t have to change your swing. Change your attitude and golf is a great game whether you shoot 70 or 120. I’ve seen some awful golfers have a great time. There’s the secret of the game. Remember where you read it.