# Why aren't Amateur players getting better?



## Steve V (May 16, 2007)

I saw some stats from the USGA which basically showed that over the last 30 years the average handicaps of amateur/recreational golfers have stayed exactly the same.. How can this be, given the huge strides made in club and ball technology,better course maintenance, diet and fitness advice etc. etc?

To me this just shows that all of the teaching aids and lessons from Pros in the world is meaningless unless people are prepared to put serious time into improving their games..maybe it's like chess, some of the best players in the world claim to have no more natural ability than the man in the street, but put their success down to the fact that they spent ten hours a day doing nothing but playing and thinking about chess from an early age? 

It seems to me that ingraining muscle memory for the correct 'moves' in golf probably takes more time and effort than most recreational players realise, unless you start really young and devote thousands of hours to practice. Its hard to believe that someone like Larry Nelson could appear out of the blue nowadays (Not pick up a club til he was 21, be on tour 4 years later) unless they had enough time to devote to getting better...


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## JPsuff (Jan 9, 2007)

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Don't believe everything you hear from the USGA.

There was a time when the USGA was an august governing body and the game was better for it. But over the years, the USGA has become corrupted by the overwhelming influence of equipment manufacturers and has caved in to their demands on several occasions.

So what has this to do with average handicaps?

Here's the deal: The USGA is still a respected organization in the amateur ranks and as such, the amateur golfers still look to it as a bastion of knowledge and as "keepers of the game". Now, the truth is that because of the advances in equipment technology - especaially in golf ball technology - the average amateur has indeed gotten better. The problem though is that the USGA can't let anyone know that because that tends to marginalize newer equipment and the endorsements of professional golfers who are what drive the industry as far as marketing is concerned.

You see, if the USGA acknowledges that amateurs have gotten better, then the amateur's "need" for new equipment will lessen (if what you're using works great, why change it?) and that hurts equipment sales. Secondly, if the average golfer is shooting better scores, then the endorsement value of professionals drops because average golfers, in some cases, begin to realize that they can approach "pro" numbers or that they begin to think that the only reason they're not as good as the pro's is because they have limited access to the game, not inferior equipment or poor techniques. 

Take a scenario like this:

Let's say an average golfer shot an average round in the low to mid 80's about ten years ago. Today, because of advances in technology, fitting, and instruction, he now shoots in the mid to upper 70's. When a pro appears on TV to hawk the latest equipment, that average golfer isn't as likely to pay much attaention because he sees himself as only a few shots away from being really good, so the pro has little credibility.

By having the USGA insist that handicaps haven't changed in 20 years (which is pretty ridiculous when you think about it), it keeps the amateurs at bey. It makes them think that even though the equipment is good, they must continue to purchase newer equipment because according to the USGA, they still basically stink.

Back in the late 80's, I read an article that claimed just the opposite; that the average handicap had gone from about 23 to 18 in just ten years. But back in the late 80's, the manufacturer's were still miles away from the brick wall they've hit recently in terms of technology, so sharing that information with the public wasn't thought to be harmful - in fact, it helped to increase sales as average golfers began "tweaking" their games even more. But once the manufacturers saw that they had a finite level of advancement, in terms of MOI, COR, head size, etc., all of a sudden the USGA started pumping out all this nonsense about handicaps never changing.

The USGA also is quick to point out that Pro distances haven't changed all that much in the last decade. That's funny because ten years ago I don't recall seeing pro's driving 370-yard par fours on any regular basis, yet today I can see that several times in a single round.
The USGA credits those distances to advances in agronomy and course maintenance. So I guess the superintendant's somehow modify the air because most of today's distances are carry distances which has nothing to do with turfgrass.

Today, the USGA is a shell of its former self and a schill for the equipment manufacturers. It flexes its' muscle in the area of rules and agronomy and occasionally in equipment. But if the manufacturers hit a dead end in technology, you can bet the rent that the USGA will find a way to suddenly "allow" certain technologies to find their way into the golf world.


That's my opinion on the subject of the USGA.



-JP


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## 300Yards (Jan 23, 2007)

well, it looks like Jp has this one under wrap..nice job as usual, JP!


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## CJ24 (May 14, 2007)

I would think that the average handicap hasn't changed, because since Tiger came along, there have been a lot more people golfing. so you have more people, who probably aren't very good (at least not yet) playing, so that raises the average handicap level. 
so the average 'dedicated' golfer from 30 years ago (and the equivilant of that today), his/her handicap has is probably lower, but with the influx of more golfers, more importantly, more average-below average golfers, have flooded the market and raised the handicap.
at least, that would be my first guess why.


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## Foster4 (May 2, 2007)

do you realize the avg golfer shoots 90's to 100's ???? It hasn't changed much ...Not all ppl record there handicaps i would say the majority of the bad golfers don't give a rip about a handicap and most just play for fun while the good/better golfers record a handicap cuz thats how we get into tournaments etc. So i would say theres alot of golfers that don't practice alot and alot of new golfers that aren't to good when they start keeping the averages the same. 

JP i disagree It has nothing to do with advertisment. A few strokes between the pro and the avg joe shoots at his easy course is alot of strokes compared to the pros playing on there 7200 + yard courses with a high slope rating. Its not about marketing. USGA has nothing to do with sponsors or equipment why do they care about wat sells there not getting any profit.

The funny thing is how yall think equipment has CHANGED so much when it really hasn't....Ok yes wood to titanium is a big change but the courses have changed also. Change to yall means o titleist put a "New" improved pro v 1 out ...when really they hardly changed it at all ..its a marketing thing....When they say "New" improved it catches the eye plus it keeps a renewing patent on it also ...the difference between a 400cc driver and a 460cc driver is SIZE but if your a good golfer it won't change your score that much if at all or make you hit it 20 yards more . You body will do that not the club. As for irons its the same stuff as of 5 years ago there just making different looking stuff all for marketing and making ppl want the new stuff. Thats how they make money not by telling the USGA to say handicaps haven't changed much. That comes with practice and not many ppl practice alot, so its not gonna change.


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## Foster4 (May 2, 2007)

ok ..i JP remember the us open that was in new york like in 2002...on the "BLACK COURSE" known as bethpage...i remember gorges that some of the pros had a hard time carrying the ball and if i remember right those carries were only 260-280 at most..But if you remember right it was wet that week which really affected the ball flight...However on the US open course in recent years its been dry and fast and firm meaning the ball rolls longer so your gonna see short guys hitting 300 yard drives instead of struggling to hit it 280. and yes tiger and them will bomb it 340 or so ...The reason you never saw that before was because courses are more demanding these days so ppl especially younger kids are developing more powerful swings where distance is key first then controlling it is 2nd. where it use to be control then distance. It not intirrally equipment thats has brought these changes although titanium is a big change but since then not that much distance is gonna be gained from your 983k driver and the new titleist D1 or D2 cuz its not that big a difference if at all. They way your gonna gain the most distance is in your swing and in your fitness ...and fitness over the past few years is becoming very important.


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## Foster4 (May 2, 2007)

JPsuff said:


> .
> 
> 
> Don't believe everything you hear from the USGA.
> ...



some points that i disagree with....

1. First of all why the heck does the USGA care about marketing? Are they being paid by nike titleist etc? 

2. An article in the 80's talked about MOI ? COR? Head Size? umm i think there were steal using metal heads and wood in the 80's ? i haven't heard of COR or MOI till a few years ago and i have read alot of 90's golf digest and didn't even hear it in those.

3. When does the avg golfer shoot in the 80's ? Avg golfer is a 90's shooter. Plus the reason for not a change in handicap is because golf has gotten more popular so yes more people have gotten better along with more ppl starting to play so its still a balance. 

4.Handicaps haven't changed in 20 years. Hmm if we were playing the same courses from 20 years ago with the same equipment of today then yes there gonna be better but were playing new course that are longer tougher with newer better equipment ...SEE how everything stabalizes and crosses one another out. example : We'll give you titanium but you gotta now play par 4's that are 450 + ! and pros have to play them 480+ 

5. Pro's distances haven't changed much in past 10 years. BS i do agree with you on that . Because 10 years ago a youngster named tiger woods came on tour and whooped everyone cuz he was the longest and was tearing courses up . But how could he it so much further? Not because better equipment cuz he is using the same stuff but because his swing and fitness. Swings are changing now its all about power and thats why you seen a huge increase ..like i said in my last post. Course Management and the way they take care of courses have alot to do with distances.

6. Distances are mostly carry distances? Not really watch a us open sometime. Yes i know that some pros carry it 300+ but not many .

7. The USGA is not in it for marketing. If they wanted to we could just go back to persimmon woods etc. But as technology develops they have to give some lee way. I mean isn't that wat you want as a golfer? Wats selling the new clubs? its not the fact that we think the avg handicap hasn't changed its because golfers want the newest stuff and new technology.


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## Steve V (May 16, 2007)

I thought this might provoke some discussion!  

JP - I don't see how your argument holds water because if the USGA was in cahoots with the manufacturers surely they would want to show that handicaps are plummetting purely because of all the great new EXPENSIVE stuff you can get to make your game better? 'Don't worry if you're a 20 handicap who only plays once a month, spend 500 bucks on the latest driver and you can shave a couple of points off your handicap without even trying' By showing handicaps not moving they are basically saying it doesn't matter what equipment you have, you're still going to play horrible.

I can see the logic behind more new players equalling out any improvement in the experienced players, another stat I have seen (from The National Golf Federation) says that 78 percent of all golfers can't break 90, however it doesn't break this down into experience levels so I would think that the comparatively recent influx of new players into the game (like me) would have an effect on that number.

As a new player I can tell that the majority of advice people are after is how to hit it further and straighter off the tee, but this leaves whole areas of the game where newer players have literally no idea what to do. As most people don't hit it straight off the tee it would surely be wise to fnd out how to hit balls out of the rough, or fairway bunkers, but there's comparativly little instruction about this compared to how to make a full swing. A lot of new players are going to come up short of the green in 2 but have no idea how to hit a 35-40 yard pitch shot, or how to chip from a slopey greenside lie etc, etc. 

The only way you learn to play these shots is to practice them and like I said in my first post the vast majority of amateurs just don't have the time for this, therefore their scores don't get any better.


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## BrianMcG (Apr 7, 2007)

Amateurs handicaps are not getting better simply because when you take a large enough population, the average will always be that, average. 

But another reason is that most amateurs DO NOT practice. I have witnessed this as a club pro for almost 10 yrs. Hitting a bucket of balls before going out to play is not practice. Throwing down three golf balls and batting them around the putting green for 10 minutes before you tee off is not practice.

The players that do improve are few and far between. They actually practice, take lessons, and do what their instructors tell them to do. But there are not enough of them to change the average.

Also the huge strides the the equipment companies talk about in their equipment is mostly marketing. The last great invention was the steel headed wood which alows for bigger clubheads and larger sweetspots. But all that allows is that an amatuer can now hit it further into the woods...lol.

And lastly, as golfers mature and get older, they generally get worse. Case in point, just about every over 70 golfer at my previous club could not break 90 on a consitent basis. Many of them were scratch golfers in their 30s and 40s. They still hit the ball pretty good, but when you go from being able to hit 260yd drives to 200 yd drives and now not being able to read a green and missing every three footer because of your shaky hands, golf gets pretty difficult. But they still enjoy it and come out every day.

Saying that the USGA is somehow involved in a conspiracy ranks right up there with the moon landing being staged somewhere in California.


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## white_tiger_137 (Mar 23, 2006)

Equipment HAS changed the game. Without a doubt. And some courses are adding length to compensate. But some aren't. Some courses are so close to going out of business that giving away free ball markers is out of the question, let alone spending thousands to redo tee boxes. 

Which means the lack of improvement in average handicap is caused by something else. Like a flood of new players. People who couldn't even scare 100, let alone break it. And many of them don't care. They play golf to hang out with their buddies and drink beer. Which is fine. But that IS going to raise the average handicap.


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