The Golf Club - a Pointless Rant

[DGS49]

Imagine you are one of a foursome at the golf course. Your group is faced with a 150-yard par 3, on level ground. All four of you have been golfing for at least 20 years and are typical skill level, which is handicaps between 18-25.

None of your tee shots ends up on the green.

This is not unusual. Most of the time, at least one of the four will get on the green, but 0-for-4 is nothing to get upset about. 4-for-4 would be a cause for celebration.

This is absurd. From the very beginning, golf clubs have been designed with intentional perversity, not really caring whether the design facilitates good shots or not. Consider:

• Every club has a different "lie angle"; that is, the angle of the shaft at address is unique for all of them.
• Unlike every other sport where a ball is struck, you do not strike a golf ball along the centerline of the shaft, but rather a few inches above the centerline...again it's slightly different for every club.
• It is physically impossible to swing the club along the target line; the swing is at an angle, neither vertical nor horizontal, and you must strike the ball where the tangent of that arc exactly corresponds with the target line.
• The ball, lying on the ground, must be struck perfectly, an instant before the club face hits the ground, taking out a piece of the turf (a "divot") in the process. If the front edge of the club is a quarter of an inch (or more) high you will "blade" the ball causing a bad shot; a quarter inch low (or more), you will strike the turf first (a "fat" shot), also resulting in a poor shot.
• Movement of the golfer's torso in any direction - up/down, forward/backward, toward the target or away from it, will result in a poor shot.
• When standing at address, the golfer's arms drop vertically to where the shaft is held, resulting in an angle down the shaft to the ball, but when the ball is struck the arms are in a straight line, thus lengthening the distance from the shoulders to the head of the club by at least 2" during the swing. You figure it out. [See: "Single Plane Swing" for attempts to remove this length discrepancy].

The result of all this is that in order to be a "good" golfer, you have to take up the sport in your mother's womb (only exaggerating slightly), figure out how to hit the ball, then never think about it again. If you try to learn as an adult, your level of frustration simply varies from high to very high.

And NO ONE has seriously tried to re-design the golf club to correct for all of these built-in flaws. Indeed there are rules against it.'

It is a perverse ******* sport.

 

[1srelluc]

Golf.....A waste of perfectly good grazing and groundhog hunting fields.

 

[Hellokitty]

A handicap 18-25 is typical skill level? I used to tag along golf with my husband/dad/son and I know if they were behind a foursome that all missed the green on a par 3 they'd be gripping...but I've also heard them complain about poorly designed holes and stuff.

 

[Cellblock2429]

Imagine you are one of a foursome at the golf course. Your group is faced with a 150-yard par 3, on level ground. All four of you have been golfing for at least 20 years and are typical skill level, which is handicaps between 18-25.

None of your tee shots ends up on the green.

This is not unusual. Most of the time, at least one of the four will get on the green, but 0-for-4 is nothing to get upset about. 4-for-4 would be a cause for celebration.

This is absurd. From the very beginning, golf clubs have been designed with intentional perversity, not really caring whether the design facilitates good shots or not. Consider:

• Every club has a different "lie angle"; that is, the angle of the shaft at address is unique for all of them.
• Unlike every other sport where a ball is struck, you do not strike a golf ball along the centerline of the shaft, but rather a few inches above the centerline...again it's slightly different for every club.
• It is physically impossible to swing the club along the target line; the swing is at an angle, neither vertical nor horizontal, and you must strike the ball where the tangent of that arc exactly corresponds with the target line.
• The ball, lying on the ground, must be struck perfectly, an instant before the club face hits the ground, taking out a piece of the turf (a "divot") in the process. If the front edge of the club is a quarter of an inch (or more) high you will "blade" the ball causing a bad shot; a quarter inch low (or more), you will strike the turf first (a "fat" shot), also resulting in a poor shot.
• Movement of the golfer's torso in any direction - up/down, forward/backward, toward the target or away from it, will result in a poor shot.
• When standing at address, the golfer's arms drop vertically to where the shaft is held, resulting in an angle down the shaft to the ball, but when the ball is struck the arms are in a straight line, thus lengthening the distance from the shoulders to the head of the club by at least 2" during the swing. You figure it out. [See: "Single Plane Swing" for attempts to remove this length discrepancy].

The result of all this is that in order to be a "good" golfer, you have to take up the sport in your mother's womb (only exaggerating slightly), figure out how to hit the ball, then never think about it again. If you try to learn as an adult, your level of frustration simply varies from high to very high.

And NO ONE has seriously tried to re-design the golf club to correct for all of these built-in flaws. Indeed there are rules against it.'

It is a perverse ******* sport.

/—-/ I took up golf at 71 playing with used clubs. I take lessons every year and play par three on a tough course. I don’t have a handicap because I don’t care to register. Most of my shots land on the green, with a few going in the rough. I make par on a few holes, and one or two over par on the rest.
Although I can’t dispute your claims they sound a bit over the top.
I’ve never been frustrated on the course because I practice on the range and the chip and put practice area most courses have. I’m actually good in the sand traps and do well with my 60 degree and sand wedge. My best club is a used 7 wood I got for free.
My advice, you’re never too old if you take lessons every year and practice.

 

[1srelluc]

Talk about your 1st World Problems.

 

[Dekster]

A handicap 18-25 is typical skill level? I used to tag along golf with my husband/dad/son and I know if they were behind a foursome that all missed the green on a par 3 they'd be gripping...but I've also heard them complain about poorly designed holes and stuff.

I've played some annoyingly designed holes but there is only one where I wanted to beat the designer to death with a nine-iron it is such a bad design. I do okay on the hole but it just creates a massive bottleneck in play--a par 3 with a tee about 100 feet elevated from the tree-wrapped green and nothing but a wall of water in between. It is not unusual to run into 3 or more groups ahead of you waiting when you hit that hole. Infrequent players just don't know how to approach a shot like that and will stand there and knock half their balls into it trying to figure it out.

 

[DGS49]

Everything I've read indicates that (a) a typical mens' score is 100, despite a hundred years of steady improvements to the equipment, and (b) golf is one sport where practice doesn't make you any better. If it did, then scores on the back nine would be better than the front nine, and that simply doesn't happen. Practice at chipping and putting can make you better, but full-swing? Forget about it. You need structured practice with real-time advice and feedback from someone who knows what s/he is talking about it. And even that improvement is temporary unless you keep it up.

The psychology of the sport ("Intermittent Reinforcement") is what keeps golfers coming back. It is the constant hope that today will be the day when it all comes together.

 

[Cellblock2429]

Everything I've read indicates that (a) a typical mens' score is 100, despite a hundred years of steady improvements to the equipment, and (b) golf is one sport where practice doesn't make you any better. If it did, then scores on the back nine would be better than the front nine, and that simply doesn't happen. Practice at chipping and putting can make you better, but full-swing? Forget about it. You need structured practice with real-time advice and feedback from someone who knows what s/he is talking about it. And even that improvement is temporary unless you keep it up.

The psychology of the sport ("Intermittent Reinforcement") is what keeps golfers coming back. It is the constant hope that today will be the day when it all comes together.

/—-/ With proper training practice builds muscle memory. Your reasoning is flawed. Playing the front nine has no effect on the back nine. Each hole is unique and playing the same hole changes from hour to hour depending on the weather and sun. And games are lost and one on the putting green. That’s where you need the most practice.

 

[Sparker]

Golf will change and possibly return to something like the original sport as gasoline becomes too expensive for lawnmowing. Reel mowers, scythes, horse-drawn combines, and grazing animals will be the tools. Landscaping will be less heavy machinery and more guys with shovels, if anyone cares enough to continue building golf courses, and if there is any fertile land not needed for food. But we could have some use for golf balls, such as thrown targets for advanced shooters.

 

[marvin martian]

Imagine you are one of a foursome at the golf course. Your group is faced with a 150-yard par 3, on level ground. All four of you have been golfing for at least 20 years and are typical skill level, which is handicaps between 18-25.

None of your tee shots ends up on the green.

This is not unusual. Most of the time, at least one of the four will get on the green, but 0-for-4 is nothing to get upset about. 4-for-4 would be a cause for celebration.

This is absurd. From the very beginning, golf clubs have been designed with intentional perversity, not really caring whether the design facilitates good shots or not. Consider:

• Every club has a different "lie angle"; that is, the angle of the shaft at address is unique for all of them.
• Unlike every other sport where a ball is struck, you do not strike a golf ball along the centerline of the shaft, but rather a few inches above the centerline...again it's slightly different for every club.
• It is physically impossible to swing the club along the target line; the swing is at an angle, neither vertical nor horizontal, and you must strike the ball where the tangent of that arc exactly corresponds with the target line.
• The ball, lying on the ground, must be struck perfectly, an instant before the club face hits the ground, taking out a piece of the turf (a "divot") in the process. If the front edge of the club is a quarter of an inch (or more) high you will "blade" the ball causing a bad shot; a quarter inch low (or more), you will strike the turf first (a "fat" shot), also resulting in a poor shot.
• Movement of the golfer's torso in any direction - up/down, forward/backward, toward the target or away from it, will result in a poor shot.
• When standing at address, the golfer's arms drop vertically to where the shaft is held, resulting in an angle down the shaft to the ball, but when the ball is struck the arms are in a straight line, thus lengthening the distance from the shoulders to the head of the club by at least 2" during the swing. You figure it out. [See: "Single Plane Swing" for attempts to remove this length discrepancy].

The result of all this is that in order to be a "good" golfer, you have to take up the sport in your mother's womb (only exaggerating slightly), figure out how to hit the ball, then never think about it again. If you try to learn as an adult, your level of frustration simply varies from high to very high.

And NO ONE has seriously tried to re-design the golf club to correct for all of these built-in flaws. Indeed there are rules against it.'

It is a perverse ******* sport.

Yeah, golf is ******* hard.

 

[OODA_Loop]

Not enough emphasis on understanding and improving putting skills.

 

[MarathonMike]

Imagine you are one of a foursome at the golf course. Your group is faced with a 150-yard par 3, on level ground. All four of you have been golfing for at least 20 years and are typical skill level, which is handicaps between 18-25.

None of your tee shots ends up on the green.

This is not unusual. Most of the time, at least one of the four will get on the green, but 0-for-4 is nothing to get upset about. 4-for-4 would be a cause for celebration.

This is absurd. From the very beginning, golf clubs have been designed with intentional perversity, not really caring whether the design facilitates good shots or not. Consider:

• Every club has a different "lie angle"; that is, the angle of the shaft at address is unique for all of them.
• Unlike every other sport where a ball is struck, you do not strike a golf ball along the centerline of the shaft, but rather a few inches above the centerline...again it's slightly different for every club.
• It is physically impossible to swing the club along the target line; the swing is at an angle, neither vertical nor horizontal, and you must strike the ball where the tangent of that arc exactly corresponds with the target line.
• The ball, lying on the ground, must be struck perfectly, an instant before the club face hits the ground, taking out a piece of the turf (a "divot") in the process. If the front edge of the club is a quarter of an inch (or more) high you will "blade" the ball causing a bad shot; a quarter inch low (or more), you will strike the turf first (a "fat" shot), also resulting in a poor shot.
• Movement of the golfer's torso in any direction - up/down, forward/backward, toward the target or away from it, will result in a poor shot.
• When standing at address, the golfer's arms drop vertically to where the shaft is held, resulting in an angle down the shaft to the ball, but when the ball is struck the arms are in a straight line, thus lengthening the distance from the shoulders to the head of the club by at least 2" during the swing. You figure it out. [See: "Single Plane Swing" for attempts to remove this length discrepancy].

The result of all this is that in order to be a "good" golfer, you have to take up the sport in your mother's womb (only exaggerating slightly), figure out how to hit the ball, then never think about it again. If you try to learn as an adult, your level of frustration simply varies from high to very high.

And NO ONE has seriously tried to re-design the golf club to correct for all of these built-in flaws. Indeed there are rules against it.'

It is a perverse ******* sport.

It's the best game ever invented. That's why you play it still despite your obvious frustration with your lack of skill. Just like 90 percent of the other golfers around the world who struggle to consistently hit the ball in the middle of the clubface.

 

[Winco]

(b) golf is one sport where practice doesn't make you any better. If it did, then scores on the back nine would be better than the front nine, and that simply doesn't happen.

Dear Lord......I thought I had already read plenty of ignorant golf posts, but you did it dude.
You set the new bar.

(b) golf is one sport where practice doesn't make you any better.
Practice absolutely makes you better.
That is why every pro practices WAY more than they play.

If it did, then scores on the back nine would be better than the front nine, and that simply doesn't happen.
Go through the HISTORY of golf scores, add the Billions of rounds together, and the average for the front 9 will be within a tenth of a percent of the back 9.

 

[MarathonMike]

Dear Lord......I thought I had already read plenty of ignorant golf posts, but you did it dude.
You set the new bar.

(b) golf is one sport where practice doesn't make you any better.
Practice absolutely makes you better.
That is why every pro practices WAY more than they play.

If it did, then scores on the back nine would be better than the front nine, and that simply doesn't happen.
Go through the HISTORY of golf scores, add the Billions of rounds together, and the average for the front 9 will be within a tenth of a percent of the back 9.

Our friend draws false conclusions on golf based on his own frustrations with the game. I've played golf for 50 years and the biggest improvement I made was when I quit playing for 6 months and just did swing drills and practice. A golf swing is an extremely complex movement. You must master grip, stance, posture, takeaway, transition and follow through all with good balance.