by B. B. James

Created on: September 18, 2009

"They say that golf is like life, but don't believe them. Golf is more complicated than that."

Gardner Dickinson's quote sums up why most golfers cannot break 90 (that is, take fewer than 90 strokes to complete a round of 18 holes). Quite simply, golf is difficult. It requires a variety of skills, from the power of a drive to the soft touch of a putt on the green. It requires patience and calm in the face of a poor shot or poor luck. And, of course, few people have the necessary time to spend on the golf course in order to develop their innate skills.

As a result, a round of golf for most people is an up-and-down experience of good shots, mediocre shots, and terrible shots. When it's added up, the total number of shots (strokes) typically exceeds 110 - far from the 90 strokes that would indicate proficiency.

Let's look at a typical hole of golf, and see how a golfer must adjust to various conditions along the way. Without good, steady performance in each phase of the game, a golfer cannot hope to break 90. And that's the problem: Each shot on a hole requires something different, and it's hard to learn to master all of them to a sufficient degree.

Golf begins with the tee shot. This is the iconic image: A player swaggers up to the ball that has been placed on a small tee set into a manicured square. The golfer stares hundreds of yards into the distance, and then looks down at the little white ball. He wiggles the club back-and-forth a few times, bends his knees, and takes a powerful, sweeping swing at the ball. When all goes well, the sphere goes flying through the air, lands in the middle of a green fairway, and bounces gently in the direction of the hole.

Although it looks fairly simple, the tee shot takes a great deal of coordination and skill. A mis-hit of fractions of an inch will send the ball slashing off to the left or right, scuttling into the turf, or straight up in the air. It might wind up in water or behind a tree. Golfers must practice tee shots relentlessly, in order to get the right mix of power, balance, and control. A wild swing will result in a poorly hit ball, or even a complete miss - much to the amusement of any spectators. But a weak swing will send the ball only 75 or 100 yards, and leave the golfer with hundreds of yards to go on the hole. To reach a score of 90, that tee shot must consistently be more than 200 yards, and straight.

For a second shot, the golfer is (he hopes) on the fairway. He will use a different golf club, and employ

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