I’m a mid-handicap golfer, but I’m closer to obsessing about stupid golf topics. Be grateful you’re not part of my quartet.
The latest topic concerned golf courses. Golf Digest has a rigorous review process to our franchise rankings, and I had the chance to play on many courses ranked among the best. All these experiences have been enriching, but they have also reinforced the fact that certain courses are more enjoyable for certain players who are not really…what is the word I am looking for here-GOOD. This requires some explanation.
Well, for starters, a “bad golfer” is how I would describe myself. As an 11 handicap, I’m not entirely terrible and can sometimes get a decent score, but some courses target my weaknesses to such a debilitating extent that my perspective on the experience is invariably distorted. Although all golfers are to varying degrees or mediocre, for the purposes of this exercise, anything above a single-digit handicap officially makes you “bad.” I’m sorry to be the one to break it to you, but welcome. I’ll add you to the group chat.
Do bad golfers always prefer easy courses?
No! Maybe you’re more likely to enjoy a class where you get good results, but I think it’s Or a course inflicts its harshest punishment that matters most. For example, no one would dare describe Augusta National as an easy course for the average handicapped. A slope of 148, which measures the difficulty of a course for bogey golfers, confirms this. But those who have played there say Augusta is consistently generous off the tee and allows even erratic ball-strikers to approach the greens reasonably. The fact that these same players often do damage on dangerous greens hurts their score, but not their ability to enjoy the course.
What do bad golfers need?
Well, I shouldn’t speak for all of us. We are a diverse group of reverse pivots, early extenders, and illusory risk managers – and all before we get to green. But generally speaking, let’s agree that poor golfers are more likely to throw the ball off the tee, often lack the drive to carry the ball significant distances, and generally have difficulty hitting high approaches and landing them in candy. Therefore, I offer my main criteria for a good course for a poor golfer as: sufficient tee width, limited or no forced carries, and ability to run the ball to most greens.
Besides that, do bad golfers like good courses?
Look, bad golfers want the same things as the rest of society, except for a few extra training aids ordered on the Golf Channel at 2 a.m. But to answer your question, a good golf course for us is still a great golf course for everyone else. We just want to play it and not spend all our time running around the adjacent neighborhoods looking for our balls.
With this in mind, a few colleagues and I put together our list of the best courses for bad players.
