The Most Overrated Things About Golf

There is so much to love about golf, the enduring challenge it provides, the opportunity to spend rewarding time in a tranquil setting, and the connections we can make with others, these are all things to be cherished. 

However, that doesn't mean that the game is perfect, it's far from it, and numerous areas are ripe for improvement, albeit that is down to your own perspective.

Being around the sport for most of my life, I have thoughts on stuff that I believe to be overrated, those things that are generally considered to be better or more important than I view them to be.

Now, you are unlikely to agree with all or even most of these, but hopefully, my arguments give you something to think about.

Here are just some of the most overrated parts of golf...

Watching Professional Golf

I used to love watching golf on TV, as I was captivated by witnessing the skills of the world's best players and relished following the drama of a major championship. Although I still keep an eye on what is happening - and consume hours of coverage of the biggest events, it's no longer appointment viewing for me, and there are several reasons why.

The game at the highest level has gradually become one-dimensional to watch, the pace of play more glacial, the personalities less intriguing, and the abundant greed increasingly repulsive.

My relationship with professional golf has changed - and given declining television figures, I'm not alone in that regard.

Attending Golf Tournaments

This is somewhat related to the above sentiment, but attending a golf tournament can be a fairly unsatisfying experience, particularly when it's a busy event. Yes, there is something to be said for the atmosphere and feeling part of the occasion, but you are herded around the course like cattle, it can be hard to see what's happening, impossible to truly follow the flow of the action, and you will be typically overcharged for food and drinks.

Despite what I said previously, watching golf on TV is better.

The Ryder Cup

Outrageous! How could I decry the Ryder Cup? It remains a spectacle, but it used to be so much better. Just watch the old replays from the 80s, 90s and 2000s to see what I mean. These days it has become just like any other big sporting event. It's overpriced, overhyped, and increasingly tailored toward a hospitality crowd, the fan behaviour has grown more tedious, and we haven't actually seen a close match since 2012. 

The Solheim Cup is now a far more appealing event.

Traditional Golf Clubs

I love playing old golf courses designed by long-deceased architects, but the clubs they often belong to generally aren't for me. The austere mood, the silly dress codes (knee-length socks!), the portraits of old captains with bushy eyebrows on the wall, and being unable to enter certain parts of the clubhouse without wearing a jacket and tie (the most pointless garment known to man) are all things that I find unimpressive.

Golf Courses With Great Views

When someone reviews a golf course, if the first thing they mention is the views, then I'm instantly suspicious of its true quality. Having spent many formative rounds playing the three (modest) layouts on the Isle of Bute, which boast scenery to rival any venue I've seen in this country, I am far less impressed by nice views than most golfers seem to be, as I grew up with them all the time and have rarely seen an equal at far more celebrated and famous places.

Therefore, I focus more on the design and intrigue of the holes themselves, than I do the window dressing around them. Walking around a beautiful environment is special, but if you're into stunning views, head to the hills or the coast for a stroll!

Rangefinders & Distant Measuring Devices

GPS devices and rangefinders are impressive pieces of kit, but where is the value in knowing that you have exactly 158 yards left to the flag, when in reality the vast majority of us will rarely hit the ball a consistent distance anyway? Surely, it's better just to use your judgement, relying on your eyes to get a feel for the yardage, especially when within reach of the green. I reckon that you would become a more creative and inventive golfer by adopting this approach.

Buying The Latest Golf Clubs

Every season, golf manufacturers release their newest gear, and they're undoubtedly great and will offer benefits, but are they really going to be that much better than equipment from 12 months ago or from other recent years? Rather than instantly reaching for the latest driver or set of irons, there could be far more value found in slightly older clubs.

Whatever works for you, even if it's from a previous generation, is the way to go.

Paying £300 For a Round of Golf

The finest and most revered golf courses in the land are now eye-wateringly expensive to play. Sadly, this has made them inaccessible to an increasingly large proportion of golfers, and while it's undeniably memorable to play an Open Championship venue or somewhere of equivalent stature, does it really offer value for money? 

You may enjoy the experience, but would it not be better parting with a similar amount of money to play several lesser-known layouts?

Training Aids

There are training aids and gimmicks available for each part of your game, some of them outlandish and unconvincing, but despite the vast number of products that appear routinely, the simple alignment stick appears to be the most useful creation. Instead of spending money on a range of strange looking innovations that promise big, why not instead book a proper lesson or two with a professional?

Traditions of The Masters Tournament

I've already had a go at the Ryder Cup, so let's take it up a notch further and commit the ultimate blasphemy and raise doubts about the Masters. Let's be clear for a moment, I always look forward to the first major of the year, I cherish the spectacle and drama that Augusta National often delivers, and I love that it represents the beginning of the new season.

That said, there is a lot of guff said about the Masters, especially with regard to the so-called "traditions" of the event. I can do without hearing about patrons or pimento cheese sandwiches, the laughably reverential tone of the TV coverage, watching children (and worse; the wives and girlfriends of players) wandering about in white boiler suits at the Par 3 Contest, and I annually struggle to recover from the absolute cringe-fest that is the Green Jacket ceremony in Butler Cabin.

I love the Masters, but the noise and fluff around it is absolutely, truly overrated.

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