Does the PGA have it wrong?

While there may have been changes to our equipment, courses, and
an increase in the usage of technology in teaching golf it seems as
though scores (and hence, handicaps) haven't really changed over time.
So my question is this, does the PGA have it wrong on how students
should be taught or what they should be taught?

Doug Main...

This like blaming/crediting Steinway and Yamaha, or the Royal
Conservatory of Music because there are not far more concert pianists
around than there were 20 years ago.

Howard Brazee...

I wonder how avid players (those with handicaps), compare with casual
players. Maybe equipment makes it easy and courses make it
difficult - the way we see with pro courses.

warren montgomery...

Not necessarily -- I wonder how many golfers get lessons as much as once a
year. Probably less than a quarter. People would rather buy a new book,
club, or gadget. Part of that is our busy lives and the transient nature of
many players. When I played as a kid at a country club lots of people took
lessons because you played the same place all the time, the pro was there
and knew you and after a few lessons knew your game. Now I play most of my
rounds at a public course with no pro (quite common these days), and the
rest scattered around at various courses where the pro, if any, won't know
me and I won't know him or her.

Of course any attemt to compare handicaps and scores over time is also going
to be effected by changes in courses (I'm sure courses and even the sets of
tees most folks play have gotten longer, greens have gotten faster, etc.)
changes in rules (probably not a big deal) and changes in the handicap
system iteslf (I don't know how the introduction of "slope", and changes to
ESC procedures effected handicaps, but presumably they did, or there would
have been no point in doing it!)

David Laville...

I don't think the PGA has it wrong and I don't blame them for a thing.
Club manufacturers are constantly coming out with "game improving"
clubs which statistics show have improved scores very little and you
have golf instruction books, videos and DVD's which promise to make
you a better golfer in less time and with less practice. So IMO you
can't blame the PGA for the lack of improvement in golfers when so
many of them think the difference between where they are at now and
scratch is just one set of clubs or dvd away.

David Laville, G.S.E.M.
The Golfing Machine Authorized Instructor
TB-8982