Why are women crap at golf? Nancy's 3rd theory.

Nancy Berkley, the expert in women's golf, has been showing us why women's handicaps are so much higher on average than mens' (see previous posts 1 and 2). It's been a fascinating journey of discovery, so let's briefly visit our final stop chez Nancy.

Her third theory to explain the lower average handicap of women against men is that "one-quarter of women golfers play less than two times a year. That segment is probably a drag on the female averages and handicaps."

Unless she can demonstrate that there's not a similar segment of male golfers, then this latest statement of Nancy's still doesn't explain the difference. I know quite a lot of men who golf infrequently. Is the infrequent male golfer not a similar drag on the male averages and handicaps? Again, we have an unsatisfactory result here, as we go round in circles trying to distinguish results from causes.

It is indisputable that there is a big difference in handicaps between the 'average' woman golfer and the average male golfer, and there must be reasons for it. I plan to come back to this subject with other explanations later, and for what it's worth I have my own theory which I will elucidate on some other time.

I'm sorry to disagree with all three of Nancy's theories, because I genuinely think that she's a positive force in the world of golf, so let's finish on a positive note. Nancy says "But who cares about the handicap differential? Most women use their handicaps in compeition [sic] against other women, and then it's a level playing field."

I'd go even further, and say that even in mixed competition it doesn't really matter. The handicap reflects how many shots I can get round in, and to that extent it's the same for men and women. I can play a man with the same handicap as me and have as much chance of winning as he does; but I can also play a scratch golfer man and have an entirely fair game, and that's the brilliant thing about handicapping - that's the brilliant thing about golf: anyone of any level can play against any other person of any other level and have a fair chance of winning.

Handicapping? Love it.

Photo from CaymanGirl's photostream on Flickr