Okay, so I’ve been digging into this whole “what percent of golfers are scratch” thing, and let me tell you, it’s a bit of a rabbit hole. I wanted to see for myself just how many golfers out there are actually playing at that level. You know, that mythical zero handicap.
First off, I started hitting up all the usual sources. I looked at what the National Golf Foundation had to say, and I even tried to find stuff from the USGA. It turns out that there is something there. Most places seem to agree that only a tiny fraction of golfers are playing scratch golf. And I mean like 1% or even less. Some sources I found said it might be closer to 0.5%, which is like, hardly anyone.
But here’s the thing, it’s tough to get a straight answer. There isn’t really an official count of how many people are shooting scratch. It is not like there is a registry for every single one of them. So, it is kind of impossible to get the exact number. But it does not stop people from guessing.
Then I went and checked what a “scratch golfer” really means. Turns out, it is someone with a handicap of around zero. Seems simple enough, right? It does not sound that complicated at all. But then I thought, “Okay, but how many people actually get there?”
- I started thinking about all the golfers I know.
- I thought about the guys at my local course.
- I even considered some of the pros I’ve watched on TV.
And let me tell you, getting to scratch is seriously tough. I mean, I’ve been playing for years, and I’m nowhere near that level. It would be a dream to get there but I do not know if I have the time.
What I’ve figured out
It takes a crazy amount of time and effort to get that good. It is not only about hitting the ball, but a lot of it comes down to putting. A guy named Sherman wrote a piece on it, so I guess he would know. After going through all of this, I’ve got a whole new respect for those scratch players. They’re like the unicorns of the golfing world. Rare and mythical creatures. It has been fun, but also very confusing.
