Why Do Golfers Complain So Much?

Golf is a challenging and highly frustrating sport. There’s no question those characteristics are part and parcel of the game for every player, whether beginner or elite professional.

There is just so much within golf to infuriate and exasperate. That’s a principal reason why golfers seem to moan so much. There’s an awful lot to complain about.

There’s a good deal of luck involved in the game, perhaps more so than in most other sports. You are reliant on conditions, the lie, the bounce of the ball and sometimes these factors can play as significant a role in your round as your actual sporting performance.

You might face a rainstorm during your 18 holes that those who play at a different time of day do not. That’s worth complaining about.

You might lose a ball in unusual circumstances when it should have been in position-A. Definitely worth a moan.

The ball may hit an imperfection on the green, causing a putt to narrowly miss. Oh, woe is me!

Yup, bad luck is certainly a reason golfers complain so much.

If you think golfers are particularly unlucky or complain more or less than other sportspeople, please let me know in the comments box below.

Many (or most) golfers believe they are the most unfortunate player on the planet. I wonder who actually is the most unfortunate player on the planet? Somebody must be… but it’s probably not me, or you.

The thing is golf is a selfish game and it’s sometimes difficult to recognise that others are facing the same travails that you are.

“How could it have ended up there?”; “Where did that gust of wind come from?”; “How has that missed?” We all feel these things almost every time we play. The trick is internalising the disbelief and agony. That’s not easy.

Classic deflection

Golfers like to think they’re uniquely unlucky. They also like to think that poor shots, and rounds, are simply not their fault.

For that reason, they like to blame anything else they possibly can. A favourite complaint is about the state of a golf course. The greens take the brunt of it normally. They’re either too slow, too fast, too bumpy, too grainy or just plain bad!

But you’ll also hear complaints about the type of sand in the bunkers, the length of fairway cut, the tee positioning, the tree management programme, the thickness of the rough….

All golfers are part-time greenkeepers, and any perceived mismanagement of the course can be responsible for players not pulling off the shot they “should” have been able to. It’s just deflection.

Then, there’s the fact that golf can be pretty expensive and expectations are high. That tends to lead to complaints when those expectations are not met.

If you pay thousands a year for your membership, you might expect the catering to be of a certain standard, the heating to be on in the locker rooms, the course to be available whenever you want it… If those things don’t happen, people complain.

Or, if you’ve visited somewhere and shelled out a hefty fee, you’re likely to be miffed if they’ve decided that’s the day the greens are going to be cored… cue complaints.

There are myriad reasons why golfers complain, but of course people complain in general about whatever’s currently niggling them.

In fact, I think golfers are among the most optimistic people out there. They must be. All evidence points to the fact the chances of a stellar round are tiny, but we all go out each time with hope and belief that this will be 'the one'. Incredible delusion.

Perhaps that’s the real reason golfers are seen as moaners. We are actually too positive about what’s going to happen.

We truly believe there will be a break in the weather, that the course will be playing nicely in mid-November and that we will have suddenly developed a nice soft draw overnight.

We set out with blind optimism and are quickly brought back down to earth and the complaints flow. If we managed our own expectations a little better, we might take it all on the chin.