garyt1957 Another example where nothing the pros do correlates to what the average golfer does. I hit the ball 230 max. If I hit a ball right I might end up in the FW. A guy who hits it 250 hits the exact same shot and is well into the rough/woods. A pro hitting the exact same line at 300 plus yards is off the planet. Not to mention the pros generally play narrower Fw's than your average course. I've had years where I've averaged over 70% FW's hit, not because I'm a great driver of the ball but because I don't hit it that far.
Point made. IMO golf at lower skill levels is still a game of accuracy over distance at the pro level it's distance as highly skilled golfers can make miraculous recovery shots that hackers can not which piles up strokes. That's the difference. Real golf vs. PGA golf. Not to mention the galleries that rebound shots off line and trampled down rough that we wind up in and can't extricate yourself easily....more strokes. Plus lost balls that don't happen on the PGA.