Golf is insanely difficult. There’s no real other way to put it.
It’s deceptive, in that it’s one of the more feasible sports for an average person to try out. But there’s such a massive world of difference between what the players at the very top of the sport are doing from what even good amateurs can do.
Here’s non-golf fan Spencer Hall from last summer, laying out exactly how hard it is:
I watched Adam Scott punch a shot out of the pine straw at Augusta through a hole on the trees the size of a house window and park it on the green, I’m sold
— ¡BUM CHILLUPS AKA SPENCER HALL! (@edsbs) July 7, 2022
Spencer is very correct there. And honestly, there are few better moments in sports than when a professional golfer fails in exactly the same fashion that a bad weekend player does. It’s endlessly comforting to know that, yes, this is indeed a difficult game to play, and at any moment it can humble even the very best at it.
Take today’s example, which saw Viktor Hovland (who nearly won the PGA Championship a few weeks ago) attempting a delicate downhill chip shot from behind the green. Things went very poorly.
Few things better than the best players in the world failing exactly how I'd fail if faced with the same shot. pic.twitter.com/W4EmHw4gtm
— Jay Rigdon (@jayrigdon5) June 4, 2023
Yeah, that’s about as bad a miss as you’ll ever see from a legit professional. Hovland, to be clear, is not great at chipping; this area of his game is what’s held him back from winning more so far in a young and promising career. But even so, that’s just, well, bad!
Considering how close Hovland is to the lead, it could end up being a huge difference-maker, too. Let’s hope for the sake of his sanity that he doesn’t finish one shot shy of victory today.
