Why Snowboarding is Better than Golf: Equipment Advances Do Little to Lower Golf Scores

After a tough round at a scrappy course, I was quite interested in the following from the New York Times:

New and technologically advanced golf balls fly farther than ever. Oversize golf drivers hit the ball straighter. Space-age materials make irons easier to swing. Ergonomically engineered putters roll the ball more precisely. Golf courses are more plentiful and maintained better. Instruction is more accessible, at public and private clubs, not to mention every night on a cable television channel devoted entirely to golf.

So what good has this done for golf scores? Nothing that we can see. The score of an average golfer is still 100, where it has been "for decades."

Even with $500 drivers and $200 putters, the pursuit of a better game is elusive to many.

After four years of golf, I'm still a lousy player. After two seasons of snowboarding, I'm not great. But I'm not lousy.

It's easier to do the fundamental task of golf--swing a club and hit the ball--than it is to do the fundamental task of snowboarding, which is to stand up on a slippery board and maintain your balance.

But progressing in golf is a lot harder.

Snowboarding Troubles Come in Small Packages

I've taken some time to compare snowboarding with golf, and concluded that snowboarding is better.

Here's one reason: snowboarding is an easier mental game.

True, a very good golfer can have a "blow-up" on one hole, and then proceed to have many good shots after that. But if your a mediocre or worse golfer--and to say that I am a "hack" would be to overstate my skills on the course--one bad hole can lead to many others. After all, scorekeeping is cumulative.

With riding, on the other hand, each trip down the mountain, each entry to the halfpipe, each unloading from the lift presents a new opportunity. Sure, you may have skidded out of some turns and barely kept your board under control, but that was last time; with each new buckling of the binding, you're free to start with a clean slate.

In short, trouble on the snowboard comes in small packages, and hope springs anew. That's a large advantage to riding.