A couple of weeks ago I wrote a piece that had a golfing theme. I mentioned to a friend of mine that I had written a column, and it would appear the following day. That person immediately said: “It’s not another column about golf, is it?” I smiled, “yeah, it is.”

Here comes another one.

I am sure thousands of writers have questioned willing interviewees about golf’s appeal. The answers range from the exercise and the communal relationship with nature, to the socialization and the occasional moments of brilliance. However, as you will read in the following statistics, most of us stink at the game, so why come back for more?

As recently as four years ago, nearly 29 million people in the United States above the age of six played golf. Of those players, the average male handicap is 16, while women check in at about a 29 handicap. What do those numbers mean? The average man barely breaks 90 for 18 holes, and the average woman shoots over 100.

Those statistics clearly prove that most of us struggle with posting good scores, yet that same group of players cannot wait to play their next round. It’s a game where an individual’s success (or lack thereof) does not impede his love of the game.