The Five Inch Course: Play better golf with the swing you already have.. In 1960, the average golf score was 100. Fifty years later, with all the innovations in clubs, balls and instruction, the average golf score is ... still 100. In fact, only 20 percent of all golfers will ever (honestly) break that mark. More bad news: Barring a major investment in time and money, you're stuck with the swing you have. Tips from golf magazines, your buddies -- even the occasional lesson from a pro-- aren't going to result in long term improvement. Studies have shown that most players never get better than they are five years into their golfing "career." However, this doesn't mean that lower scores are out of reach. The Five Inch Course offers more than a hundred strategies for improving your golf score without improving your swing. By playing smarter, more strategic golf, even weekend hackers can dramatically improve their scores without improving their swings.