All over the globe, there are players who profess to be fanatical about golf. Whether it's in Croatia where there are a mere 302 registered golfers, or in the United States where some 25 million play the game. But, when it comes down to the nitty gritty, how well do we fare? Not too good actually, if the results of an American study are to be believed.

You can throw the old chestnut about lies, damn lies and statistics at the figures . . . . but the survey does seem to show that average golfers are more knowledgeable about ball terminology than they are about equipment. And, yet, there is even a significant disparity about their knowledge of balls, that most essential of items on a course. For instance, nearly half of those termed "moderate golfers", i.e. those who play between eight to 24 times a year, had "heard of" three-piece balls while almost two-thirds of "avid golfers", i.e. those who play more than 25 rounds a year, claimed to have heard of them. However, comprehension was an other matter: less than 15 per cent of moderates knew what a three-piece ball was, while only 28 per cent of avids knew what it meant.

The study makes interesting reading, but the bottom line really is that players aren't too bothered about getting into the finer, more technical aspects of equipment - they just want to go into a shop, get advice, and buy the clubs or balls that are within their price range.

The least amount of knowledge came with regard to clubs. When participants in the study were asked if they had heard of "vibration dampening", 32 per cent of the moderates claimed that they had but only six per cent admitted to knowing what it meant. Likewise, 44 per cent of the avids said they had heard of it, but only 16 per cent said they knew what it was. When questioned about centre of gravity, 94 per cent of the moderates and, remarkably, 92 per cent of the avids said they had heard of it, but only 57 per cent of the moderates and 52 per cent of the avids knew what it was.

There was far greater awareness, however, when it came to the technical aspect of balls . . . but possibly not as great as many would have believed. For example, 53 per cent of moderates and 73 per cent of avids had heard of balata, but only 26 per cent of moderates and 41 per cent of avids actually knew what it was. When it came to ball compression, though, 90 per cent of moderates and 97 per cent of avids had heard of it although understanding exactly what it was proved to bring out a lower level of knowledge. Forty two per cent of moderates knew what compression meant, and 60 per cent of avids were aware of its meaning.

It appears from the study that people are more interested in how equipment is marketed than really understanding what advantages - or disadvantages - using such a club or ball will give them. So, for the vast majority of the 90 million golfers worldwide, it is all about getting out to play rather than getting into technicalities. A bit like the Ferrari driver who simply wants to drive, and doesn't want to be a mechanic.