The Masters tournament begins this week, making it the perfect opportunity to explore Americans’ feelings about their own golf game. In an ongoing poll of nearly 12K U.S. adults (excluding ‘no opinion’), just under 1 in 10 respondents say ‘yes’ they are good at golf, while 24% say they are ‘somewhat’ good at golf. Two-thirds of those with an opinion, meanwhile, say they are not good at all at golf.

Personal golf skill assessments feature interesting splits when examined through the lens of parental status. Notably, American parents are twice as likely as those who are neither a parent nor a grandparent to say they’re good at golf. Whatsmore, parents are the most likely of the three groups to say they are at least ‘somewhat’ good at golf.

This data is just the tip of the iceberg. Using consumer-reported data, we can dive deeper into how those who say ‘yes’ they’re good at golf, distinguish themselves from those who say they are ‘not at all’ good at playing golf:

• Golf Equipment Purchasing: Those who say they’re good at golf are twice as likely as those who aren’t to say they buy their golf equipment from big box stores (among those who buy golf equipment). Those who say they’re not skilled at playing golf, conversely, outpace others in buying their equipment from sporting goods stores.

• Typical Bed Time: Golf aficionados are most likely to report they go to bed between 10 and 11 PM, and are seven points more likely to do this than Americans who say they’re not good at golf. On the other hand, those who say they’re not skilled golfers are seven points more likely to go to bed after midnight.

• Saving or Spending Gifted Money: When asked whether they tend to save or spend money they’ve been gifted, the majority of both self-described skilled golfers and unskilled golfers say they spend it. However, those who aren’t at all good at playing golf are more likely than those who are to spend it (58% to 51%, respectively).
• Soup Consumption Frequency: More than half of the respondents who say they are good at golf say they eat canned or box soups at least weekly (54%), more than twice the percentage of those who say they aren’t good at golf who are weekly soup consumers (24%).
• Influence of Social Media on Food Purchasing: Self-declared skilled golfers are 30 points more likely to say social media influences the food they buy at least ‘a little.’

Where do you stand when it comes to your golf skills? See how you compare with others who share your skill level. Take this poll now:

A self-assessment of one’s golf game may feel like a simple reflection of skill, but the consumer behaviors that align with these athletic identities reveal something far more telling about the lifestyle habits of the American public.

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This article’s data comes solely from CivicScience’s database, which contains nearly 700,000 poll questions and 5 billion consumer insights.