Equipment is one easy scapegoat. Most look at the equipment the pros play and that becomes the gold standard. That's not much of an excuse anymore, either. If you live in a metropolitan area, you can find excellent teachers. In fact, if you picked up the February issue of GOLF Magazine, you would have found the names, addresses, telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses of 400 of the top teachers in the nation, broken down by region.
Chances are, one is within driving distance.
I'd advise those people to skip those three or four beers or the gin game after the round and spend that time practicing. The biggest issue besides time is the method in which people practice. Most people just stand there and beat the driver. What most people call practicing is actually ball-bashing. There is no plan.