Brian,
You are sooooo right. I grew up on the golf course, and played around a 10-16 handicap as a teen. I gave it up for 15 years, and started again around age 40, I got serious, and was usually between a 4 and an 8 handicap (NO winter rules, NO mulligans, putt out everything). I had to practice about an hour a day every day, and played only once a week. If I missed more than a day or two of practice it would take me 2 weeks to "find it" again. It was a bit frustrating to spend all of that practice time just to stay the same (very little improvement).
Pool is a lot easier. The progress is continuous, and there are no slumps to speak of; I like it.