I don't believe that it's always "just an excuse". A physical limitation is a physical limitation.
i.e. I'd never run well in poorly fitting shoes. Same with guitar. So I agree with you that looking at a guitar that's a better fit is a potential solution for the problem the OP describes.
Case in point example. The very contemporary Yamaha APX600 fretboard with its scale length, radius, profile, action, tension and string spacing is IMV perfectly suited to smaller hands and builds. And I love it. Now to put perspective on that, I'm not small definitively at 5' 9" - statistically average western male height outside the US where it's an inch taller at 5'10", albeit of non-ectomorphic build with fingers and hands proportionate just on the smaller side of (glove) medium. So neither large, nor long slender, fingers.
Fingering open A on the APX's lower fretboard, generally I use the 'Justin preferred' fingering of the conventional voicing or single finger rock A regardless, as apart from facilitation of chord changes in some progressions, it is coincidentially a tidier fit. Equally I can also swap about to use the conventional fingering instinctively, which I was taught originally many moons ago, but, ...on the APX to say of the latter fingering 'it's crowded' would be understatement. I find it requires unnecessary on the fly cognizance to consistently obtain a clean A with it. Now that's with relatively smallish proportionate fingers. With large endomorphic or stocky mesomorphic hands especially carrying a bit of excess weight, IMO it'd be a very tall order - again understatement. Even on my other two acoustics with more generous conventional string spacing where conventional fingering of open A is more accommodating, it is still a case of an 'I'm glad my fingers aren't any larger' fit.[br][br]
Were it me with fat fingered large hands which couldn't effect a clean fingering of conventional open A with tenacious practise due the fingertip width being too large to fit all three, a new guitar which was a better personal fit, or alternatively, pefecting the single fingered rock A would probably be my go to preferred solutions.
