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What's better - walking or riding while playing golf?
This debate will likely never go away. After publishing our latest story on 'Why don't more American golfers walk?', we received countless comments from golfers who wanted to chime in on this difficult subject.
Golfers who love to walk defend that it is the purest way to play golf, a great way to get some exercise and a money saver. Golfers who ride tended to defend their point of view by believing that it makes for faster pace of play, it's easier for transporting clubs and drinks, and it saves you from heat exhaustion when playing in warmer regions of the country.
Both opinions can be right at times, leaving no clear answer as to which is best for everyday golfers. It's very much a personal decision.
Here are some testimonials we wanted to share to continue the discussion. These comments were made either by GolfPass readers who commented on the original story or golfers on Twitter. For those who want to read the full conversations, click on the tweet or the story below.
I follow up our project on America’s #Top100WalkingCourses with a deeper dive into why so few US golfers walk. Shouldn’t your foursome be walking more? https://t.co/TRFTlVTp3h
— Jason Scott Deegan (@WorldGolfer) July 13, 2023
Many golfers say that walking makes them feel more a part of the game.
"Yes, I’m a walking golfer & have been for 70+ years. I enjoy & prefer to carry my bag, as well. Walking provides the connection & positioning to play your best golf. To me this is golf!!!" -- Twitter user @rlmgrandpa
"I almost always walk. While in Scotland - right now - I carry my bag too. Walking is the best way to experience golf and feel the turf under one’s feet." -- Twitter user @dspin65
"Walking leads to a much more enjoyable round of golf, especially with friends in my opinion. However, if you aren’t breaking 90 I think you and everyone on the course is better off with you riding." -- Twitter user @RyderMcCool
Many golfers also touted the health benefits of walking.
"I committed to walking more rounds this year. So far, I have 16 walking rounds and am down 20 pounds. Scoring wise, my average is down 4.2 strokes. I still use a cart from time to time, but more prefer walking." -- Twitter User @Anthony_Durso
"I’m a 65 year old female golfer that walks a 6 mile course. I’ve been walking my course for the last 16 years carrying my bag as push carts were not allowed. My husband and I did it for exercise and to save money. A few years ago our club began to allow push carts for a fee then began to add an annual trail fee for unlimited trips around the course with your own push cart. A blessing for me as I retired and was now playing around 5-6 days a week. I bought an electronic, remote controlled cart then as my back could not take walking and carrying anymore. Walking is a great experience, good exercise and a money saver. The break even point is 40 rounds, I get in more than 100! Hope to continue into my 80s. For our club it was definitely a revenue generator to require driving carts when the only other option was to carry a 20lb golf bag for 4+ hours and 6 miles. But the trail fee gets them guaranteed revenue and now both management and members are happy." -- GolfPass user Dolores N.
Other golfers pointed to the weather playing a big factor in whether they decide to walk or ride.
"My course is not the hardest to walk, but living along the Gulf Coast, during the summer it is too hot to walk. I’ll walk about 8 months of the year. In the summer or if I have my 5yo daughter with me I will take a cart" -- Twitter user @ncristea1985
"Considering that it’s a 100 degrees everyday with 90% humidity (live in FL) I have an excuse not to walk." -- Twitter user @MikeGboca
"It’s sad. I try to walk 80% of my rounds at my Florida club in the Winter. I used to walk in the Summer but got heat stroke twice in the 95F with 80-90% humidity. When I host people in the Winter, few want to walk so I am 50/50 on those rounds. I absolutely love walking." -- Twitter user @SHistorians
Walkers don't like that some golf courses have built the cost of taking a cart into their green fees, a practice that discourages walking. Caddies can also be expensive.
"Shouldn't more courses allow walking? Let's start there. The golf management companies want the increased revenue from carts. It's one of the reasons." -- Twitter user @GolfNutSociety
"I love to walk, but it's often cost prohibitive when you add the cost of a caddie ($125) to the green fees of many courses." - GolfPass user John K.
"I especially hate the "members walk, public not allowed' dynamic at semi-private courses. Or the "must take a caddie to walk" rule at resorts as if everyone has an extra $150 lying around." - Twitter user @BrandonTucker (Former GolfPass Managing Editor)
Whether they were being truthful or trying to be funny, some walkers were unforgiving in their opinion of cart riders.
"USA folk are too fat to walk anywhere let alone 4 hours golfing. They mostly view it as a place to get drunk, smoke cigars, and abuse golf carts with their buddies and not a place to exercise." -- Twitter user @travellingdave
"A lot of this country is full of fat and lazy slobs. It is really pitiful." -- Twitter user BigPapaGBG
Which comments do you agree or disagree with the most? Let us know in the comments below.
Comments (3)
My wife and I love to walk the golf course. However at our age (late 60's) we limit our walking golf to 9 holes on our local course due to radical elevation change. Many of the out of state courses we play at don't give us a choice. We both wear Fitbbit watches and can see the difference between walking and a cart. However, you still take a lot of steps and burn a lot of calories doing 18 holes using a cart.
There are many couses that are not very convenient to walk...many long gaps between greens and the next tee. Also, physical limitations can play into the decision to walk or ride. Sometimes pain in my feet won't let me walk more than 9 or 11 holes, and I carry my bag. So I may grab a cart for the back 9. I just find many riders don't know how to play with a cart to keep up pace of play.
Whenever I can walk the course, I will. The thing with me is when I competed for my high school team, we were required to walk the course. I tended to do better when I walked the course during competition as opposed to taking a cart in practice rounds. I have just stuck with that for years now. There are some courses I play where walking is not allowed but in up north Michigan, it would be nearly impossible to walk the course as the hills do get much bigger than many think. On flatter courses that allow walking, I almost always do unless I'm playing with someone else who doesn't walk. I agree with a lot of others here who are saying that golf in the United States has become lazy and less about the golf itself and more about the carts and the beer cart and just having a place where it's okay to act like an idiot. If you watch any golf youtubers in the UK like Rick Shiels or Alex Elliott, you hardly ever see anyone with a cart. The culture in the UK with golf as well as places like southeast asia and most of the rest of Europe is much more respectful towards the origins of the game. They're trying to play that way helps them stay in that frame of mind of respect and courteousness and it often leads to them playing better. Conversely, the culture of convenience and golf as a "rich man's game" in the United States has caused walking to become frowned upon in most places and that is a shame in my mind. Often times it undermines what you're actually there to do, which is something I want no part of.
Call me crazy for showing up with my pull cart but if it works for me and helps me play better I'm doing it as long as the course allows me.