Do Walkers Score Better?

[Arizona]

I have a tee time today and because courses overseed for the winter here it will be cart path only.  My back can not take carrying clubs for a round anymore so I always take a cart. It occurred to me that there are times when I have to pick a club and carry it to my ball. If I don't get it right, I won't always be able to go back and switch. I can think of many times when I pull up to one side of the green and my ball is across the other side and I bring my putter and a wedge only to get to my ball and realize another club might have been a better choice or when sharing a cart you get stuck far enough away from it that you can't change your mind and select another club.  Having all your clubs with you all the time must have an advantage but I wonder how much.   What are your thoughts?  Do you think it saves a lot of strokes or doesn't make much difference?

[Vinsk]

Definitely depends on the golfer I think. Have you considered a pull/push cart? If I walked often enough I’d definitely use one of those. I’m sure there can be advantages to walking regarding what you mentioned, but I imagine most people wouldn’t see much difference in score just from walking or riding.

[iacas]

Walking vs Riding

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Lou Stagner's Newsletter #15

One way to look at this is it's essentially a draw. There is no real advantage to walking or riding.But...

• There are some golfers that will tend to perform better walking.
• There are some golfers that will tend to perform better riding.
• Like many things in golf, it is individualized.

[StuM]

I think it varies by person.  The OP mentions not having the right club as a disadvantage of riding.  If any doubt I always take an extra club to have a choice,  the example around the green, take a wedge to loft if high and an 8 iron to run it up.

[ChiTown]

I walk and cart about equally throughout the season, and my scores stay pretty much the same. But there are some differences. When I walk, it forces me to slow down between shots and clear my head. I also have more time thinking about my next shot. I tend to lose energy around 16 so I’m trying to find ways of staying fueled up without being heavy. When I ride it takes me a bit longer to “settle in” and my front nine is always rougher than my back nine. I also wonder if I cool down between shots since I’m just sitting in the cart.

[Carl3]

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When I am driving a cart I find myself spending a lot of time and mental energy searching for other peoples errant shots. When I walk I can usually focus on my game better.

[billchao]

On 10/21/2023 at 8:00 AM, Arizona said:

I have a tee time today and because courses overseed for the winter here it will be cart path only.  My back can not take carrying clubs for a round anymore so I always take a cart. It occurred to me that there are times when I have to pick a club and carry it to my ball. If I don't get it right, I won't always be able to go back and switch. I can think of many times when I pull up to one side of the green and my ball is across the other side and I bring my putter and a wedge only to get to my ball and realize another club might have been a better choice or when sharing a cart you get stuck far enough away from it that you can't change your mind and select another club.  Having all your clubs with you all the time must have an advantage but I wonder how much.   What are your thoughts?  Do you think it saves a lot of strokes or doesn't make much difference?

You could grab a few clubs with you before going to your ball and if you don’t like putting your clubs on the ground you could always get a Sunday bag to put them in.

[chspeed]

I'd say that even for those who score better riding, the benefits of walking, from a health perspective, outweigh scoring a bit better. I'd rather have an extra stroke than a stroke. 😜

But to address the OP's question, yes, there may be times when you don't have what you think is the right club. Just as often than not, I end up hitting a better shot with a longer club that I take a 3/4 swing with than with the "right" club. It probably evens out for most golfers.

Edited October 22, 2023 by chspeed

[mcanadiens]

I don't think there is a large difference between walking and riding in general, but Cart Path Only is a pretty obnoxious phrase. I'll usually look to avoid courses where you have to ride CPO.

Club selection is usually the least of it. A hacker, like me, might pull one, have to park the cart on the other side of the fairway, grab two or three clubs and march back and forth. All of which takes time and adds to the overall frustration of hitting a bad shot. Worse if you know someone is waiting behind you.

Whenever the course is conducive to walking, I walk with my trolley. Not only does it save money, but it lets me walk straight to my ball. When taking a cart down a path, it is easy for me to lose where I am in relation to where the ball ended up, so I lose fewer balls that way. It also helps me flush out some of the disappointment I might be feeling over a bad shot and be more ready for the next one.

 

 

[DaveP043]

On 10/21/2023 at 8:00 AM, Arizona said:

Having all your clubs with you all the time must have an advantage but I wonder how much.   

I think walking has other advantages, I don't think the occasional mistake when grabbing a club or two is a big issue for most players.  I know it happens, but many of us learn to take a few "extra" clubs when we're forced to stay on the cart path.  IF you want a little more organized way to do this, get yourself one of these Sunday bags:

 

Hang it onto your regular bag, and stick 4 or 5 clubs in when you need to cross the fairway.

[p1n9183]

I play Tournaments with golf Cart once or twice a year. I hate it, the pace of play is totally out of sync. I need those walking minutes to calm down, forget the previous shot and start planning my next shot. With the cart you are over the ball in seconds and you normally have to rush your decision making process to avoid slowing down pace. The result is a lot more not committed shots.  

[Ty_Webb]

I find my rhythm is better if I walk vs ride. The tempo of my steps is about the same as the tempo of my swing, so I just feel more in sync when I walk. As I get older though I definitely notice that my standard of play tends to drop a little towards the end of the round when I'm getting tired. On that basis, it's probably pretty close to a wash for me, but I have nothing more than my guesstimate to back that up.

Given the option though I would walk. It's better for me and I just generally prefer it. It's how the game is meant to be played (IMO).

[StuM]

On 10/23/2023 at 9:15 AM, mcanadiens said:

Whenever the course is conducive to walking, I walk with my trolley. Not only does it save money, but it lets me walk straight to my ball. When taking a cart down a path, it is easy for me to lose where I am in relation to where the ball ended up, so I lose fewer balls that way

I agree. Walking clearly helps keep an eye on where the ball went.

I hate it when I have to drive to my partner’s ball first and then need to search for it.  That is usually when I lose sight of the landmark near my ball’s line. 

Edited October 25, 2023 by StuM
Fixed typos

[pganapathy]

If I am on a flat course I am good with walking.  It is when I am pulling my own bag up a hill that it tires me out a great deal and worsens my game.  Overall, if you choose to be aware of your surroundings and especially look at the green while walking up to it, you can improve your short game because you see slopes better while walking rather than riding on a cart path due to your location.  Honestly though, on a course I play regularly it doesn't really make a difference to me unless I get very tired walking

[ChiTown]

16 hours ago, Ty_Webb said:

 As I get older though I definitely notice that my standard of play tends to drop a little towards the end of the round when I'm getting tired.

@Ty_Webb one thing that I’ve noticed is that I need to refuel along the way. I tried a variety of things from Gatorade, hot dogs (haha), peanut butter crackers etc. For me I’ve found that a bite or two of an “energy bar” (like GoodRx, Kind, etc) every couple of holes and water seems to help finish strong. 
 

I’ve also added treadmill time as one of my cardio workouts. On treadmill I try to target a walking pace that I can hold for about 5-6 miles.

[snapfade]

For me I think I play better if I walk. It seems like I play at a slower pace and have more time to think about what to do next. In a cart I feel hurried. Just me, I have not really tracked the results one way or another. I'm fortunate to play on a course that sits on the intercoastal so the views are awesome so walking lets me enjoy the environment more. 

[ChetlovesMer]

On 10/22/2023 at 8:55 AM, Carl3 said:

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When I am driving a cart I find myself spending a lot of time and mental energy searching for other peoples errant shots. 

Dude, that was like three or four years ago! 

I told you not to look for my ball anymore. I know I played a terrible round. After the seventh or eighth time I hit it in the woods just let it go. When I'm hitting it that sideways I don't even feel like looking for my ball. 

For those that don't know, @Carl3 was my cartmate at my first TST Meet up. I played terrible by any standard. But @Carl3 kept finding my ball for me. Even when I told him to leave it, he'd still find it for me.  He's a good dude, if I had known I was mentally exhausting him I would have insisted EVEN MORE that he just leave my ball in the woods.

 

[Big C]

Reflecting back, almost all of my best/lowest scoring rounds have come when walking vs. riding. I think that is easier for me to stay in the moment, and keep a "one shot at a time" mentality when I am forced to take a little extra time getting to my ball.