Walking or Cart???

[Danny Noonan]

Long course, cart. Short course, walk. If unclear, cart.

- DN

[yenner]

You all are inspiring me. Maybe next season I'll walk everytime I play, providing its not too busy and I won't hold up the play.

[sacm3bill]

  Ty Haegs said:

Could you imagine how slow 4 people walking and each one playing their own ball would be?

  yenner said:

Maybe next season I'll walk everytime I play, providing its not too busy and I won't hold up the play.

It's been discussed in other threads, but for those who haven't heard the point of view before: It's not a given that walking is slower - depending on the course it's usually faster in fact, for several reasons:

1) Can walk straight to your ball when hit offline - makes it much more likely to find it in the junk than if you have to walk back to the cart, go down the path, and approach the location at a completely different angle. 2) When riding there are usually 2 people in the cart, which means you need to drive to 2 locations. (Even if you observe the proper procedure of dropping one person off with their club(s), it still takes time.) 3) When walking you can go directly from the green to the next tee, which often involves a quicker route than the cart path. (When I walk, I beat the riders in the group to the next tee box on virtually every hole.) I'm probably missing some. Certainly, riding will get you to your tee shot more quickly (assuming you have not duffed it ). However once there, there's virtually no advantage between walking and riding for all subsequent shots (the distances just aren't great enough). And, by the time the first person gets to their tee shot and plays it, everyone else has got to their tee shot - so it really doesn't matter if there are 2, 3, or 4 other walkers - i.e., the time to get to the tee shot (or 2nd shot, or 3rd shot, etc.) is not multiplied by the number of players in the group. So the only advantage to riding IMO is the time to get to your 2nd shot, and that's outweighed by the other things I mention. The exception may be courses with very long green to tee distances. But even then, if there are only 1 or 2 walkers they'll probably still get to the next tee before all the others have teed off. Bottom line, I'm usually waiting on the riders in my group, not the other way around. (Of course I'm not sure how much any of this really matters - most times I play, no matter how slow my group is we're always waiting for someone on the next tee anyway.) - Bill

[flguy]

Trust me, you don't want to walk in the Florida heat, maybe in the wintertime, but most people here ride in carts anyway. Although when I was in colorado this summer and noticed a lot more people walk there, but it was a lot cooler during the day. I guess it really depends on your climate.

[sacm3bill]

  flguy said:

I guess it really depends on your climate.

Agree 100%, and I'm not advocating walking over riding. I was just saying carts won't necessarily make you play faster.

[Ty Haegs]

  sacm3bill said:

It's been discussed in other threads, but for those who haven't heard the point of view before: It's not a given that walking is slower - depending on the course it's usually faster in fact, for several reasons:

You are assuming all people walk the same speed though. Either way both walking and riding in a cart have their own advantages and disadvantages.

[sacm3bill]

  Ty Haegs said:

You are assuming all people walk the same speed though.

The variance is negligible for the purposes of my argument. I.e., if you have a disabilty that prevents you from walking at an "average" speed, you'll probably be using a cart anyway.

  None said:

Either way both walking and riding in a cart have their own advantages and disadvantages.

Yep, and the advantage of walking is it's usually faster.

[just hit it]

The club I belong to requires you to use a cart or caddy. I normally cart it. Do walk when I can. I agree with some of the others, unless you and your cart partner hit shots that land next to each other all the time, I believe walking is faster. For all the reasons given earlier, direct path to ball etc. But when I walk I want a push cart. Spare me the benefits of carrying. Like a lot of guys, I have way too much junk in my bag to carry.

[Fourputt]

  sacm3bill said:

It's been discussed in other threads, but for those who haven't heard the point of view before: It's not a given that walking is slower - depending on the course it's usually faster in fact, for several reasons:

Guarantee you that all else being equal, that is nobody in front holding us up, that 2 riders who know what they are doing can leave a single walker in the dust. Unless you run at a pretty good clip between shots, you simply can't keep up with a modern golf cart moving at 15 - 20 MPH. I play in a regular Wednesday group... 2 walk and 2 ride. One rider is usually the shortest hitter and is easily the worst player in the group. I'm the other rider and usually the best player. We ALWAYS have to wait on the the 2 walkers... ALWAYS. And the walkers aren't particularly slow, it's just the physics of the thing... walking at 3-4 mph versus riding at 15-20.... it's just no contest. But like you say, most of the time we are all waiting on the tee for the fairway to clear, so it really isn't an issue.

Granted that I've seen the Chinese fire drill routine with groups riding, so there is no guarantee that just because a group uses carts that they will be fast. Keeping a good place of play must be a deliberate focus of the group or they are likely to be slow no matter how they choose to get around the course. I just don't want this to turn into the same sort of discussion that the walk vs. ride argument always deteriorates into. Carts are neither inherently faster nor slower.... its the mindset of the player that determines pace of play.

[sacm3bill]

  Fourputt said:

it's just the physics of the thing... walking at 3-4 mph versus riding at 15-20.... it's just no contest.

That's a simplistic argument that ignores most of my points, but I'll agree that people in carts who know what they're doing can be faster than someone walking. I just rarely see the former.

  None said:

Carts are neither inherently faster nor slower.... its the mindset of the player that determines pace of play.

Agreed, and that's all I was trying to say - that carts are not

necessarily faster. - Bill

[bogeyhitter25]

I played a sweet course to walk today. Lots of cool little bridges to cross to the next tee through the woods. You really don't notice these things when your driving by rather than walking.

[jonjones]

On the executive couse I play I always walk. When I was rehabbing I used a push cart a few times. I will walk on the shorter par 72's. But, during a tournament or on the longer courses I will ride.

If I am walking and I'm getting behind I will either skip a hole or let those behind me play through. I don't think anyone should have to deal with someone else's slow play, least of all mine.

[WUTiger]

It depends a lot on the situation. If it's a housing development course, and you have several quarter-mile treks between clusters of holes, I prefer to ride. Otherwise, the other cart people run you into the ground. In this environ, carts are often mandatory.

I had abdominal surgery in December. I can make 9 holes walking, but 18 is still a bit exhausting. Also, if temp is near 90 degrees, or 85 and really humid, I need to take a cart.

Walking often works when the course is fairly crowded, and you couldn't pick up much total round speed by using a cart. Threesomes can also get a partial walk - all three players ride 12 and walk 6, switching off.

When I did walk frequently, I felt a better flow to the round, and sensed what the turf conditions were like that day. Also, cart rides cause me to leave a wedge greenside frequently, or sometimes hit one with the "wrong club" because the two sticks I brought with me don't match the shot.

I may start using my old pull cart - or maybe new-wave push cart.

[dkinser86]

I prefer to walk when I can. We have some shortish courses around here that I can walk no problem. However, there is one course that I have trouble walking. Its a 7200+ yards par 71, with a LOT of hills. I've walked that monster a few times, but it wasn't very fun.

If i'm playing in a scramble, I'll ride with the group. The scrambles that I have played in haven't really been about winning as much as having a good time.

Other than that, the only time I walk is when i have limited time. If there is hardly anyone on the course, I can zoom around 18 in about 2 hours on even the long course. My record is an hour a 13 minutes. I wanted to get a round in before meeting my dad to go fishing one morning. Course, it does help to shoot 73.

[Supermanwoot]

I'm both. Used to be a walker, then started playing with some guys who only want to cart, but now playing with a new guy who only likes to walk and when I'm alone I always walk since its "free."

But if someone wants to cart I usually put up the money for it. I mean even now its freak 85+ and humid as hell so I sweat like crazy and get terrible club-grip while walking but it saves money. Cant wait for it to cool down. I can also say I'm definitely in better shape from walking 18 three times a week.


edit: Oh I hate my bag btw. Its ridiculous. Its kinda heavy BUT it tilts so that if I'm walking over especially bumpy ground the clubs will begin to slide out. This really pisses me off!!!!

[O.B. Right]

I strongly prefer to walk. I don't have time to golf and go to the gym so I need to get the exercise. I don't play all that well but don't really have trouble keeping up. If the hole becomes pointless then I just pick up the ball and move on.

[Jay-Bird]

Never met a walker I couldn't enjoy a round with.

[Golf'nBiker]

Got to have my Cart!