Walkers: Do you carry your bag or do you use a push cart?

[tefunk 17]

I walk about 70% of the time and use a push cart... The reason being I prefer to walk, but do seem to lug around a bit in the bag (lots of water... Very dry and hot where I currently live). The only negative about my push cart is it has 4 smaller wheels (I got the micro or mini, whatever it's called) so it doesn't move along quite as nicely as the 3 larger wheel versions (speed v1 and v2). If I'm playing a par 3 with my daughter, I'll just carry since I only need about 6 clubs in the bag and not as much water.

[cape cod beachfront golfer 2]

Anyone shopping for push cart should pay attention to the wheels. Inflated tires are huge pain. On some of the models the air valve is awkward to reach. Some new models have very wide low profile plastic wheels. They are hard plastic. If you play in the early morning the hard plastic wheels quickly fill up with grass clipping and are difficult to clean. Another thing to look for is the adjustability of the handle height. You want one that telescopes to fit your height. Cupholders and umbrella holder are another thing to look for. In my case they change the balance... so as soon as I remove the bag the cart promptly tips over backwards... annoying. Especially when the little storage door pops open and dozens of tees and ball markers go flying over the parking lot.

[nevets88 1,672]

One thing about carrying is that it tears at your clothing. I have little nicks, cuts and holes in some of the sweaters I wear. Gonna use fleece vests from now on.

[cape cod beachfront golfer 2]

When I did carry my favorite bag was an old Nike bag. Dark green with big swoosh logo, very light, nice top layout, spring out legs, dual shoulder strap (I might have added?), plus the perfect pocket layout where no pockets rub against body.  Legs finally broke... but it still has a place of honor in my garage. It gets to house all those driver mistakes I have made over the years.

[Patch 896]

I walk with my ClicGear trolley when ever possible. My reasoning is to keep my legs in golf swing shape. Folks who ride all the time, especially older golfers, will lose leg strength, unless of course they use another exercise to keep their legs in swing shape. Effective leg strength is an important part to a consistent golf swing. Leg strength is something I am struggling with right now due to my previous lay off from the game. A 4+/-  mile walk pushing about 50+lbs is helpful exercise. Now if it's a really hot, triple digit day, say Furnace Creek GC in August, I might use a cart.

[cape cod beachfront golfer 2]

One situation where I frequently use a riding cart is when I am playing a course for the first time. Being able to peek ahead is a help and does speed up play when you are on a strange course. It is easy to lose balls on an unfamiliar course where you do not know how far shots carry. With a cart it is easy to look that 10 yards further where you might not expect your ball to have carried.

BTW Today my partner and I won a 2 man team match to advance into our club semi-finals. The other team rode and my partner rode. But I still walked. I think it was an advantage for us as I could control the pace of play. My partner rarely rides so being in the cart definitely would have rushed him. We still finished in under 4 hours. Walking to your next shot after just topping a fairway 3wood can give you a chance to re-group. The one downside to being the only walker is you have to be careful you don't start "chasing carts". Rushing to keep up can hurt your game. There also is that lingering thought the the guy with the fastest cart always seems to get the best lies?

[vangator 115]

I use a push cart from Nov to April (winter) because the rates in Florida go up in the winter. It is not as hot. I never carry my bag because I think it weighs several hundred pounds. From May to October I ride because it is too hot. I get a discount card which makes it just as cheap to ride as it is to walk.

[Chris Stewart 5]

All this positive talk over walking has me thinking about it. I always ride, but since I'm a member at my club I can walk and it wouldn't cost me anything each time out. I wouldn't consider my course very walking friendly though and I'm concerned the added stress would show in my scores, at least for the short term. There are slopes throughout the fairways, forced carries to walk around, and a decent distance between many of the holes. Hmm, I just don't know. Save $10 (per 9) and get exercise, they do sound nice.

[Hammer 4 51]

All this positive talk over walking has me thinking about it. I always ride, but since I'm a member at my club I can walk and it wouldn't cost me anything each time out.

I wouldn't consider my course very walking friendly though and I'm concerned the added stress would show in my scores, at least for the short term. There are slopes throughout the fairways, forced carries to walk around, and a decent distance between many of the holes. Hmm, I just don't know. Save $10 (per 9) and get exercise, they do sound nice.

Give walking a try, if you don't like it, go back to riding...

[Teamanglerx 10]

I use a pushcart 90% of the time.  The only time I ride is if I am on certain courses or it is a best ball / social round.  I have a Clicgear 3.0 which I bought a couple of years ago and I love it.  It has a cooler bag which straps easily on and I also have the gps holder as well.  I like the cart because it holds a lot of stuff and I get good exercise when I play.  More importantly, I have saved a ton of money in cart fees.  My Clicgear paided for itself in a 1/2 a year.

[ajst22 1]

Alright guys, I did order myself the Rovic RV3F last night off of Amazon as in the poll, using a push cart is the majority (though slim). We'll see how much I like it! Should get it Wednesday. Last right I was reading reviews of just about every push cart out there so I think it should be a good choice. I'd like to save my back a little bit.

[Ernest Jones 1,014]

I was using a pull cart for a long time but have walked and carried every round this year. My brother in-laws both have really good quality push carts and they are WAY better than pull carts. I might get one just for the convenience of having a place for your score card, water bottle etc... When I carry I typically don't bother with a scorecard because it's a pain to pull it out of my pocket and dig around for the pencil. Easy enough to keep score in your head when it's your home course, a little trickier to keep track on an "away" course though.

[cape cod beachfront golfer 2]

We have a regular group of golfers at my course that 'buy' a cart for the back nine. Course shuttles the cart out to the tenth tee. They just fold up their push cart and strap it on the back next to their bag. Perfect combination of walking and riding.

[DwightC 9]

I use a three wheel push cart that folds down very compactly and easily fits in the trunk of a sports sedan.  Got it when I turned 55.  I prefer walking, though I haven't taken the pledge, or anything like that.  And when I walk, I use the cart.

[mailman 26]

I have a ush cart and also carry my gear at times. Mostly I use the push cart but I do find that sometimes if I just want to go play a few holes then it's just less hassle to carry my bag :) Played the Gog Magog course last year in Cambridgeshire and the other two I was with were carrying because they didn't think push carts would be suitable for the courses hills. Well by the end of the day I was literally carry both of them as they had run out if puff :) Regards Mailman

[vangator 115]

I play better golf when I walk. I get to think about the shot as I'm walking.

[Roblar 23]

Pushcart -- ClicGear 3.0.Carrying a bag isn't bad, but I like being able to load up my bag with all sorts of extra crap (rain gear, water, extra balls, sunscreen, etc.). If I were carrying, that would be a pain. Pushing? No problem.

[Pretzel 607]

I usually carry my bag because, surprisingly enough, they acually ban pushcarts in a lot of junior tournaments for boys. Even if they didn't, I've seen people outright laughed at for using one. That said, whenever I'm just practicing and walking I'll use a pushcart if it happens to be convenient.