At what age did you stop carrying?

[Steele47]

55.   Been carrying since 1975.   Tried a pushcart a few years back for a few rounds then sold it.  

[Chief Penguin]

Yesterday I used a pushcart for the first time (at 33) and I think I’m officially done carrying.  Love it.

[golfunderpar18]

I’m 50 and still carry the majority of the time.   Use a clicgear once in a while ,

[llamont]

I stopped (primarily) carrying at around 35.  I’m 39 now.  Everyone in my regular foursome uses push carts when they walk. Initially I avoided the notion of using a push cart like the plague because I just didn’t feel like I needed to. Then I broke down and bought a 3-wheeled CaddyTek. After one round with it I was hooked on it. It really does help in conserving energy.  I’ve used a BagBoy Quad XL for the last 3 years and it’s the sauce.  I still like to carry on occasion. When I carry I use the setup below:

 

 

Edited November 8, 2020 by llamont

[WillyL]

51, and still carrying. Love the walk. I seem to play better when walking. 

[Mcgeeno]

Bandon Dunes trip 2014.

 

I was early 30s. All my playing partners brought their carts. I walked 36 holes a day. It beat me up hard. 

 

I think I walked 20+ KMs per day for 5 straight days, packing rain gear, beers, extra balls, socks etc all day.

 

Got back home, went to costco and bought their cheap Caddytek 4 wheeler.

 

My back has thanked me ever since.

[Gsea]

https://onpar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/a-little-scientific-research-for-all-those-19th-hole-debates/

[AUDuffer]

11 hours ago, Gsea said:

https://onpar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/a-little-scientific-research-for-all-those-19th-hole-debates/

turned 45 about a month ago and still carry

[Jack Pearsall]

As he gets much older, he still carries. But as the cold comes he’ll dump the 3 wood, 6 iron. 12 is plenty.

[goheels11]

11 minutes ago, Jack Pearsall said:

As he gets much older, he still carries. But as the cold comes he’ll dump the 3 wood, 6 iron. 12 is plenty.

3rd person? 

[lchang]

Bought the pushcart at 46 years old.  WIsh I'd done it 10 years earlier.

Edited November 17, 2020 by lchang

[dlygrisse]

On 4/25/2020 at 7:59 PM, Socrates said:

Age 30. Diagnosed with bi-lateral Spondylolisthesis of the L4-L5. Told to never carry again. Likely carried only half a dozen times since then (9 hole rounds).

I have some of the same issues.  Walking is good for my stiff/painful back, carrying heavy objects is not.  I walk every morning, with my dog and a friend, when I play golf I usually ride, but will occasionally carry a partial set when I play a par 3 course.  I quit carrying in my mid 30’s. 

[Socrates]

2 hours ago, dlygrisse said:

I have some of the same issues.  Walking is good for my stiff/painful back, carrying heavy objects is not.  I walk every morning, with my dog and a friend, when I play golf I usually ride, but will occasionally carry a partial set when I play a par 3 course.  I quit carrying in my mid 30’s. 

Slow walking (aka shopping with the wife) is a killer.  Same with rounds that are on a pace for 4+ hrs.  Even sitting down for a couple of minutes is a great help.  A couple of stretches and I'm good to go.

[moncou]

29y and my left knee would swell like clockwork on the 15th hole. Tried a friend's push cart and never looked back. Between back and knee problems walking is better than riding but that sun mountain micro cart kept me on the course. 

[jmudo]

OP how’s the push cart working?

 

I prefer to carry but I do have a push cart I use at times, especially when I was carrying a gallon of water this last summer (no water jugs due to covid). My legs get tired carrying but my back tightens up pushing. 

[dtm6582]

I'm 38.  Started playing at 11, carried all through HS.  Didn't play in college.

 

My Clicgear is the nifty white model which matched a popular TM driver at the time..so must be 6-7 years old now (yeah, I'm being optimistic, lol).

 

Bad lower back and bad left shoulder.  Back was an injury from moving furniture.  The shoulder I'm pretty sure is a golf related issue.

 

If I didn't have that Clicgear I probably wouldn't play.  I can walk 9 and be okay, but more than that and it's not great.  Hard to book a 9 hole tee time around here anyway.  Push carts are amazing.  And I'll confess...I also have an older model Kangaroo powered cart that I just bought to give that world a try.  On really hilly courses, that thing is amazing.  On flatter courses..not really worth it imo.

 

Oh and just as I was about to post I glanced up.  I'm in Phoenix.  I'm always carrying 30+ oz. of water.  During the summer I might have a gallon of water in my bag.  Doesn't even phase me with the cart.  Would be a serious issue if I was trying to carry.  And fatigue...I'll walk with temps up to about 103.  But it kicks my butt.  Fatigue is a real issue.  Carts help.

[i*windows]

I'm 50 and always carry unless it's raining when I normally push. We play a lot of hilly courses and it's easier to carry than drag a cart about.

[Golf10]

I'm in my fourth decade on this planet and still love to carry.  That being said without water on the course this year I broke down and bought a push cart.  It's too dang hot and sunny here to carry all that water.

[ND2005]

On 11/9/2020 at 8:19 AM, Gsea said:

https://onpar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/a-little-scientific-research-for-all-those-19th-hole-debates/

 

To summarize: 

-Essentially no difference exercise-wise between push cart and carrying your clubs (3 calories difference over 9 holes)

-Better performance when using push cart (or a caddie) than carrying your clubs (avg 5 strokes/9 holes across 8 golfers tested)

[brew4eagle]

7 minutes ago, ND2005 said:

 

To summarize: 

-Essentially no difference exercise-wise between push cart and carrying your clubs (3 calories difference over 9 holes)

-Better performance when using push cart (or a caddie) than carrying your clubs (avg 5 strokes/9 holes across 8 golfers tested)

If the result really was "avg 5 strokes/9 holes" then the study doesn't have much credibility in my eyes.  

[MikeW2]

I had to go to a push cart this year. I’m 50 but really miss carrying my bag. It was getting more difficult for a variety of reasons...out of shape, old knee injuries, and a back issue. Final straw was a shoulder injury and I couldn’t take the weight on it. I like not feeling so drained after playing but for some reason I find the pushcart irritating.

[ND2005]

2 hours ago, brew4eagle said:

If the result really was "avg 5 strokes/9 holes" then the study doesn't have much credibility in my eyes.  

They had 8 golfers play 9 holes four ways: push cart, carry, caddie, ride 

 
I believe the calorie data as that was objectively measured and would be relatively constant between rounds, so should be accurate even with a small sample. 
 
for the stroke data there’s too much variance to put much faith in. You’d need a much larger sample to hold that up. Also heavily dependent on fitness level, skill, etc. 

 

 

[brew4eagle]

4 hours ago, ND2005 said:

They had 8 golfers play 9 holes four ways: push cart, carry, caddie, ride 

 
I believe the calorie data as that was objectively measured and would be relatively constant between rounds, so should be accurate even with a small sample. 
 
for the stroke data there’s too much variance to put much faith in. You’d need a much larger sample to hold that up. Also heavily dependent on fitness level, skill, etc. 

 

 

Agree

[Honixx]

Stopped carrying as soon as I could afford to take carts. Lazy? Yes, very!

[Moonlightgrm]

Forty

 

I joined an exclusive country club when I turned forty. The club has a cart program and very few members walk during the week and no one walks on the weekends. Twenty-three years later, I’m still riding. The last round that I walked was two years ago at a friend’s club where we used caddies. 

[goheels11]

14 hours ago, Honixx said:

Edited November 28, 2020 by goheels11

[Drewmun]

On 11/27/2020 at 5:06 PM, Honixx said:

Stopped carrying as soon as I could afford to take carts. Lazy? Yes, very!

Lazy? Yes. 
Honest? Yes. 
well said. 

[MPAndreassi]

There’s no shame in using a push cart. I used one this whole season and walked 99% of my rounds. Occasionally I get the itch to carry, so I do, and then I’m quickly reminded of how much I like the push cart. The motorized carts are getting pretty popular at my club, and I have two friends who have them. I’m leaning to that route in the next year or two. 

[golfday]

I’ll carry as long as I can and if I start having issues I plan to increase exercise so that I can continue carrying. I feel like if I stop doing something when it gets hard I’ll progressively fall behind and will be in bad shape and not as mobile as I want to be as I age. Carrying my bag is a barometer of that.

 

However, I basically never play more than two days in a row or more than 18 in a day. If I were going to Bandon and walking all week I’d rent a push cart. 
 

I also completely get that physical issues can prevent you from carrying. Using a pusher to save your bad back or knee is a heck of a better option than riding.

[xetremex]

44 here.  I typically use a Sun Mountain or Click Gear cart now when walking as it's just easier and more comfortable not having to lug a bag, even with backpack straps.  It's still exercise walking and keeps my body moving rather than sitting in a golf cart.