Carts more popular than walking nowadays...used to be the other way 'round.

[RoyalMustang]

Today I was paying for my round and the guy behind the register handed me a cart key and said "sorry, habit-nobody walks". It got me thinking.  I don't think this is entirely accurate, as I usually walk, and the last 4 people I have played 18 with both walked, but he is mostly right.  Growing up in the late 80s and playing a lot of golf, most of the older people I knew at the course preferred to walk: they wouldn't take a cart if it were free as they considered walking part of the golfing experience and part of what they enjoyed about the sport.  A few people used carts but it was typically confined to older, less mobile people, or the Friday-Night Fights scramble guys that were lugging around cases of beer.  75 degrees and a perfect fall day; we don't get too many of those.  The guys I normall play with probably wouldn't play if they couldn't have a cart: never mind that they are late 20s and were all college athletes.  

 

When did perceptions change?  It could be a fitness thing (people tend to be much more overweight these days and may not be physically capable of walking 7-8 miles), but there is more to it than that.   We can all see that people don't look like they used to (image from the Pebble Beach Shell wide world of golf below-the crowd is walking 18 along with the players).

 

Thoughts? 

 

 

 

 

[Roejye]

As with all things, it's probably a confluence of multiple factors. People prefer convenience, maybe people are trying to fit in a round and having a cart makes it easier to get more holes in. Who knows exactly.

 

Me personally, I don't take a cart I've even booked tee times at my home course where the cart was included in the price, but I've declined the cart. Walking the course is my main source of exercise. And to be completely honest, I can't bear to open the wallet to pay for the cart lol. Luckily all of the courses I've played have been walkable.

[Soloman1]

Golf carts = $

[LeoLeo99]

My local course is only 5000 yards and flat as flat can be.  And the holes are right next to each other.  People ride.  A lot of people.  It's like just equate golf with riding.  Lots of fit looking people too in the carts.  I'm lucky my friends all walk.  Some for fitness.  Some for budget reasons.  I walk for budget, fitness, and I like to have my bag with me when it comes to club selection on chips around the green.  

[david.c.w]

in the US riding is sort of the "default" method vs walking.  A lot of it is US course design.  Any golf course built around a housing development (and there are a lot of them) likely has at least 100 yards between holes, probably more.  It just ends of being not very fun.   After you play so many courses like that you just get used to grabbing a cart.   And if you have read any of the other threads here, golf in the US is turning very casual:  music, beer, 5 man Wolf, etc.  This is of course not everywhere, but a lot of places.  I am not saying I like it or hate it, but it is the reality. 

. 

At my course I usually ride all summer, 50/50 spring and fall, and 75/25 in the winter.  Total walk is about 7.5 miles.  Atlanta is too hot and has too much elevation change for summer.  Walking up our 9th hole I look like I just got out of a pool.  I might walk the back 9 in the summer, but that is it.  I am overweight but exercise 4-5 times per week and play tennis twice a week as well.  Fitness is not the issue, it is the heat/humidity (for me).

 

When I lived in Oregon i played a course all the time was was flat, short, and cheap.  Adding a cart was like 40% of the greens fee.  I was also young and broke so it was both an easy walk and saved me some $$$. 

 

 

 

 

[RoyalMustang]

12 minutes ago, david.c.w said:

in the US riding is sort of the "default" method vs walking.  A lot of it is US course design.  Any golf course built around a housing development (and there are a lot of them) likely has at least 100 yards between holes, probably more.  It just ends of being not very fun.   After you play so many courses like that you just get used to grabbing a cart.   And if you have read any of the other threads here, golf in the US is turning very casual:  music, beer, 5 man Wolf, etc.  This is of course not everywhere, but a lot of places.  I am not saying I like it or hate it, but it is the reality. 

. 

At my course I usually ride all summer, 50/50 spring and fall, and 75/25 in the winter.  Total walk is about 7.5 miles.  Atlanta is too hot and has too much elevation change for summer.  Walking up our 9th hole I look like I just got out of a pool.  I might walk the back 9 in the summer, but that is it.  I am overweight but exercise 4-5 times per week and play tennis twice a week as well.  Fitness is not the issue, it is the heat/humidity (for me).

 

When I lived in Oregon i played a course all the time was was flat, short, and cheap.  Adding a cart was like 40% of the greens fee.  I was also young and broke so it was both an easy walk and saved me some $$$. 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, there is something to be said for regional differences.  Weather-humidity can play a big role. Golf season is pretty nice in Oregon.  I recently got back from Tahoe and played a few rounds there: almost everyone walked.  I can't blame them though; it is gorgeous outside! 

[lefthack]

I had asked about this when I first joined. I love power carts and have only just recently played a few with a pull cart because my local course only has about 3 that run. 🤣

 

I am not yet 50, of good health and am fit. I golf because I enjoy the math, not for exercise. A power cart allows me to play more golf faster. For me it vastly improves the rate of play.

 

<edit> my local is $13 for 9 holes +$6 for a power cart.

Edited November 9, 2020 by lefthack
Added costs

[JimmyC59]

I'm 60 yo and carry.

I see guys in their twenties drive the cart to the parking lot to get their bag.

Unbelievable.

[MtlJeff]

At my club and in general in Montreal i would say FAR more people walk than ride. 

 

I'm 39, i walk and carry my bag and have for the past decade. 

[VNutz]

For the same reason I see people with motorized bikes along my bike path, it's easier. For a while I worked with a guy that lived 5 blocks from work yet he drove every day, even bought a brand new car when the previous one was acting up. In every avenue of life people look for an easier way to do things, be it right or wrong. In golf, it certainly makes the game feel more leisurely, and in some respects fun, to fly around the course in a cart. I remember as a kid the most fun times I had playing were when my dad let me drive, that doesn't necessarily change as you age. Add into it things that weren't prevalent during the era in question, music, beverage carts, social media videos, and there's more reason to drive than before. And I say this as one who rode only twice this year. I think it takes some time to develop an appreciation for the simplicity of walking and carrying.

[Gsea]

Work at a course nothing but lazy a** etc taking carts and its 90 plus percent. From 18 to older than dirt, skinny to blimps all ride.

[Dr. Block]

I routinely see young high school age kids riding at my club, by themselves and when playing together (no adults). It boggles my mind.  When I was a young blood, the only time you got in a golf cart was when it was with your Dad or Grandpa. You walked, always, and you did not use a push-cart, not unless you wanted to be laughed at. 

 

I jokingly call these kids soft every chance I get, sometimes I wonder if they know that I'm really not kidding, and that they are startlingly soft. The idea of a man's man is only going to exist in Charles Bronson movies in another decade. 

Edited November 9, 2020 by Dr. Block

[PureDivots]

Carts= Speed. 

[Springsteennut]

For some of us carts are a godsend. When health takes the ability to walk 18 away you can still play with your walking friends.

[@_the_crook]

health permitting, I don't know why golf is considered a riding game by so many.

we see quite a few players racing thru the course, setting speed records.

please allow us to walk our round in three and a half, thank you.

we really enjoy the time together.

 

 

[jdl]

I've had people tell me getting to drive those carts is part of the reason they play golf. Whatever floats your boat, I guess. 

[golfandfishing]

“Nowadays”?  I’ve been in the game since about 1990, carts used in easily 90% of the rounds played. When I was in high school and college I walked nearly every round, took a cart maybe 3 or 4 times per year, since then I’ve walked very rarely.  But there is nothing “nowadays” about carts, been the norm for decades. 

[FakeClubPro]

4 hours ago, JimmyC59 said:

I'm 60 yo and carry.

I see guys in their twenties drive the cart to the parking lot to get their bag.

Unbelievable.

 

I am for walking with hand carts but i can see why people prefer golf carts to speed up play.  People carry their own clubs?  My old local muni would get them sometimes.   I remember 50ish guys, about my age then, carrying their clubs.   I found it to be awful. 

 

After about 5 holes, the guy was tired.  I was behind him with a push cart.  He had a stand bag and one of those carry slings.   Has to load and unload the sling.  It was a total waste of time and held everyone up.  If it is a guy with a light bag, not a full set of clubs and they are fit - it can work.  If not - it becomes a 4 hour round of golf.

[JimmyC59]

6 minutes ago, FakeClubPro said:

 

I am for walking with hand carts but i can see why people prefer golf carts to speed up play.  People carry their own clubs?  My old local muni would get them sometimes.   I remember 50ish guys, about my age then, carrying their clubs.   I found it to be awful. 

 

After about 5 holes, the guy was tired.  I was behind him with a push cart.  He had a stand bag and one of those carry slings.   Has to load and unload the sling.  It was a total waste of time and held everyone up.  If it is a guy with a light bag, not a full set of clubs and they are fit - it can work.  If not - it becomes a 4 hour round of golf.

I play nine holes, by myself, in 70 minutes.

I play eighteen, in a foursome, I'm the only walker, in 3:30. If we're not being held up.

[pktaske]

Time

I can do 18 holes in 2 hours in a cart...and that's not rushing.

 

Social

When I play with folks I know, its usually people I only see when we are golfing. Having ongoing and engaged conversation with these folks is as important to me as the game.

 

Finding Balls

I can find balls so much easier its not funny.

 

Hot Weather

As said before, 95 degrees and humid sucks. I'm not an early morning golfer so the sun is usually at its apex when im out there.

 

I get people like to walk. I just don't get them attacking the folks that ride.

[miamistomp]

 There are a lot of courses here in Florida where walking is not permitted

   I do not play those

[goaliedad30]

I grew up walking and at age 57, I still love to carry and walk. I play best that way, in general. That said, I own a golf cart too! Here are some of the factors that come into play for me on the "walk vs. ride" choice:

• Where am I playing? Is the course walkable?
  Many courses just plain aren't. The club we belong to has major hills between several greens and tees; pre-COVID, we'd have employees with carts to shuttle us up. Now, you have to walk. We're talking 300-500 feet of elevation gain, 3 times. Similarly, many courses built in real estate developments have huge hikes from green to tee, making them virtually unwalkable.
• Am I playing with my wife (my favorite golf partner!)?
  She likes to walk, but really struggles if she has to carry. By about the 14th hole, she's just too beat, and the game isn't fun anymore for her.
• What's the pace of play?
  Oddly enough, if it's super slow, I love to walk. It allows me to slow down my normally quick pace, and I generally play better.
• What is the rest of the group doing?
  If I am the only walker, I usually get frustrated. If I'm the only rider, I walk 🙂

There are a couple of super walker-friendly courses near me. I often plan a day there on the Mondays when our club is closed.

[chippa13]

1 hour ago, FakeClubPro said:

 

I am for walking with hand carts but i can see why people prefer golf carts to speed up play.  People carry their own clubs?  My old local muni would get them sometimes.   I remember 50ish guys, about my age then, carrying their clubs.   I found it to be awful. 

 

After about 5 holes, the guy was tired.  I was behind him with a push cart.  He had a stand bag and one of those carry slings.   Has to load and unload the sling.  It was a total waste of time and held everyone up.  If it is a guy with a light bag, not a full set of clubs and they are fit - it can work.  If not - it becomes a 4 hour round of golf.

This post sounds like one of those infomercials where they make the simplest human task look impossible. I carried my bag when I walked for years and it takes no time to get tgat tging up and get going. The push cart makes it easier on my back but I'll carry on colder days to get a little warmer.

[grm24]

2 hours ago, golfandfishing said:

“Nowadays”?  I’ve been in the game since about 1990, carts used in easily 90% of the rounds played. When I was in high school and college I walked nearly every round, took a cart maybe 3 or 4 times per year, since then I’ve walked very rarely.  But there is nothing “nowadays” about carts, been the norm for decades. 

Exactly. If people are just noticing how many people ride they haven't been paying attention to it for a long time.

[Divot License]

It's a little different in the UK as carts are still very much a rarity on the course overall and the vast majority of people still walk. 

 

However a friend and I were discussing the mass influx of motor trolleys over the past 10 years. When I was growing up and getting into golf as a teen (90's) everyone walked and carried their bags, only the old players use a pull trolley and it was seen to be "uncool" to not carry your bag. 

Now everyone seems to have an electric motor trolley and in larger junior competitions it is against the rules for kids to carry a bag. I still carry and often get asked why I don't use a trolley, my response is usually I don't see or feel a need. The usual response is "but it's so much easier, you don't have to carry your bag and you can keep everything in it". 

 

Firstly, I use golf as one form of exercise and carrying my bag just adds to that.

Second, I enjoy the freedom on the course afforded to me by carrying, in winter especially trolleys are confined to the edge of fairways and kept away from green areas. 

Thirdly, I look at many peoples bags and they are splitting at the seams with stuff, I don't understand why they have so much in it or even what they have in it. Before i play I check the weather, decided what amount of clothing etc is required and pack the bag accordingly. I seems many of they people just finish the round, throw the bag in the car and leave it there until next time. It's a mentally of "i'll have everything with me, just in case."  

[caniac6]

With the pandemic, a lot more people are walking. I don’t know if it has changed, but it was nearly impossible to find a push cart to buy. 

[Sean2]

I walk 99% of my rounds, it's one of the ways I enjoy the game. And, being 65 it's good exercise for me. I am sure if I lived in the south, where the heat index can easily get above 100º in the summer, I would ride more often. 

[soregongolfer]

Despite living under 2 hours away from Bandon Dunes, my golf partner has never played there and never will.  Why?  No carts.  He absolutely will not play without a cart.  Not even 9 holes.  

[dlygrisse]

Revenue for the course

Most modern courses are not walkable by design

Many people go to the gym to workout, they go to the course to play golf

People like to take it easy, view golf as relaxation, they also like to party a bit while they play, drinks music etc. 

A few people have health concerns 

Yes, some people are lazy and would never play if they had to walk. 
 

When you add it all up a culture of riding has been created,and many people don’t even view golf as a walking sport. 

 

[pktaske]

I notice that the slowest of the slow are all the newbie golfers who decide to walk. No cart+no working knowledge of course mechanics. Recipie for 5+ hour rounds. Hopefully they learn quickly.

 

Edited November 10, 2020 by pktaske