The "Golf Board" - What are your thoughts?

[Mark Fedeli]

I just don't understand why golf is not promoted as healthy exercise instead of an excuse to ride some fun contraption over hill and dale.

Sadly, I don't think most able-bodied people who ride a cart are interested in golf as a form of real exercise.


On a similar note, I wish just one equipment company would separate itself by portraying golf as a rugged and imperfect natural adventure and less like the pristine, long drive laboratory they typically position it as. More important than just attracting a younger age group is attracting a different type of person, one who may currently see golf as stodgy, corporate, lame, and an environmental nightmare.

[Garland Bayley]

My friends are in great shape. Cart riding is the last thing that will kill them. One of them took up cross training this summer. Best thing that ever happened to me. Nothing like a money game with a 50 yr old just out of a cross fit class.

And when they find their other fitness routines to be something they can lay by the wayside, their habit of riding golf will catch up with them.


If you friend are in great shape, and most rounds are in reasonable weather, then they are just suffering some other social malady to continue to ride.

[Jeff Fortson]

Seeing a lot of interesting comments that seem to poo-poo Golf Boards coupled with comments suggesting that anything short of walking should be done away with.  That's great in theory, but complete insanity in practice.  We are dealing with an aged/aging avid base and suggesting to a course operator to do away with motorized transportation is like telling McDonalds to do away with fries because they are "unhealty".  There is no way to get around the fact that motorized transportation on golf courses is an expectation of most golfers in this country.  Whether that's good or bad is irrelevant, it's a major tool in ensuring that courses can continue to operate while we figure out how to increase the participation level of millenials and the generation after them.  Golf Boards may not work at every facility, but as a small example... I just checked in three 20-somethings that are playing 36 holes for rack rate at my course today based on the fact that we offer Golf Boards. 

[Garland Bayley]

...  But if you want the real reason why golf isn't popular for the 21-35 crowd, look in the mirror. We're not the most inclusive bunch.

There are plenty of places where they can and do play where our so called lack of inclusiveness has no effect. Get yourself over to Spanaway Lake and meet some of them.

[jeffwarne]

You may find that millennials (of which I may be one) fancy an occasional round of golf because it allows them to use a golf board, which they may find fun.  That doesn't mean that they actually want to play golf.  I don't view them any differently than my borrowing my dad's powakaddy.

Exactly,
Millennials (or anyone else we deem attractive to target )may want to try a golf board.
they may well become boarders, but there are probably way more fun places to ride one than a golf course where you actually have to be somewhat skilled at the game to enjoy it-that's the 800 pound elephant in the room.If you suck you have to get on and off quite often


If you're not a golfer, a board won't change that.
It would be nice if we would just sell golf as well-golf.
It has many, many attarctive features that need to be stressed rather than changing how we play (large holes) or how we get around (golfboard, gyros)


I've ridden a golfboard.
They will work fine on a  flattish-medium grade.
a hilly or steep grade is a real problem, especially for those less experienced.


and from my experience, they do indeed leave a trail on a bent grass fairway.
Is it damage? don't know but it's definitely a mark that like cart and even foot traffic wil eventually cause damage.


It wouldn't work at our place due to terrain and the fact that the people who now take carts are not athletic enough to control and safely enjoy a golfboard.


Not against them per se, just think it's a misguided way to attempt to grow the game.

Just think how high the board insurance would be with you at thee Goat.  U prob couldn't finish a round w out flipping one

Given that we flip 2-3 carts a year on average there, that's probably about right...

[BHoover]

Personally, I think these things look goofy. But the more I think about it, why should I care whether someone wants to walk or ride, whether in a traditional cart (I refuse to use the word "buggy") or a GolfBoard. If I'm playing, my preference is to walk and carry because I need the exercise, I enjoy walking, and I'm too cheap to take a caddie. But it makes no difference to me, and I won't lose any sleep, if someone wants to ride. End of story.

[Jon Wiggett]

I think some of you missed my point about millennials. It's not about the board. It's about having an bunch of old white guys directing your leisure time.

That just about rules out every sport then Ben  Having said that, were you assumption true then this would have always been a problem for that age group which it wasn't.

Jon

[Sean_A]

Personally, I think these things look goofy. But the more I think about it, why should I care whether someone wants to walk or ride, whether in a traditional cart (I refuse to use the word "buggy") or a GolfBoard. If I'm playing, my preference is to walk and carry because I need the exercise, I enjoy walking, and I'm too cheap to take a caddie. But it makes no difference to me, and I won't lose any sleep, if someone wants to ride. End of story.

Well no, I don't care if people ride....but then came the riding path...I do care about that. And then came the idea if people are riding, we can take them anywhere...I do care about that. Its not the riding that is the problem, its allowances for riding and the courses created based on riding. We have a few generations of gca which have produced significant numbers of courses designed around riding. Low and behold, we now find ourselves with a saturated market...no wonder.


Ciao

[Dan Kelly]

...why should I care...

I'm not sure that you should ... but:


All of us should care what golf *is* and what golf is *perceived* to be -- just on general principles, and because if golf's image suffers, so will the game, sooner or later.


Every one of us will have a different definition of "suffers." Every one of us will have a different idea of the image we want.


The image I want for golf is: outdoors; exercise; camaraderie; competition; challenge; fun; welcome to all.


I think the golf cart diminishes that image. It takes away most of the exercise; it can undermine the camaraderie; it makes the round more expensive. But I understand that it's essential to the health of large swaths of U.S. golf courses, and near-essential to play many golf courses that wouldn't otherwise exist -- so I accept it, even as I rarely use it.


To my eyes, the golf board looks, as you say, goofy -- as goofy as, say, Doug Sanders' clothes. I think that those pastel nightmares, which many golfers emulated, made it easy for non-golfers to mock golfers. The golf board, I think, will do the same.


Call me stodgy; I am.


But, of course, to each, his (or, of course, her) own -- including his or her own views.

[BHoover]

Dan, all I can do is try in my own way to uphold what I think is the game of golf. I believe I do that. But I also don't believe it's my place to tell anyone else how he/she should or should not play the game.

[Sean_A]

Brian

I agree with you.  No way I am getting in anyone's face over this issue.  I just avoid contact and play the places which appeal to me.  Its a shame for the game to be divisive this way, but nothing is perfect. 

I did play a cartball course (very rare for me) recently and thought the holes were actually good.  Even so I wouldn't choose that place to play very often.  On the same trip I encountered music in carts...now that was weird.  Not too bad though cuz the course sucked anyway.  The only problem was being swamped by cheesy country music....the sort that is incredibly popular in the US   

Ciao

[Dan Kelly]

Dan, all I can do is try in my own way to uphold what I think is the game of golf. I believe I do that. But I also don't believe it's my place to tell anyone else how he/she should or should not play the game.

Brian --


As I said, to each his own views!


You obviously have a perfect right not to tell anyone how he or she should or should not play golf. As do I -- and I will emphasize this, because it requires emphasis: I am NOT telling anyone how he or she should or should not play golf. I am only expressing my view that the golf board, if "successful," will diminish the image of golf that I want. And that I care about that image.


Of course you uphold your own view of golf. And it's a fine view of golf. And you do it well, sir. I've seen that on numerous occasions with my own aging eyes.

You asked (rhetorically, I'll grant you) why you should care. I was merely trying to make a case for why anyone (such as you; such as I) might, in fact, care about everything that happens in our game -- whether it affects us immediately and directly or not at all ever.


(I'm suddenly reminded of various "social issues" in our national political life -- none of which affect me immediately and directly, but all of which I have views about.)


The golf board will "succeed" or "fail" regardless of what we say here. Which is no reason not to have our say.


We've both had ours!


Dan

[Jeff Fortson]

I have a friend that "hates mushrooms".  I asked, "Why?  How were they prepared?"  He replied, "I've never even eaten one.  They just disgust me."  Sounds kind of like this thread.

[MCirba]

Let's take this a step further into the future.   

Who is in favor of jet packs, perhaps permitting us to traverse the (by then) average 400 yard drive in about 7-8 seconds?   Of course, at those speeds helmets with bug-shields are necessary and more time is taken retrieving one's next club from side-cars and taking on/putting off our helmets than actually time spent moving from shot to shot.   Distance/Wind Direction/Clubbing Suggestions based on prior knowledge/aim points would already be automatically calculated (and digitally displayed in a running commentary inside the helmet as well as optional auditory psychological tips at a few more $$) by the time you arrive at your ball, which is easy to find due to a chip inside determining location and guiding our jet packs.   

[jeffwarne]

Let's take this a step further into the future.   

Who is in favor of jet packs, perhaps permitting us to traverse the (by then) average 400 yard drive in about 7-8 seconds?   Of course, at those speeds helmets with bug-shields are necessary and more time is taken retrieving one's next club from side-cars and taking on/putting off our helmets than actually time spent moving from shot to shot.   Distance/Wind Direction/Clubbing Suggestions based on prior knowledge/aim points would already be automatically calculated (and digitally displayed in a running commentary inside the helmet as well as optional auditory psychological tips at a few more $$) by the time you arrive at your ball, which is easy to find due to a chip inside determining location and guiding our jet packs.

No problem,
because you will have absorbed your Gears/Trackman/Boditrack/foresight/TPI training and will have holed the shot.
Rounds will of course seem slower as you will have to wait until the green clears and for your caddie to run up to tend the pin.

[John Kavanaugh]

Carrying our bags three of us played briskly (3 hrs 20 min) and I walked 5.52 miles on a wet, hilly course.

When this became the measure of a great round we lost the game. Now the guy posting the standard is concerned about progress.

[JC Jones]

Garland, JC, etc...

I'm not opposed to the Golf Board, per se. Just as I'm not opposed to carts. This is not about my opposition to new fangled things or trying to stick to the "old ways." The golf board looks like a fun ride. I'd like to give it a try... just not for a round of golf.

I just don't understand why golf is not promoted as healthy exercise instead of an excuse to ride some fun contraption over hill and dale. There is a health aspect to golf that is never promoted, that I can see. And, you don't have to carry your bag to achieve the benefits... and using a trolley (manual or motorized) isn't an issue. Just getting off your butt and getting a three or four hour walk provides a fabulous health benefit.

There is a health angle that, if promoted, could position golf in a different light and attract more people who are seriously interested in their physical well being... at ANY age, JC! 

You're too good.  I'll never trap you.

[Dan Kelly]

I have a friend that "hates mushrooms".  I asked, "Why?  How were they prepared?"  He replied, "I've never even eaten one.  They just disgust me."  Sounds kind of like this thread.

Nonsense.


I absolutely do not need to rent or buy a golf board to know that they're not what I want, so long as I'm capable of walking.

[Steve Lapper]

I'm curious if anyone knows how the Golf Boards are being received at upper-end clubs.  If I pull up to Merion [or any other caddie-only club] with a Golf Board, I assume they won't let me use it.  How about somewhere like Pebble Beach or Bandon?

  Tom,


  As you know your's is a misleading question. Upper-end clubs don't need to embrace change swiftly and rarely, if ever, do. Higher-end publics might experiment with a small fleet (and perhaps charge a premium over carts), but wholesale adoption isn't likely to happen anytime soon. I think some single-owner clubs that don't have many rules might be the first to use them in bulk. I could see a place like Scottsdale National or the like giving them a go.

[Tom_Doak]

Let's take this a step further into the future.   

Who is in favor of jet packs

Mike:


When we were building Cape Kidnappers I often lamented that we couldn't build a course you could get around with jet packs [or zip lines].  If we could have, the course would be 100% more dramatic than it already is.  There is a bunch of great land hanging down at lower elevations, the perfect size for a green site or a tee, except you can't get to it without a bunch of 400 foot bridges across oblivion.

[Mike_Young]

I'm curious if anyone knows how the Golf Boards are being received at upper-end clubs.  If I pull up to Merion [or any other caddie-only club] with a Golf Board, I assume they won't let me use it.  How about somewhere like Pebble Beach or Bandon?

  Tom,


  As you know your's is a misleading question. Upper-end clubs don't need to embrace change swiftly and rarely, if ever, do. Higher-end publics might experiment with a small fleet (and perhaps charge a premium over carts), but wholesale adoption isn't likely to happen anytime soon. I think some single-owner clubs that don't have many rules might be the first to use them in bulk. I could see a place like Scottsdale National or the like giving them a go.

Steve,
I'm not sure anyone would allow it unless they rented it to you.  These things are going to have serious insurance issues.  JMO...

[MCirba]

Let's take this a step further into the future.   

Who is in favor of jet packs

Mike:


When we were building Cape Kidnappers I often lamented that we couldn't build a course you could get around with jet packs [or zip lines].  If we could have, the course would be 100% more dramatic than it already is.  There is a bunch of great land hanging down at lower elevations, the perfect size for a green site or a tee, except you can't get to it without a bunch of 400 foot bridges across oblivion.

Tom,

You may be right and future golf navigation technologies may present us with opportunities to design exciting courses that aren't practical today.

However, as much as we might be somewhat unlimited in what we can conceive and build on the navigational front, it might be somewhat sobering when we consider that the basic essence of the actual playing of the game is still governed by the more rigid laws of physics and maintenance practicalities. 

[John Kirk]

I understand most people's initial bias here against them.  But I suggest you ride one first before discounting them.  Whether we like it or not, golf carts have become integral to most golf operations in the United States.  It's become "the norm" and generally an expectation for most golfers in the states.  The Golf Board provides an alternative that I feel is immensely more enjoyable, speeds up play (unless you're waiting on golfers in front of you), and a more physical experience to a traditional golf cart.  I think they can help draw a younger demographic to a facility, which has been proven to be the case where I work.  I hope the future holds a blend of traditional golf carts and Golf Board types of transportation at most facilities alongside traditional walking and pull/push carts/trolleys.

As for traffic around greens and tees, our superintendent has seen zero impact beyond that of a push cart from Golf Board traffic.

Hi Jeff,

I understand how you feel about this, and my comments are not intended to discourage others the joy of riding a GolfBoard.

But I'm not going to try one, even though it might be fun.

Professional players are required to walk the course.  I don't think amateur players are required to, but I don't know that for a fact.

This is a rich subject for discussion; there exists a systemic problem with the modern golf business.  The fact that carts are considered useful, and even mandatory, for many golf facilities suggests that the game and its courses require too much energy for operation.  Green to tee walks are too long, and courses are too hilly.  This will be a problem moving forward.  Diminishing energy resources will render many courses unfeasible.  Fewer people will be able to afford the expense, and energy usage of this type will become unpopular.

That's really why I find gadgets like the GolfBoard kind of offensive.  They are an improvement over golf carts, since they weigh less and should require less energy.  But instead of walking to stay in shape, Americans burn fuel to have motors move them around in order to play a game. But that's the way of this very privileged world we live in.   

[Steve Lang]

   Mike W.  My thoughts...


hmmm...


... PGA merchandise, 2016 new feature added is a cooler...  what could go wrong?
... I don't argue with the Fortsonator!
... I'm now interested in looking back at all the past "top buzz" merchandise from the PGA shows, where are they now?
... never liked falling off my skateboard and that made me a better skateboarder for nearly a whole summer, until that one last fall suffered, still remember that flying wipeout!
... I'd probably try it, on grass.

[Duncan Cheslett]

http://www.golfclubmanagement.net/2016/01/regular-golf-is-the-best-way-to-keep-your-weight-down-according-to-new-research/