If you are a dedicated walker...

[Brian Hilko]

Greywalls. I feel if your walking Greywalls your just walking for the sake of bragging rights. I walked it just to prove a point to some friends. Even though I didnt admit it at the time I felt it was much better in a cart.

[Sean Leary]

No, I'm probably in that category. If it's too hot to walk then it's too hot to play golf by my reckoning, with perhaps extremely rare exceptions. And if the course is too spread out or difficult to walk then it's probably not a course I really care much about playing, once again with extremely rare exceptions possible.

And I have walked some courses that where the difficulty of walking really detracted from the experience...it's always a judgment call whether putting up with brutal terrain and long distances is going to be more or less annoying than putting up with being in a cart.

That said, about once a year I do end up riding in a cart due to social obligations or because I'm in some other situation where not riding would be a big deal and I'd rather avoid causing trouble.  I'm of the opinion that playing golf while hopping on and off a cart is a knack that one must develop by practice and I've never really had the practice so it still seems to put me off my game quite a bit.

I think playing golf afoot and playing in a cart are categorically different experiences. Of a similar magnitude to the difference between doubles and single tennis. It's fundamentally the same activity and uses the same skills but the rhythm, pacing and sense of freedom involved is very different.

A psycho walker (my definition, anyway) would go out of his way try to find an unwalkable course and walk it. A psycho walker would not care about the social obligations you mentioned and walk anyway to the detriment of his group.

I think there is usually a way even on the biggest cartball courses out there for people who REALLY like to walk to technically take a cart and walk 90% of the round and get the benefit/reward of walking.

[Brent Hutto]

Yes, I have been known to "take a cart" while in fact having a pretty fair simulacrum of a walking-golf experience. With a willing cart-mate it can be an entirely satisfactory arrangement.

P.S. Now don't get me started on the combination of cart-golf and a "scramble" format...we all have at least one subject on which we're a bit Psycho...

[Alex Miller]

When I called Ko'olau they didn't allow walking. This was a while back, so I'm glad to hear that they changed that policy.

They had to make an exception for us since we weren't old enough to drive a cart. 

[Criss Titschinger]

Criss, how do they compare to Shawnee Lookout?

Biggest difference between a place like Eagle Ridge and Shawnee Lookout is that Eagle Ridge is a much, much better golf course.

Shawnee Lookout is a standard muni in its design, but on hilly land. Eagle Ridge has a lot more variety in its holes. The 13th hole at Eagle Ridge is alone worth the price of admission (see below). I took many pictures of that hole, but none do justice to the scale of its drop-off.



From the cart perspective, Shawnee is hilly, but the green to tee distance is very minimal. Eagle Ridge is more spread out, with some long distances between greens/tees.

Most holes at Shawnee Run are uphill and downhill, with maybe one or two exceptions. At Eagle Ridge, there are many more relatively level holes from tee to green. 13 and 18 are the big exceptions, with 13 dropping 200 feet from tee to green and 18 climbing 50 feet from the beginning of the fairway to the green.

When I talked to the pro at Eagle Ridge, she had mentioned that people do walk the course. I think they're nuts. The last thing I'd want to do after walking the previous 17 is walk up this monster at the end.

[Kalen Braley]

I would love to see someone try to walk Sanctuary, Black Rock, or South Mountain golf club....

I doubt I could have walked and played them when I was in shape, much less now.

[John Kavanaugh]

I love Shawnee Lookout.  If I remember correctly it has amazing views of Nuclear Cooling towers.  Even the cart paths are so sloped that on several holes my riding partner needed to hike to one side like on a sail boat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k49JBrrd74o

[Mike Hendren]

A dedicated Walker  = 100% not 75%

75% = Well not sure but certainly does not equate to my understanding of the word dedicated

But then if memory serves me correctly Tiger Woods was dedicated to his marriage and family.

Funny old world.

Melvyn, I can't recall if you've ever played golf in the states.    Often the architecture, topography, temperature and humidity, individually or collectively suggest that the sane man take a cart.  

Walk a mile in my shoes, walk a mile in my shoes
Hey, before you abuse, criticize and accuse
Walk a mile in my shoes.  
- Joe South

[William_G]

When I called Ko'olau they didn't allow walking. This was a while back, so I'm glad to hear that they changed that policy.

They had to make an exception for us since we weren't old enough to drive a cart. 

hahaha, they do allow walking in the afternoon as they don't want you to hold up play walking from green to tee in the am.

beautiful place! no rain for me

[Andy Stamm]

When I called Ko'olau they didn't allow walking. This was a while back, so I'm glad to hear that they changed that policy.

They had to make an exception for us since we weren't old enough to drive a cart. 

hahaha, they do allow walking in the afternoon as they don't want you to hold up play walking from green to tee in the am.

beautiful place! no rain for me

That is a change then. They wouldn't let me walk at any time or day. The reason they cited was the long walks and slowing down play. I offered to play at a slow time of their choosing, which they declined. So it was definitely a firm policy then.

[Jason Thurman]

I'll let you know tomorrow. I'm trekking out to Doug Ralston territory to play some serious cartball tracks...

You mean like Eagle Ridge, and it's infamous 315 yard 13th hole that drops 200 feet from tee to green? Stonecrest would be another one out there in Eastern Kentucky.

I played Eagle Ridge and Hidden Cove today. The latter could be walked, but it would be a long round. The former could be walked, but it would be a 6+ hour nightmare. I'd gladly take a cart on one of them, and the other... well, I'd probably rather just fish in the lake at the park. I'll post photo tours over the next few days and reveal which is which, though you might already be able to see where this is headed.

[Ben Carey]

The one course I've played that I wouldn't consider walking though also lies in Eastern Kentucky. Old Silo is a Graham Marsh design that probably has a ride from the 2nd green to the 3rd tee of at least 1/4 mile with a good 200+ feet of elevation change. You come back down the same cliff at 6. There are several other extreme transitions.

I know the "psycho walkers" who insist on walking no matter what, sometimes just to prove they could do it. I'm in very good shape and COULD walk Old Silo. I probably COULD walk any course. But walking the transitions at Old Silo would take a solid 15+ minutes each, and because they traverse cliffs, I'd inevitably get caught by a cart on the way up and wouldn't be able to get out of their way. That's just stupid. If I want to prove my fitness level, I try to run a really fast mile or do double-digit pullups or something...

I ended up walking Old Silo about a month ago. The 2nd green to 3rd tee was a pretty insane walk but nothing stood out as being crazy other than that transition. It wasn't an easy walk by any means, but still doable. I stopped by while driving through and never looked at the routing before starting out on foot.

[JLahrman]

I love Shawnee Lookout.  If I remember correctly it has amazing views of Nuclear Cooling towers.  Even the cart paths are so sloped that on several holes my riding partner needed to hike to one side like on a sail boat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k49JBrrd74o

Yes that is the place.

Didn't know that we had so many Shawnee Lookout buffs on this site. Never thought I'd see the day where it would be discussed here.

I agree with Criss...it's not a great course, but the green to tee walks are short. I think it's only about 6100 from the back tees...but whoa nelly, the hills.

Looks like all the Hamilton County Parks now have their own little videos featuring the head pros? I will always consider Sharon Woods to be my home course. Some decent hills on that course - #8 - #12 especially, but nothing like Shawnee Lookout.

[Kevin_Reilly]

what is your favorite course where you rode in a golf cart because you felt it to be necessary? 

The NCGA owned and operated Poppy Ridge course in Livermore, CA has some very long & uphill walks from greens to tees. It would be a good place to have a cart with a rack to hold 4 golf bags. 

David, Poppy Ridge is your favorite course in this category? 

[Criss Titschinger]

I played Eagle Ridge and Hidden Cove today. The latter could be walked, but it would be a long round. The former could be walked, but it would be a 6+ hour nightmare. I'd gladly take a cart on one of them, and the other... well, I'd probably rather just fish in the lake at the park. I'll post photo tours over the next few days and reveal which is which, though you might already be able to see where this is headed.

I'll wait for your photos and upcoming commentary to comment more. Eagle Ridge is a very polarizing golf course. You either like it or you hate it, and there's really no in between.

[John Kavanaugh]

I love Shawnee Lookout.  If I remember correctly it has amazing views of Nuclear Cooling towers.  Even the cart paths are so sloped that on several holes my riding partner needed to hike to one side like on a sail boat.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k49JBrrd74o

Yes that is the place.

Didn't know that we had so many Shawnee Lookout buffs on this site. Never thought I'd see the day where it would be discussed here.

I agree with Criss...it's not a great course, but the green to tee walks are short. I think it's only about 6100 from the back tees...but whoa nelly, the hills.

Looks like all the Hamilton County Parks now have their own little videos featuring the head pros? I will always consider Sharon Woods to be my home course. Some decent hills on that course - #8 - #12 especially, but nothing like Shawnee Lookout.

Whenever I am traveling and have some unscheduled free time I'll go to the nearest golf courses in the Point of Interest section of my GPS.  This is how we found Shawnee Lookout.  If it was an App it may be called Golf Roulette.

[Mac Plumart]

Whenever I am traveling and have some unscheduled free time I'll go to the nearest golf courses in the Point of Interest section of my GPS.  This is how we found Shawnee Lookout.  If it was an App it may be called Golf Roulette.

Coolest idea I've heard in a long time. 

[Dan Kelly]

Whenever I am traveling and have some unscheduled free time I'll go to the nearest golf courses in the Point of Interest section of my GPS.  This is how we found Shawnee Lookout.  If it was an App it may be called Golf Roulette.

Next time I'm near Mullen, Nebraska, I'm going to try that.

"Well, I was down in Mullen, with a little time to kill ... and, you know, whenever I'm traveling, because I'm such a FANATICAL GOLFER and so DEVOTED to the GOOD OF THE GAME, I always look under the Golf section of the Points of Interest section of my GPS. And that's how I came to drive up here. Looks like you have a real pretty course. Any chance I can get out this morning?"