[Brian_Sleeman]

I always walk unless it's a situation where a cart is required, or if it's a late evening and I've got a half hour to get in as many holes as possible.

I have limited experience with caddies, but have always enjoyed them.  I can't imagine myself ever belonging to a course that requires them or has a successful caddy program; it sadly seems to be on the way out.

One thing I like to do once or twice a year though is to go out in questionable weather (usually cold), solo with the bag on my back.  It's great to play with family, friends and competitors, but once every great while it's good to have it just you and the course and the conditions.  It's a unique experience.

[George Pazin]

I love walking and toting my bag. There's just something really idyllic about it. I don't begrudge anyone using a cart or preferring a caddy, to each his own, but for me, there's nothing quite like that feeling when you smack your first drive of the day, sling that bag over your shoulder and start walking. Most of the time I'd even prefer that first little walk be a silent appreciation of what is to come.

Makes me wish it were March....

[Tiger_Bernhardt]

I like to walk with a trolly.

[Mark Brown]

I like to walk (with a caddy at a special course) or with the 3 wheel Bagboy trollies which are fantastic. After 40 years of sports and golf sometimes I choose to ride if my back is sore, but refuse to if it's carts on the paths -- I'd rather not play.

I don't know why more courses don't offer a 4 bag cart and let a forecaddy drive it. It's the best of both worlds. It must be a money issue.

[Simon Kofoed]

I love walking golf courses pulling my buggie behind me, I think its part of playing golf and until I'm physically incapable I will keep walking.  

I've only ever "had to" play twice in a cart, and I found my round less enjoyable as normal. It harder to get any feel where you are on the course or how your hitting the ball, because you are travelling at about 5 times normal speed. It rarely saves any time because you are not going directly to your ball and you zig-zag along the fairway with your partner. I always find it frustrating when 4 players walking are being held up by four perfectly fit players in two carts.

On the flip side, I think its fantastic that the older guys at my home club get around on their personal electronic ride-on three wheelers, becuase they couldn't play if they were forced to walk.

[Dan Moore]

Walking is a vastly superior experience.  I love the rhythm of the game when walking.  Caddies are a luxury as far as I'm concerned, but I have enjoyed having a good caddy from time to time.  Other times I've had caddies that would have hurt if I paid attention to them.  

Last September at Pormarnock we had an excellent caddie Sean ...  On the second hole he said its 155 Danny play it just to the front of the green.  So I hit a solid 8 iron about 30 yards over the green.  He had actually said 115 but with the brogue I got it wrong.  I proceeded to get it up and down with  sweet pitch to 4 feet so no harm done and a good laugh.  He was a great caddie sometimes taking us into the rough deliberately which was pretty wispy just to have a better angle to the green.  We played Royal County Down without caddies due to a mix up and I would advise against that.  

Despite a strong preference for walking there are occasions I would rather ride such as when I'm trying to play 36 or more holes, when there is extreme terrain or long walks between holes, and when I'm all alone early in the morning and can play 2-3 balls in 2 1/2 hours.   What I don't understand is mandatory carts on the cart paths only; its a hideous way to play and I'd don't understand why some courses won't let you pay for the cart and walk instead.  

[Brian_Sleeman]

The only reason I can think of for "paths only" is when the course is too wet and would be damaged by almost any direct cart traffic.  "Paths only" also seems to apply only between tees and greens at other places, but I do recall playing one course where the rule was that carts must remain on the paths the entire way - with no wet condition reasoning.

And the only thing worse than four players in two carts is two players in two carts, or three or more players in three carts.  In that case, a little extra time for the course's sake (and the sake of all of the rest of the players in having a healthier course) is definitely warranted.

[Nick Pozaric]

I like to walk with a trolly.

thats brings me to another question.  How often have you seen courses when trolleys are not allowed?

[Doug Braunsdorf]

I would prefer to walk whenever possible.  Reason?  It's enjoyable to walk a golf course, and I feel a little more relaxed walking from shot to shot rather than hitting and jumping in a cart, speeding down the fairway.
Also easier to spit tobacco while walking.  
At certain times, specifically in brutally hot weather, I'll take a cart, just so I can take extra water with me-a gallon on hot days.  
In the case of Dixie Cup II, I carted it, as we played a lot of golf in a short time, with abbreviated rest-I had the feeling that I'd be pretty sapped come Sunday if I did walk.  
Caddies are a nice luxury from time to time.  

[Evan_Green]

I like to walk with a trolly.

thats brings me to another question.  How often have you seen courses when trolleys are not allowed?

The Olympic Club does not allow trolleys.

Caddy only courses clearly wouldnt allow trolleys. It would seem impractical to take a trolley at cart courses. Overall, it's pretty rare through I would think to not allow trolleys.

I wonder though what would do more damage to a course, rolling a trolly over a fairway or having a 250 pound person tread across it

[Doug Siebert]

I'd walk and carry my clubs.  If I'm a guest at a course with a caddy program and my host is taking a caddy, I'd do so as well.  Otherwise I'd only consider it on a course where I think the caddy would be really beneficial (places like Prestwick where you almost need a caddy to find the next tee)  Not because I'm cheap, I have just had too many caddies who are basically a trolley on legs who charge rates that I'd expect class A performance for.


Bob Huntley,

I have nothing against people who choose carts due to injuries or the infirmities of age.  But be honest, what percentage of people taking carts do you think that applies to?  Come visit me in this Big Ten college town and come to the university's course on a nice summer day and watch all the able bodied students pile into the carts for an afternoon of golf in leiu of accounting classes.  For over 90% of people, its pure laziness, just like the people who will hop into their car to drive to a neighborhood party 8 houses down instead of walking (you should see all the cars parked when my parents have such a party, and this is a nice neighborhood with wide sidewalks and a dead end street!)

[Brent Hutto]

There used to be a nine-hole course not far from my house (last year it was sold and turned into a housing developement). I believe it was five Par 3's and four Par 4's with the longest hole being 360 yards. Green to tee walks averaged 30 yards at most. You could walk that course and play bogey golf in just over an hour very comfortably, maybe an hour fifteen in a foursome.

At least half of their rounds were played by people in carts. Every time I was there I'd see at least one twosome of strapping young men of high school or college age tooling arond the course in a cart. Heck, this place even had free two-wheel trolleys for anyone who wanted one but they still kept their small fleet of cars perpetually busy.

[Dave Bourgeois]

I love to walk and carry, and growing up on the courses I did thought that caddys only existed on tour, or were found in digs with dinosaurs and old bottles.  

It is great that caddy programs still exist but at some level it bugs me that courses ban 3 wheel push carts.  I think rules like that promote more riding as it seems like not everyone enjoys a looper (also costs more).

I generally don't like to be forced to take carts (sometimes its for my own good), but have no problem with people taking them.  It is great that they exist so people can enjoy the game longer.  Hey at some point I may need to take them as well.

I hope to experience a caddy at some point.  Especially if I end up getting out on The National or something like that.

[archie_struthers]

 


Love to walk, with or without a caddy! However the economics of golf just don't work in most cases without the revenue from the carts.

At the club I play at you can walk all winter and anyday after 3pm, which I think is a pretty good compromise. Of course you can walk anytime, even in season, if you pay the cart fee.

However, no matter how much some of us purists would love to see it, walking clubs are an anomoly in the good ole USA,  

[Brent Hutto]

Love to walk, with or without a caddy! However the economics of golf just don't work in most cases without the revenue from the carts.

This is widely believed but I'm not sure it's always true. My willingness to pay for a round of golf does not depend on whether there are carts or not. That may not be true for the majority but I'm not the only person I know who feels that way.

If someone puts me in a golf cart, they're losing money because I'd pay the same to walk and then they wouldn't have to walk, fuel or maintain the cart. Nonetheless, there are thousands of golf courses that will not let me play unless I ride in a golf cart. That policy is much less profitable than the alternative.

[archie_struthers]

Brent,

Very few people like carts less than me. I don't think you enjoy the architecture , the social interaction , or get enough exercise.

With all due respect, there isn't much empirical evidence to support you position that no carts increase revenue.

However any one who puts his cash up and tries  a walking only is one of my heroes, present company excluded.

[Brent Hutto]

I agree that having a course with no carts available would be just cutting yourself off from the portion of golfers who always or generally ride. Except for a few places like Bandon that is market suicide here in the USA.

My objection is to the courses which have carts and feel that their profitability is maximized by not allowing walking. It has to be an awfully special golf course for me to play there if I have to ride. In my opinion "carts only" is just as silly as "no carts at all" policy.

I'd think the ideal would be to have anyone willing and able to walk walking, have carts available to those unwilling or unable to walk and set the prices in such as way as to extract as much as each group is willing to pay. I don't think that's a universal way of thinking in my neck of the woods nowadays. Instead the reasoning goes, we can charge more for carts than walking [not necessarily true] therefore we'll make everyone use carts and maximize our profit [not true, that may maximize the income but not profit].

[Richard Boult]

Given the choice my preference would almost always be to walk the course with bag on my three-wheeler. If I can't have a three-wheeler a two-wheeler will do. If not a two-wheeler then I'll carry my bag (probably leaving out a couple clubs).

I'd only choose to use a caddie at a once-in-a-lifetime special course and perhaps not even then if the caddies weren't very, very good. For instance, the two guys our foursome were assigned at Cypress Point were amazing. They earned every penny of their fee by what they added to the experience. That's the only time I've felt that way out of the handful of caddie experiences I've had.

I'd only choose to use a cart if injured (and if I'm too injured to walk I'm probably too injured to hit a golf ball) or if the course were laid out in such as way to make keeping up without a cart literally impossible. I generally do not like those kinds of course but there are exceptions to everything, I suppose.

This pretty much sums up how I'd respond.

What amazes me is that practically everyone in this thread professes to being a walker, but I only find a small percentage of golfers walk here in California.

In our area, only 1 course requires carts (weekends only). This course is pretty much designed for carts too, with long distances from many greens to tees. Still, many of us prefer to walk it anyway. But, even though walking is not discouraged at any other courses in the area, it seems everyone uses a cart - kids too!

[Tom Huckaby]

Richard:

The more you hang around here, the more you'll see the views espoused and generally shared in here are about as indicative of the real world of golf as Tiger Woods is as the voice of just another average joe.
 

So hell yes most in here prefer to walk, some ONLY walk.

But go to any course here in the Bay Area, and depending on terrain and rules and cost, it's always gonna be 50-100% riders.  Such is modern golf.

[Bob_Huntley]

I'd walk and carry my clubs.  If I'm a guest at a course with a caddy program and my host is taking a caddy, I'd do so as well.  Otherwise I'd only consider it on a course where I think the caddy would be really beneficial (places like Prestwick where you almost need a caddy to find the next tee)  Not because I'm cheap, I have just had too many caddies who are basically a trolley on legs who charge rates that I'd expect class A performance for.


Bob Huntley,

I have nothing against people who choose carts due to injuries or the infirmities of age.  But be honest, what percentage of people taking carts do you think that applies to?  Come visit me in this Big Ten college town and come to the university's course on a nice summer day and watch all the able bodied students pile into the carts for an afternoon of golf in leiu of accounting classes.  For over 90% of people, its pure laziness, just like the people who will hop into their car to drive to a neighborhood party 8 houses down instead of walking (you should see all the cars parked when my parents have such a party, and this is a nice neighborhood with wide sidewalks and a dead end street!)

Doug,

I must confess that I agree with you about able bodied students jumping into a cart at the first opportunity. It is regrettable, but I would hazard a guess that their first introduction to golf was driving a cart for their fathers. The seed does not move far from the tree.

Listening to the lamentations here on the heresy of riding, why have I seen so many GCA'ers at The King's Putter events on wheels?

Bob

[Tom Huckaby]

Listening to the lamentations here on the heresy of riding, why have I seen so many GCA'ers at The King's Putter events on wheels?

Bob

My recollection was that most have walked, and those who rode pretty much did so to be sociable.  But there were at least a few who didn't practice what they necessarily preached...

 

Good reminder about learning from the fathers, though.  Those of us with kids starting golf do need to keep this in mind.  The problem is, man for the little guys riding/driving the cart is about 95% of the fun!  I know my son absolutely loved it the one time I got him in a cart...

 

[John Foley]

Bob & Tom,

I got a big kick out of the first KP @ Barona when I saw who was in carts & who was walking. I think Pete G may have a few blackmail pictures at the ready!!

[Jack_Marr]

I have used a caddy once in my life, and that was because he was carrying two bags.

This is not a comment either way on whether you should use one or not.

[Tom Huckaby]

Bob & Tom,

I got a big kick out of the first KP @ Barona when I saw who was in carts & who was walking. I think Pete G may have a few blackmail pictures at the ready!!

Yes, that was an eye-opener.  Several who rode the first day have only themselves to answer to.  On the second day, well... 2 hours of sleep max and still being feeling the effects of Pete L's hospitality had me not exactly complaining when my two playing partners were sitting there in a cart and could thus use the "just being sociable" excuse.  But I've never been a militant walker anyway.  

[John Foley]

Another good reason cartts exists. Evening activities tend to sap one's strength somewhat!

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