The "Golf Board" - What are your thoughts?

[Tom_Doak]

I have yet to see a Golf Board in action, so I can't comment on the merits of the experience.


However, the use of golf carts is sometimes justified by "keeping seniors in the game," etc.  All of which may be true.  But the reason they were developed for use is the same reason the Golf Board is at the PGA Show this week ...

It's about $

[Michael Whitaker]

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! 

[Dan Kelly]

And, believe it or not, they're pitching it as a "game improvement" device:


http://www.pga.com/merchandise/multimedia/video/new-golfboard-demo-day-gets-product-spotlight/?pga_cid=newsletter


Heaven help us, in so many areas ....

[MCirba]

No Luddite here, either but will walk golf courses as long as I'm able.

Downloaded "MapMyWalk" to my phone before my last round before the snows fell the other day here in PA.   Carrying our bags three of us played briskly (3 hrs 20 min) and I walked 5.52 miles on a wet, hilly course.   Golf isn't just good exercise, it's terrific exercise.

[John Kavanaugh]

I went to their website to inquire about a purchase. Despite being assured a representative would contact me I have yet to receive a response. Perhaps because I put in the comment section that I am a 290ib 56 yr old. I just like the idea that it would take up less room in my garage than my cart.

[Garland Bayley]

I understand that there have been physicians that have prescribed walking golf for their patients. We could use a few more of them, as the health benefits are great.


About the time I am old enough to stop walking and playing I won't have the balance necessary to ride one of these things anyhow!

[John Kavanaugh]

My friends don't like to walk and I like playing with my friends, even if it kills me. This golf board on the other hand would fit in well with either a group of walkers or riders.

[Garland Bayley]

My friends don't like to walk and I like playing with my friends, even if it kills me. This golf board on the other hand would fit in well with either a group of walkers or riders.

Well tell your friends that it's killing them. Do they smoke too?

[John Kavanaugh]

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.

[David Ober]

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.

So, so true. 

[Mike Hamilton]

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! 

I guess I am becoming a fuddy duddy too.


I am early 50s and try to stay pretty fit.  In my 20s I did a few triathlons and some local level competitive cycling.   I still swim 5-6 miles a week at a decent clip, been running 3-6 miles 1-2x a week at mid 7s min per mile pace, and still get out on my road bike occasionally weather permitting.   This summer into fall I played more golf than probably ever before.  My son was on his high school golf team and we played 2-3 9 or 18 hole rounds a week so he could practice...all walking.   I was surprised at how much incremental fitness benefit I could feel carrying over into swimming and running from the golf.   I actually began wanting to go get in a round of golf for the WORKOUT.   Walking golf IS good exercise.  I will occasionally ride as well when weather or the social setting dictates but as John Kirk noted "the walk is sacred, a fundamental part of the game".  I think any device that continues to drag golf (or US golf) away from walking ultimately is bad for the game.

[Ben Sims]

This thread is a great commentary on why millennials aren't big on golf.

[Tom_Doak]

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?

[Jon Wiggett]

This thread is a great commentary on why millennials aren't big on golf.

Ben,

why is that?

Jon

[JJShanley]

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.

[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.

[John Kavanaugh]

If those guys in the Villages can play softball they can ride a Golfboard. You could even hide it in Widow Johnson's back yard easier than your cart.

[Dan Kelly]

Downloaded "MapMyWalk" to my phone before my last round before the snows fell the other day here in PA.   Carrying our bags three of us played briskly (3 hrs 20 min) and I walked 5.52 miles on a wet, hilly course.   Golf isn't just good exercise, it's terrific exercise.

Thanks for the tip, Mike.


Map My Walk is loading now. Only a couple of months till I can use it on a golf course!

[John Kavanaugh]

Golf is fun, dammit. Let's not turn it into a chore by measuring and charting the work we did to play.

[BCowan]

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

[BCowan]

Golf is fun, dammit. Let's not turn it into a chore by measuring and charting the work we did to play.

Agreed.  I loved what Ross said about the tape measure man.  Run like hell

[JJShanley]

Golf is fun, dammit. Let's not turn it into a chore by measuring and charting the work we did to play.

Agreed.  I loved what Ross said about the tape measure man.  Run like hell

I've just downloaded it for my non-golf walks, which I take to get me in better shape for rounds of golf.

[John Kavanaugh]

I used to think walkers were just cheap. Now I think they are a bunch of fat shaming pricks.

[Ben Sims]

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.


Pointing the finger at time commitments, slow play, and expendable income is all well and good. 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.

[Dan Kelly]

Golf is fun, dammit. Let's not turn it into a chore by measuring and charting the work we did to play.

Trust me, John. Knowing how far I walked will not in any way diminish my pleasure in playing the game, any more than knowing how long each hole is diminishes the pleasure of playing it.


It's just Information. More or less useless information. I love Information -- even, perhaps especially, more or less useless information.


(A generation ago, I wrote -- and actually got published, a rarity in those years! -- an essay titled "Confessions of an Infomaniac." Some things never change.)