Question:
I Just returned from playing another round at my local course as a single, and as usual all three of the others in my foresome were in a cart. What is it about carts that golfer’s can’t seem to resist, . . .
I’d love to know too, I’ll walk any course I can. It’s part of the fun, and definitely more relaxing for me. I can understand carts for people who are infirm, playing in excessive heat/humidity, or on a course with lots of elevation, but a lot of folks must just think riding in a cart is part of the game. As for the cost, PT Barnum was right about Americans. You shouldn’t be surprised that people who will toss away thousands on status symbol cars and houses, designer clothes, audio/video systems and programming they rarely use, lousy restaurant food, $5 beers, and 18% interest on all those things will think nothing of spending another $20 on a golf cart. I generally don’t care what the other folks on the course are doing to tote their clubs as long as I can walk, everyone is taking reasonable care about it, and the course operator hasn’t installed cart paths where they become a serious hazard to only slightly errant shots. — Warren Montgomery Lucent Technologies, formerly AT&T’s systems and technology business
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – How do you handle the impatient? Patiently, of course. I was playing in a threesome ahead of two guys on a cart that were no more than 25 years old. We had three foursomes in front, and I guess these guys figured that we should let them play through because THEY had a cart. They hit before we were out of range, drove the cart up behind us on the tee and in the fairway, coughed (on purpose), and talked loudly while we were hitting. The only reason they didn’t hit us is because they missed every fairway left and right all day. At no time were we out of position during the round and we played in under 3 1/2 hours. Go figure. Finally, on the 18th tee they walked right out on the tee and stood about 10 feet behind us. It was a par three and we were waiting for the green to clear. I then asked them if they would like to play through, and when they declined I asked them if they could please vacate the tee until it was their turn to play. The reply I got was: "why?". I said their presence was a distraction. The reply was "well, your not playing for a million dollars or anything" I said "It’s nothing personal, but I think you may have a cold, or at least a cough, and to me that is a distraction, especially if it happens in the middle of my backswing." Finally, after he promised not to cough in my backswing, I stuck one about six feet from the hole. "Thank-you", I said as I turned to face the guy. "THAT ought to wrap up the eighty bucks" I said to my one of my partners. Who quickly replied, "and that’s last time you’ll get any money out of me shooting 2 over, you stiff." Question: Do golfers have to pay mega-bucks and join a country club to avoid this crap? I must be getting old (is 38 old?) because I’m reminded of kinder, gentler people that read and followed the rule book; specifically the pages dealing with ettiquette (yes they are in the rulebook) I’m afraid this is the price we are going to have to pay for bringing golf to the masses. I think everyones game will suffer because of it. Peter McNeil Teaching Professional
I think the statements in your ? are semi-elitest. In my regular 4-some there would be a line forming for a big time #$% chewout. After we had vented our collective spleen, then these guys would be allowed to play through in the hopes that they would eventually run into a friend/buddy/etc of the pro/marshall/owner/member/regular and then this twosome would be introduced to reality. Finally, for driving a cart up on a tee automatic explulsion. Figure it this way, life is too short to experience this type of behavior on the golf course, reply in kind, and maybe you have to initiate their training in etiquette 8<). By letting play through, you allow these "guys" to experience a wide varaity of views of golf course manners 8<). I see this type of behavior perhaps once a season.
Response:
How do you handle the impatient? Patiently, of course. I was playing in a threesome ahead of two guys on a cart that were no more than 25 years old. We had three foursomes in front, and I guess these guys figured that we should let them play through because THEY had a cart. They hit before we were out of range, drove the cart up behind us on the tee and in the fairway, coughed (on purpose), and talked loudly while we were hitting. The only reason they didn’t hit us is because they missed every fairway left and right all day. At no time were we out of position during the round and we played in under 3 1/2 hours. Go figure. Finally, on the 18th tee they walked right out on the tee and stood about 10 feet behind us. It was a par three and we were waiting for the green to clear. I then asked them if they would like to play through, and when they declined I asked them if they could please vacate the tee until it was their turn to play. The reply I got was: "why?". I said their presence was a distraction. The reply was "well, your not playing for a million dollars or anything" I said "It’s nothing personal, but I think you may have a cold, or at least a cough, and to me that is a distraction, especially if it happens in the middle of my backswing." Finally, after he promised not to cough in my backswing, I stuck one about six feet from the hole. "Thank-you", I said as I turned to face the guy. "THAT ought to wrap up the eighty bucks" I said to my one of my partners. Who quickly replied, "and that’s last time you’ll get any money out of me shooting 2 over, you stiff." Question: Do golfers have to pay mega-bucks and join a country club to avoid this crap? I must be getting old (is 38 old?) because I’m reminded of kinder, gentler people that read and followed the rule book; specifically the pages dealing with ettiquette (yes they are in the rulebook) I’m afraid this is the price we are going to have to pay for bringing golf to the masses. I think everyones game will suffer because of it. Peter McNeil Teaching Professional
Response:
Hi Everyone, Coming from a country (Australia) where pull carts are used by the vast majority of golfers, (I would estimate at least 90%) I could never understood why some U.S. courses banned them. From my experience persons using pull carts are faster than people who carry their own bag (assuming that if you use a pull cart you don’t need to stick to any cart tracks). Between shorts I often walk quite briskly to my ball (approaching a slow jog) and I would find that impossible to constantly do whilst carrying a bag. One previous poster suggestsed that pull carts make a course look cheap. That would be a good reason why they are banned. Talk of damaging courses, slowing down play etc is just not true. However, most courses make it mandatory that pull carts have slixs (extra wide tyres about 6 inches) during the winter months as narrow tyres can dig up a wet course). Whenever I play at resort courses I take an electric ride on cart just for the fun of it. I easily do more damage (particularly on wet courses) with these type of carts than I have ever done before. Anyway, just my AUS$0.02 which is worth about US$0.018 
Ian
Response:
[... My point is that this is a personal thing, not an absolute. I like to play with my steel shafted clubs. Does this mean that because I don't use hickory sticks, I'm not playing the way it was meant to be played? I don't think so, nor do I think you would either. But, to a 1900's golfer, it might be true.
I believe your analogy is faulty. Using a cart to play golf is like using a wheelchair to play basketball. A modern basketball made with synthetic materials does not prevent you from playing 'real basketball.' Most basketball players would prefer not to use a wheelchair. [... That's just evolution, and there's nothing wrong with it so long as people continue to respect the way you want to play and, as you write above, the courses don't deprive you of the ability to do so.
But modern courses frequently DO deprive me of the opportunity to walk the course. I shoot at least 3 shots worse from a cart, and if it becomes an annoyance (e.g., coping with the 90 deg. rule), I can completely lose interest in a round. Even having a cart in the group can destroy my game, one of my weaknesses being poor concentration. I hate to have a cart buzzing back and forth across the fairway in front, side, and back of me during a round, whether it's happening when I'm hitting or not. It's like being followed by the mowers on every stinking hole. I get cranky and quick. I suspect that there are more Tractor Pull fans among the cart riders than the cart pullers and bag toters. Whaddaya think? 8^) Your fear that they may is real, and I've seen it happen, but when it does, it's just a function of giving the customers what they want. And, whether we like it or not, that's what most people want.
Ah, the "Argument from Capitalism" coupled with the "Tyranny of the Majority." 8^) I suggest that golf be taken out of the equation altogether and just convert the courses into motorized parks. Bring the kids. Around here, they already do that in the winter. Some of the courses are snowmobile runs in the off season. Just bring out the ATVs when the snow melts. "A good walk spoiled..." How passe`. The modern version should be "A good ride spoiled." -- jim tims "And if you're a miner, when you're too tired and old and sick and stupid to do your job properly, you have to go, whereas just the opposite applies with the judges." Beyond the Fringe
Response:
There's also some talk about pullcarts causing damage to the course (ruts?), but of course if you limited them to the cart paths, that argument disappears.
I've heard that argument before, and I just don't understand it. A bag and pull-cart weigh much less than a person, and they're worried about them making ruts? Most pull-carts have pretty wide wheels, so they distribute the weight over a pretty reasonable area. If courses buy that argument, why not start making "people on path only" rules? =:-o -- John W. Griffin
Response:
- Hide quoted text -- Show quoted text - My beef isn't with people who take a cart occasionally. It's with people who take carts religiously and with the trend of golf courses to require carts. My home course now requires carts Thrursdays-Sunday. And on the days they don't require carts, a full 80% of the people I play with take carts anyway. My worry is that the course will notice this trend and might very well decide to make carts mandatory everyday, and that these PoloGolfers wouldn't even notice or care that the ability for someone to play the game of golf the way it was meant to be played, has been stripped away. And I really see no hope for improvement here because most people simply appear to put up with it. What will the next generation of golfers put up with once carts are fully incorporated into our view of what golf should be. Maybe the next step is robotic golfers that can be controlled from the clubhouse while sipping a drink and watching baywatch on TV. Yes wouldn't that be wonderful, especially on those days I'm feeling a little "lazy". Hey stranger things have happened Monte
I agree with everything you write with the exception of "....for someone to play the game of golf the way it was meant to be played....." My point is that this is a personal thing, not an absolute. I like to play with my steel shafted clubs. Does this mean that because I don't use hickory sticks, I'm not playing the way it was meant to be played? I don't think so, nor do I think you would either. But, to a 1900's golfer, it might be true. Walking the course was not a ruling that was made when golf was created any more than hickory shafts were. They were both the available choices of the day. For many of today's golfers, playing with steel shafts, and riding carts, is the way it's meant to be played. That's just evolution, and there's nothing wrong with it so long as people continue to respect the way you want to play and, as you write above, the courses don't deprive you of the ability to do so. Your fear that they may is real, and I've seen it happen, but when it does, it's just a function of giving the customers what they want. And, whether we like it or not, that's what most people want. Jeff
Response:
- Hide quoted text -- Show quoted text - I'm surprised to hear of courses that allow walking. but no pull carts. Seems like one more trick to force you to use a cart. Are courses like this common anywhere else? Has anyone heard of a LOGICAL reason why these rules are made? Many private courses in the Philadelphia region disallow pull carts. Either you take a cart (usually mandatory until mid-afternoon) or carry your own bag. No caddies available, no pull carts allowed. No logical reason, but a few friends have whispered "snobbery" to me under their breath. Apparently pull carts just scream "public track" to certain people. There's also some talk about pullcarts causing damage to the course (ruts?), but of course if you limited them to the cart paths, that argument disappears.
Any course allowing full carts and claiming damage as the reason for not allowing pull-carts is full of it. Maybe they figure that would be difficult to enforce. -- Gregory H. Anderson | "I wander'd off by myself, In the Crystal Ball/Star Gazer | mystical moist night-air, and from Anderson Financial Systems | time to time, Look'd up in perfect
-- Christopher Simonich
Response:
- Hide quoted text -- Show quoted text - I Just returned from playing another round at my local course as a single, and as usual all three of the others in my foresome were in a cart... To me walking the course is almost as much a part of the game as the shots you make in between, (snip) Cheers Monte I share your frustration with cart-addicts. There are really only three good reasons to take a cart: 1) The course is extremely hilly; 2) The course has unusually long distances between holes, or 3) The player is physically unable -- and I don't mean because of a spare tire. Otherwise, try walking... it really enhances the experience and is a big part of the joy of golf (not to mention that walking is cheaper and almost always faster)! I do think, however, that it's not the cart-addicts that are to blame -- its the courses. Unfortunately, too many clubs nowadays depend on cart revenue to pad their bottom line. As a result, too many people are now used to carts and don't even think about walking, even when it is an option! The worst part is that there are so few people who really insist on walking that fewer courses are even offering the option at all. What a shame! I offer a differing opinion on this: I enjoy walking the course. I do it often. I also like to take carts. I do that fairly often too. I don't think a course has to be "extremely hilly", or extremely long, or that I have to be disabled to take cart if I choose to do so. If I'm a bit tired, or I'm not in the mood to trek over hills on a particular day, or I'm feeling just plain lazy, I opt to take a cart. I don't have an obligation to justify that decision to anyone other than myself. In addtion, I'm the only reasonable judge of what what enjoying the experience of golf is for me. In my world, taking a cart makes the game just as enjoyable as walking. To me, that's what matters. The only things about my taking a cart that should matter anyone else are: 1 - that I keep pace with the group in front of me; 2 - that I respect the physical attributes of the course and the environment; 3 - that I respect other players who are hitting or preparing to do so by not driving near them, making unnecessary noise, obstructing their lines of sight, etc. Carts are not the problem. People who use them improperly, and/or without respect, are. No doubt there are plenty of them out there. But there are many like me too. People who use a cart with caution and respect don't slow up courses and they don't interfere with other players' enjoyment of the game -- unless the mere sight or sound of a cart enrages these other players. If that's the case, I have no answer. Nor, however, do I feel I need one. Jeff
My beef isn't with people who take a cart occasionally. It's with people who take carts religiously and with the trend of golf courses to require carts. My home course now requires carts Thrursdays-Sunday. And on the days they don't require carts, a full 80% of the people I play with take carts anyway. My worry is that the course will notice this trend and might very well decide to make carts mandatory everyday, and that these PoloGolfers wouldn't even notice or care that the ability for someone to play the game of golf the way it was meant to be played, has been stripped away. And I really see no hope for improvement here because most people simply appear to put up with it. What will the next generation of golfers put up with once carts are fully incorporated into our view of what golf should be. Maybe the next step is robotic golfers that can be controlled from the clubhouse while sipping a drink and watching baywatch on TV. Yes wouldn't that be wonderful, especially on those days I'm feeling a little "lazy". Hey stranger things have happened Monte
Response:
[...] Don’t get me wrong — I’m all in favor of walking, even it requires a pull-cart. I just get irritated when I see young, healthy adults dragging one of these things behind ‘em.
I’m from the "live and let live" school; It doesn’t really matter how people enjoy the game as long as I’m allowed to walk. That’s how I like it. I get my exercise that way and enjoy the game more. Bruce Bruce E. Newman | | Home: (506) 457-9800 Fredericton,NB,Canada | Dreams…screen | Office: (506) 462-6421
Response:
I Just returned from playing another round at my local course as a single, and as usual all three of the others in my foresome were in a cart… To me walking the course is almost as much a part of the game as the shots you make in between,
(snip) – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Cheers Monte I share your frustration with cart-addicts. There are really only three good reasons to take a cart: 1) The course is extremely hilly; 2) The course has unusually long distances between holes, or 3) The player is physically unable — and I don’t mean because of a spare tire. Otherwise, try walking… it really enhances the experience and is a big part of the joy of golf (not to mention that walking is cheaper and almost always faster)! I do think, however, that it’s not the cart-addicts that are to blame — its the courses. Unfortunately, too many clubs nowadays depend on cart revenue to pad their bottom line. As a result, too many people are now used to carts and don’t even think about walking, even when it is an option! The worst part is that there are so few people who really insist on walking that fewer courses are even offering the option at all. What a shame!
I offer a differing opinion on this: I enjoy walking the course. I do it often. I also like to take carts. I do that fairly often too. I don’t think a course has to be "extremely hilly", or extremely long, or that I have to be disabled to take cart if I choose to do so. If I’m a bit tired, or I’m not in the mood to trek over hills on a particular day, or I’m feeling just plain lazy, I opt to take a cart. I don’t have an obligation to justify that decision to anyone other than myself. In addtion, I’m the only reasonable judge of what what enjoying the experience of golf is for me. In my world, taking a cart makes the game just as enjoyable as walking. To me, that’s what matters. The only things about my taking a cart that should matter anyone else are: 1 – that I keep pace with the group in front of me; 2 – that I respect the physical attributes of the course and the environment; 3 – that I respect other players who are hitting or preparing to do so by not driving near them, making unnecessary noise, obstructing their lines of sight, etc. Carts are not the problem. People who use them improperly, and/or without respect, are. No doubt there are plenty of them out there. But there are many like me too. People who use a cart with caution and respect don’t slow up courses and they don’t interfere with other players’ enjoyment of the game — unless the mere sight or sound of a cart enrages these other players. If that’s the case, I have no answer. Nor, however, do I feel I need one. Jeff
Response:
I agree completely with the choice to walk. That plus a highly-reduced fat eating plan (and NO medicine) has brought me from a 265 to a 185 cholesterol measurement over a 1-yr period. The other unfortunate result of the cart-craze is the complete lack of caddies, who know the course, can provide a built-in cheering section, and who would get a chance to learn the game as kids when they might not otherwise have enough money or an interested adult to get them there. I wish we could bring back caddies and do with a great deal fewer carts. Besides, did you ever notice how silly golf carts appear from an airplane?
Response:
One of the things I do when I use a riding cart is look at it as a caddy. People who have played with a caddy before can relate to this. You don’t worry about your bag, just walking on the golf course enjoying the view is really enjoyable. I usually end up walking quite a bit with a couple clubs in my hands but anyhow, I get a lot of walking in and can still enjoy the round with a riding cart. Usually my playing partner and I share turns moving the cart around. Mark Satterfield – Lucent Technologies
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – There are several courses in this area (Dallas) that don’t even allow pull carts! This doesn’t bother me (if they allow walking, I will carry), but I have a friend with a sore back who can only walk if he uses a pull cart, so of course – he is forced to take a cart. Unfortunately, the course I have joined (which opens in under two weeks now!) currently has a mandatory cart policy (they also have the no pull cart rule) on weekends before 2:00 pm – I am going to have to start the fight against the mandatory cart rule! It is especially annoying because the course is a muni course (the last best holdouts against mandatory carts around here). Cheers! — Nortel (company formerly known as Northern Telecom) Richardson, Texas
I’m surprised to hear of courses that allow walking. but no pull carts. Seems like one more trick to force you to use a cart. Are courses like this common anywhere else? Has anyone heard of a LOGICAL reason why these rules are made?
Response:
I’m surprised to hear of courses that allow walking. but no pull carts. Seems like one more trick to force you to use a cart. Are courses like this common anywhere else? Has anyone heard of a LOGICAL reason why these rules are made?
Many private courses in the Philadelphia region disallow pull carts. Either you take a cart (usually mandatory until mid-afternoon) or carry your own bag. No caddies available, no pull carts allowed. No logical reason, but a few friends have whispered "snobbery" to me under their breath. Apparently pull carts just scream "public track" to certain people. There’s also some talk about pullcarts causing damage to the course (ruts?), but of course if you limited them to the cart paths, that argument disappears. Maybe they figure that would be difficult to enforce. — Gregory H. Anderson | "I wander’d off by myself, In the Crystal Ball/Star Gazer | mystical moist night-air, and from Anderson Financial Systems | time to time, Look’d up in perfect
Response:
| | There are several courses in this area (Dallas) that don’t even allow pull | carts! This doesn’t bother me (if they allow walking, I will carry), but <snip | | I’m surprised to hear of courses that allow walking. but no pull carts. | Seems like one more trick to force you to use a cart. Are courses like | this common anywhere else? Has anyone heard of a LOGICAL reason why | these rules are made? I asked at one of these courses, and their reason was that the owner felt it didn’t ‘look good’ (as in not very classy I guess), having people pulling carts. When I also asked the someone from the new muni that I was talking about, I was told that they are trying to make it a more ‘upscale’ muni. Cheers, — Nortel (company formerly known as Northern Telecom) Richardson, Texas
Response:
… To me walking the course is almost as much a part of the game as the shots you make in between,
(snip) – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Cheers Monte I share your frustration with cart-addicts. There are really only three good reasons to take a cart: 1) The course is extremely hilly; 2) The course has unusually long distances between holes, or 3) The player is physically unable — and I don’t mean because of a spare tire. Otherwise, try walking… it really enhances the experience and is a big part of the joy of golf (not to mention that walking is cheaper and almost always faster)! I offer a differing opinion on this: I enjoy walking the course. I do it often. I also like to take carts. I do that fairly often too. I don’t think a course has to be "extremely hilly", or extremely long, or that I have to be disabled to take cart if I choose to do so. If I’m a bit tired, or I’m not in the mood to trek over hills on a particular day, or I’m feeling just plain lazy, I opt to take a cart. I don’t have an obligation to justify that decision to anyone other than myself.
Touche…Certainly you have a right to take a cart or walk, depending on your mood. Although I admit that my post reads that way, I wasn’t really trying to criticize EVERYONE who opts to take a cart. I was merely trying to make the point that it is a shame that too many people won’t even CONSIDER walking, even when it is an option. Obviously, you aren’t one of those people. My REAL beef is with clubs that don’t even give us the choice!
Response:
It’s an epidemic. As you said, most people are taking carts these days. So, someone new gets introduced to the game and they take a cart because "everyone else seems to be doing it." The other problem is that "bigger is better" so they go out and buy a big bag instead of a carry bag like mine — light with an automatic fold out stand.
Nothing wrong with a big bag, just strap it to a pull cart.
Response:
| | It’s an epidemic. As you said, most people are taking carts these days. | So, someone new gets introduced to the game and they take a cart because | "everyone else seems to be doing it." The other problem is that "bigger | is better" so they go out and buy a big bag instead of a carry bag like | mine — light with an automatic fold out stand. | | | Nothing wrong with a big bag, just strap it to a pull cart. There are several courses in this area (Dallas) that don’t even allow pull carts! This doesn’t bother me (if they allow walking, I will carry), but I have a friend with a sore back who can only walk if he uses a pull cart, so of course – he is forced to take a cart. Unfortunately, the course I have joined (which opens in under two weeks now!) currently has a mandatory cart policy (they also have the no pull cart rule) on weekends before 2:00 pm – I am going to have to start the fight against the mandatory cart rule! It is especially annoying because the course is a muni course (the last best holdouts against mandatory carts around here). Cheers! — Nortel (company formerly known as Northern Telecom) Richardson, Texas
Response:
: I’m surprised to hear of courses that allow walking. but no pull carts. : Seems like one more trick to force you to use a cart. Are courses like : this common anywhere else? Has anyone heard of a LOGICAL reason why : these rules are made? All things being equal, those with pull-carts are going to be the slowest players. They combine the worst aspects of motor carts with the speed of a slow walk. That said, I suspect you’re right — disallowing pull-carts is just a trick to force people to ride a cart. 
Don’t get me wrong — I’m all in favor of walking, even it requires a pull-cart. I just get irritated when I see young, healthy adults dragging one of these things behind ‘em.
Response:
I Just returned from playing another round at my local course as a single, and as usual all three of the others in my foresome were in a cart. What is it about carts that golfer’s can’t seem to resist, is it that they just get too much exercise as it is and walking 18 would just put them over the top. Or could it be that if they didn’t spend that extra money on a cart, they would just go out and buy drugs with it, so why not. Or maybe it’s the motorcycle thing, you know, the wind in the hair, the exhilaration of speeding down a cart path at 6mph. Whatever the reason I just don’t get it. To me walking the course is
Here in AZ it’s just too hot to walk a 6000+ yard course most of the year. Even now in October we’re hitting 100 degrees by 1:00 pm. I’d rather save my strength for hitting the ball well. But soon we’ll have highs in the 60’s and then it’s perfect walking weather. This morning I played a round and it started nice and cool around 75 but by the time we finished it was around 95. The only time I’ve walked in the last couple months was when I didn’t have enough money and it was either walk and golf or not golf. -SS [FoS VGA] http://www.warped.com/~kwagner email me for logos, bbs ads, etc.
Response:
I Just returned from playing another round at my local course as a single, and as usual all three of the others in my foresome were in a cart. What is it about carts that golfer’s can’t seem to resist, is it
It’s an epidemic. As you said, most people are taking carts these days. So, someone new gets introduced to the game and they take a cart because "everyone else seems to be doing it." The other problem is that "bigger is better" so they go out and buy a big bag instead of a carry bag like mine — light with an automatic fold out stand. I personally don’t understand it. It took me about 6 months to convince my regular playing partner to start walking instead of riding — even though he was in perfect shape (early 20s) and had very little money to spend on golf. Go figure. As someone who sits in an office 10 hours a day, walking appeals to my need for exercise as well as enhances my enjoyment of the game. -Ron
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I Just returned from playing another round at my local course as a single, and as usual all three of the others in my foresome were in a cart. What is it about carts that golfer’s can’t seem to resist, is it that they just get too much exercise as it is and walking 18 would just put them over the top. Or could it be that if they didn’t spend that extra money on a cart, they would just go out and buy drugs with it, so why not. Or maybe it’s the motorcycle thing, you know, the wind in the hair, the exhilaration of speeding down a cart path at 6mph. Whatever the reason I just don’t get it. To me walking the course is almost as much a part of the game as the shots you make in between, and I can’t see why anyone (short of physical limitations) would choose to take a cart when the course does not require it. Could someone please enlighten me on this, because the way things are going we might all be required to take carts whether we want to or not, and I want to know what I should be enjoying about it when it happens. Cheers Monte
Aside from handicapped people really benefiting from such an aid, I feel with a lot of people, especially younger kids, it is a status/glamour thing. Some people see golf as an expensive or elite sport which is only played by people with a lot of money, (not that I necessarily agree with this). Thus, they go all out and tend to "show off" if you will. Some people probably need transportation for their alcohol too. As mentioned though, I fully appreciate what the cart does for the individuals who may conserve energy and/or prevent injury through the use of a cart. Cheers Michael — Michael Levesque | "People who cheat in life Applied Parallel Res. | golf. People who cheat in | golf almost always cheat | in life."
Response:
I Just returned from playing another round at my local course as a single, and as usual all three of the others in my foresome were in a cart. What is it about carts that golfer’s can’t seem to resist, is it that they just get too much exercise as it is and walking 18 would just put them over the top. Or could it be that if they didn’t spend that extra money on a cart, they would just go out and buy drugs with it, so why not. Or maybe it’s the motorcycle thing, you know, the wind in the hair, the exhilaration of speeding down a cart path at 6mph. Whatever the reason I just don’t get it. To me walking the course is almost as much a part of the game as the shots you make in between, and I can’t see why anyone (short of physical limitations) would choose to take a cart when the course does not require it. Could someone please enlighten me on this, because the way things are going we might all be required to take carts whether we want to or not, and I want to know what I should be enjoying about it when it happens. Cheers Monte
Response:
I Just returned from playing another round at my local course as a single, and as usual all three of the others in my foresome were in a cart… To me walking the course is almost as much a part of the game as the shots you make in between, and I can’t see why anyone (short of physical limitations) would choose to take a cart when the course does not require it. Could someone please enlighten me on this… Cheers Monte
I share your frustration with cart-addicts. There are really only three good reasons to take a cart: 1) The course is extremely hilly; 2) The course has unusually long distances between holes, or 3) The player is physically unable — and I don’t mean because of a spare tire. Otherwise, try walking… it really enhances the experience and is a big part of the joy of golf (not to mention that walking is cheaper and almost always faster)! I do think, however, that it’s not the cart-addicts that are to blame — its the courses. Unfortunately, too many clubs nowadays depend on cart revenue to pad their bottom line. As a result, too many people are now used to carts and don’t even think about walking, even when it is an option! The worst part is that there are so few people who really insist on walking that fewer courses are even offering the option at all. What a shame!