Unfortunately, riding in golf carts has become the status quo for most American golfers. Very few golf courses allow walking, claiming better speed of play when a golf cart is used. Also, many courses do not have caddie programs.
However, that doesn’t mean you have to go along with the crowd and ride in a cart while you play. It just means that we, the health conscious golfers, need to convince golf courses to allow us to walk, by showing them benefits of walking.
First of all walking, the most basic form of low impact cardiovascular exercise is safe and effective. Walking not only helps to control weight, but it can tone muscles and increase lean body mass. Walking can increase stamina; help people manage chronic conditions, such as, high blood pressure and diabetes. If that doesn’t get your attention, walking can boost your mood and make you happier.
Walking can also prevent wear and tear of the golf course and promote a cleaner environment. Constantly driving golf carts on fairways, especially in environmentally sensitive areas, can damage the course and increase the cost of maintenance. Gas guzzling carts emit dangerous toxicants to the environment and waste precious resources. Electric golf carts still damage the fairways and are costly to maintain. Add too much rain or lack of it to a golf course and golf carts can create irreversible damage to the turf. On the other hand, walking or pulling a golf cart over the grassy areas virtually does no damage to the grass, which creates a better environment and can save golf courses millions of dollars a year in maintenance and repair.
Carrying your golf bag while you play may be too taxing for the average golfer and caddies are not always available. So the best solution is to use a pull cart and many companies have now realized that there has been a void in this area. This year, several companies introduced new pull carts designed to accommodate those golfers that would like to walk while they play.
In the past, pull carts were very rudimentary and cumbersome. Today, pull carts are as high tech as the clubs they carry. They are lighter, more aerodynamic, sturdier and more compact than the ones you may remember from the local municipal course you played as a kid.
Some pull carts are motorized with remote controls to send them off to the next hole while you putt out. Newer pull carts are easier to pack in your car and can even fit on a golf cart if you are forced to ride.
If you are looking for a way to stay healthy and promote a better environment, not to mention saving wear and tear on your golf course, consider mentioning some of these facts to your golf pro or golf course maintenance supervisor the next time you play. Maybe if enough of us get together to promote walking we can convince golf management to let us walk every once in a while.
This article was written by Karen Palacios-Jansen. Check out other great articles at kpjgolf.com.
Golf is a popular game that has been around for hundreds of years. There are many rules of golf. Some rules are enforced mainly during regulation or professional play while others are standard rules that need to be learned and followed.
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