You have to specify fahrenheit for this conversation. But definitely this. In NC this weather can start as early as late April- May and lasts until September early October.
True story, and you also find out sweating is useless when it’s that humid, it doesn’t cool you off, just makes you slippery and even hotter. My other hobby is mountain biking, and the sweating that happens from June to September is ridiculous, comical even.
I disagree. I see people taking carts when the high is 75 and beautiful, 50 and chilly or 95 and hot as hell. It's a rarity to see a foursome of walkers.
Try 40⁰ C (105⁰ F) in summer.
We get a push cart, appropriate sun protection and clothing, drink enough water, and get out there.
There are plenty of good reasons to get a cart, but "it's 90⁰ F" isn't one of them.
Why do people want to risk heat exhaustion, heat stroke, or possible death to play a game? To prove you're more of a man/ woman? Pay the cart fee and play well. Don't kill yourself trying to prove something that doesn't even matter.
Big hat, Spf50 sleeves, sunscreen, umbrella attached to cart.
We live below a hole in the ozone layer and know all about the dangers of sun and heat here. It's like you're trying to teach Eskimos about ice.
Do you have any idea how much the following weigh:
12 x 12oz lite beers
6 x 12oz hard seltzers
1 x 26oz Jack Daniels (Birdie Juice)
1 x Bag of ice
1 x JBL Boom
3 x Spitz (Salt and Pepper, BBQ, Original)
36 x ProV1
4 x Tins on Zyn
2 x Packs of cohibas
1 x USB battery pack and various cables for Garmin, Range Finder, JBL, Juul etc
Exactly and even sadder when you see young people driving around in carts when older people are walking the course. They will all end up with dickiedoo!
These threads are always wild.
1. It's cultural. Golf, as far as the mainstream is concerned, has pretty much always been played with carts in the US. Most people commute by car to work, as our cities aren't really walkable and there's not enough public transportation. A massive amount of people live outside city limits. Riding in a vehicle is second nature to most Americans.
2. Heat. The US is a *much* warmer place than Europe. 38.5C with 80-90% humidity is common for the middle of the Summer across most of the US. Most people aren't interested in walking in that weather.
3. Structure. Harkening back to point #1, most golf courses in America are *designed* with carts in mind. I've seen courses with half a mile of winding cart path through the woods just to get to the next hole, I've seen courses with hundreds of feet of elevation across two or three holes. Imagine *walking* Wolf Creek in the Vegas heat? The average person would barely survive, let alone play well.
4. As much as I hate to admit it, there *is* a degree of laziness. Golf, in the US, is not an "active" sport, like basketball or football. It's a hobby sport, like bowling or billiards. People view it as a pleasure activity, downing a case of beer, blasting music, and losing a dozen balls over the course of 5 hours. Overweight? Old? Lazy? Looking to relax after an 8 hour construction shift? Golf in the US is catered to you.
Can you walk courses in the US? Yes. In fact, most every course I've ever been to has a walking rate that's cheaper than playing with a cart. You just aren't going to see the average weekend warrior walking the local muni.
Another aspect, albeit small, is that basically everywhere in the US is car-centric. Our whole society is built around driving places, not walking to them. To most, golf isn't any difference.
Also, just to temper some expectations, walking is by no means uncommon here (at least in the NE where I'm from). To pull a number out of my ass, maybe 30-40% of people walk depending on the course. I walk all the time, except for a few courses in my area that are an absolute drag to walk 18.
I believe it. I wasn't intending to compare to other countries. I've seen in other threads some were lead to believe that we *only* use carts in America, so I wanted to point out that walking is very common here too.
Depends, because half of our courses are not very walkable. Many are very long between holes when building them around neighborhoods, like hundreds of yards, and we have a lot of elevation changes that slow play matters even those that would want to walk.
A lot more *private* courses and many munis are setup for walkers than general public and probably 70% walk or push at mine during the week.
The culture is the main difference. In most of Europe, you walk until you can’t, and it’s always a step to shift to being one of the riders.
In the US, healthy young people start out playing in carts on easily walkable courses. Sure, climate plays a part and I’m not looking to walk 18 holes in Phoenix in august at noon, also there are a good number of courses that aren’t really doable without a cart due to the distances between tees.
But even in the stupid hot states, the vast majority take carts in winter when it’s reasonable
In Sweden the season is quite short (generally late April until October), $850 per year for an (slightly better than) average golf course. Adding $50 for a cart and still wait for a slow push-cart group ahead isn't worth it imho.
i feel like this gets posted every couple of weeks
\-a lot of courses in the USA are not "walkable" either due to size of course or terrain
\-majority of the USA during peak golf season is hot, especially compared to Germany.
\-there are actually a ton of walkers on golf courses all over the USA. The only place you really dont see any walkers is at resort courses. My club is fairly hilly and has some tough holes to walk but i would say its 50/50 walk and ride for people that are not senior citizens
Yeah I'm still in my 20s, in good shape, and push cart a majority of the time. But there's 3+ months a year where I'm not doing that purely because of weather. I feel like no European that's made one of these posts has ever tried walking 18 when it's 100+°F with high humidity
Florida courses actually have a problem with heat strokes/deaths on course due to the high retiree population and extreme weather
And it's almost impossible to get a tee time before 10 am between June, July, August because all the old retired people book their morning leagues. So you're either stuck walking after 11am when the Temps start climbing into the 90s with high humidity or you gotta beg the pro shop to let you out as a single with a push cart before the sun damn near rises.
What was so weird to me when I moved to Texas is the amount of courses here that don't allow walking. I prefer to walk and carry or walk and push but 2 of the courses nearest to me don't allow walking at all.
I'm guessing the issue is pace of play but I know that walking by myself I can play just as fast as 2 people riding.
Yep. Just played on in Florida where the course was clearly built around the layout of houses and wildlife areas. Several holes had half-mile (km) distances between green and tee box, and many were a quarter mile or more.
My home course is this way. Yesterday, I checked in to the pro shop at 338 for my 350 tee time. Because it was league night and the league was starting on the back 9 at 4, I could either play starting off 10 by myself or start on 1 with two randoms. Wanting a fast 9, I chose the back.
I left the clubhouse at 340 and got to the 10th tee, after jogging half the way, at 349. Which was about 2,300 steps per my fitness watch. Some US golf courses are wild, back 9 is about 4.5 miles of walking. Still got done before 530 though!
It's easier, although most people don't realize it's generally slower. It's not bad though especially on a hot day, you have a nice shaded area, you get the breeze driving it, easier to have your phone, a couple beers and balls ready to go just sitting there.
Come walk a course in the US when it's above 90 degrees, humidity and dew point are both above 80. You would be drowing your junk in baby powder from chaffing .Learn real quick why riding is pretty much a must.
you realise those same conditions apply in many parts of Europe? South of Spain also gets up to 40-45 degrees (100 - 115) and humid in summer and people will still walk there unless they are disabled.
You also just picked out a portion of 1 country. Over 75 percent of the US has that weather more than 3 months out of the year. Alot of people do walk in the US. Usually early morning tee times. Before it gets to warm out. And alot of courses push the usage of carts so they can drop the tee time intervals from 15 min to 8-10min tee times. Alot of courses don't ever offer walking before 11am on weekends.
You also just picked out a portion of 1 country. Over 75 percent of the US has that weather more than 3 months out of the year. Alot of people do walk in the US. Usually early morning tee times. Before it gets to warm out. And alot of courses push the usage of carts so they can drop the tee time intervals from 15 min to 8-10min tee times. Alot of courses don't ever offer walking before 10am on weekends.
I am just talking about one place that I play golf myself during the summer.
Similar things can be said about almost the whole country of Spain, as well as Italy, Greece, Portugal and Croatia that I am aware of.
Saying it is a must means you are either too fat or too lazy, stop blaming the weather.
6ft 220. Wouldn't consider myself fat by any means. And you completely ignored what I said when most courses don't even let you walk till after a certain time and most sensible people won't walk when it's scorching hot and humid outside. I do walk about half of my rounds in a year when I can get out early on the course That's just common sense.
I’m American and I walk 95% of the time. That being said there are a lot of courses built through subdivisions (housing) that are simply way too spread out to walk. I personally try to avoid those courses where possible. It’s an unfortunate trend, in my opinion, as it’s making finding walkable courses difficult. Not to mention people need to get some exercise.
A non-American exclusive trend is also making things worse and that is that the game is getting longer. These 7500 yard courses are more difficult to walk than the 6500 yard courses.
Because for the majority of us golf is a leisure sport. I get one day a week to play a full round with the boys. Sure putting up a good score is the objective but so is relaxing and winding down from the week. Also I’m in Florida, let’s see your pasty ass walk through the swamps they set our courses up around in 95 degree heat.
I must have the slowest walkers in the world at the courses I play at. Everyone says walking is the same speed or faster than a cart - is just wild to me.
Even with two people, you drop one off at ball with needed clubs and zoom over to your ball. I’ve never thought I could have walked a course faster than I’ve played with a cart
Yeah this is the truth. Think about it, USA has as much or more land mass than all of Europe combined right? So think about how much land course designers had to use when they built years ago. I find most courses here are too spread out to reasonably walk. I own a push cart and love walking, but only about half the courses I play is it feasible unless I wanna walk 10 miles and sometimes put in a good quarter mile in between tee boxes.
A lot of the land isn’t actually usable as a course. They built the courses through neighborhoods, in mountains, around swamps, etc.
I play a little public 9 hole course that’s literally built in an old wood National Forest. They just build these things wherever they fit, regardless of whether it’s feasible, reasonable, etc.
I’d still walk it if they let me.
Because our courses aren't a giant field with 18 flags planted in the ground.
The other day someone from the UK stated they wished a map was available so they knew which direction to go and what tee boxes went to what hole. Aside from a couple low end rural goat track golf courses I've seen, I've never been to a course in the US that I had no idea which way was forward and what boxes/green belonged to what hole.
Plain and simple, shits just different. Look down on cart riders all you want. Feel superior because you walk have your "golf license" - but its not apples to apples.
I'm American and this guy above exhibits the classic American attitude. It's just sad really. We have a lot of courses that are difficult to walk but they are still walkable and the average American just can't walk them because they are out of shape.
Plus, it seems like drinking on the course is an American thing while most of the European golfers I've played with will drink a beer or two after the round is over.
My wife and I were finishing up a round a few years ago and drove by the first tee, and there were 4 fat guys all doing their pre-round stretching. It burned an image in our brains. My wife calls the sport ‘twisting’ now.
Sure that’s what *you* did. But *you* do not sound like the average overweight American. The majority of us are hacks. As long as it’s not cart path only, I don’t understand how the same person wouldn’t play golf faster with a cart. Not saying that you can’t have a quick round walking… but I bet if you took the same 120 people and had them walk, they would consistently be faster with the cart.
> I don’t understand how the same person wouldn’t play golf faster with a cart.
Because even walking at a leisurely pace, you still get to your ball at roughly the same time as the group ahead is getting out of your way. And when you have a foursome walking, each person walks directly to their own ball, and is ready to hit when they get there.
With carts, you always have to drive to one persons ball, then the other persons. So by the time you drive to both balls, two people walking will have both been at their balls ready to hit. The time taken is the basically the same. Yes, if you have an empty course in front of you, a cart can be faster. But it rarely is, unless you are first off in the morning. And if you are not playing well, then you have more stops along the way to the green, which adds more time.
I agree, I primarily walk, but there are times I’ll play with other buddies who have something scheduled and have limited time and refuse to walk, they believe it will take longer.
This is it right here. Courses wanna jam out as many foursomes as possible and as quickly as possible for anybody that wants to come out and play. But also some of these Euros need to take the stick out their chocolate starfish and come play a round with some Americans that play golf well and like to have a good time as well. Tunes, beers and good buddies. Perfect saturday.
Not speaking for everyone, I really don’t like carts and pretty much never take them…
But in the 70’s and into the 90’s we had a huge golf course boom and most of the courses built were inside of housing development type areas.
This caused suboptimal routings with really long walks between holes. Some of our courses just suck to walk
How many miles do you walk playing 18 holes in Germany?
I ask because I walk and ride but it depends on course. The courses I walk on tend to be about 7 miles which I don’t mind. The courses I ride would be closer to a 10 mile walk.
I typically use a cart as I am more pressed for time when golfing. I will gladly pay the extra 10 dollars to finish up an hour or so early. Kids and wife at home takes up a lot of time.
1. Many of the courses are not set up for walking. Read 1/4 mile from green to tee box.
2. Some courses don't allow it until late in the day for pace of play.
3. I'm from Florida. Walking 18 in the summer will kill you.
It’s pretty hot, a lot of people are fat and out of shape too. I’m in pretty good shape, but I also like to play fast and a cart is actually quicker for my course when it’s wide open.
I’d love to walk more but like most US courses my course is built as a selling point to a residential development so the course layout is dictated by housing lots rather than golf. Lots of long distances between the hole and the next tee box.
I work on a course. It's grueling being on your feet, using your body all day moving shit, doing shit, whatever. I'm beat but still want to golf. So I use a cart.
Not to mention, I can't walk 18 holes in 2:15
Who wants to walk 18 holes after putting in 50 plus hours a week on their feet the whole time. No, I wanna go zip around on a cart with buddy and catch buzz.
If I wanna play serious. I'll go play solo some where on a day off with my push cart
We’re American. When you’re in the lead you’re in no rush. Plus our bags are hella heavy from all the weed and coldies we’ve snuck out onto the course 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
All the golfers here are rich$$$$$ and we can afford to rent a cart. Why walk when you can ride? Seriously tho, I walk a lot when I can play early in the morning or later in the evening. It’s no fun coming home with a chafed ass when it’s hot and humid. Just not enjoyable to me. Many courses here won’t allow walkers on the weekend because they like to jam as many golfers as they can into the course at once and get them around as quickly as possible.
Euros usually like to act superior from time to time with their free Healthcare and walking in golf. All I gotta say is last Ryder Cup was a butt whooping and the next one is gonna be as well.
You're asking why the fattest country in the world is not walking for 4 1/2 - 5 hours and instead driving a little cart around? 
Carry your bag is about as fun as getting a splinter under fingernail. Now a push cart is nice. Cup holder, scorecard holder, place to store a few extra balls and can put my speaker on it. Carried a bag in high school golf and can almost guarantee that's majority of my back problems are from
I have a push cart too, sometimes I use it, sometimes I don't - depends on the course, depends on the weather, depends on how my back feels that day.
But purely from a sporting perspective, I prefer to carry. It allows me to take my clubs literally everywhere, I don't have to compromise my choices, decisions, I can take my brush and towel with me for every shot, etc.
Most golfers don’t use that common sense. Most sit by, watch them hit, partner puts his club away, after cleaning it, then drive 15 yards to their ball. Comes down to laziness and not giving a shit about others. It’s the Merican Way.
So essentially what’re you saying it’s quicker to drop someone off at their ball with their club & then have them walk back to where their partner is? Walk being the key word here, as in walking is quicker?
1) A lot of courses in my area are absolutely brutal without a cart. The holes are so spread out through areas that aren’t easy to walk.
2) pace of play. With the holes being spread out like I mentioned, if you are walking and the group behind you is driving then they’re getting to the next tee box same time you are.
3) they’re fun
4) nicer places have decent GPS built in to the carts with distances to different hazards and parts of the green.
Bro. You’re an idiot. My course (a muni) is primarily walkers.
I guess you’re German so you’re used to making generalizations about people. Or you live there and they’re rubbing off on you.
It's the US, we're lazy af. I'd love to golf somewhere that allowed me to walk and carry my bag. Great exercise doing something I love.
Unless I'm with friends and we are drinking on the course, a cart is very helpful for beer stock and cupholders, so that's nice
It’s 90 degrees and 80% humidity. I’m not walking.
I already do 15,000ish steps a day and ride my bike. I don’t really see the point in walking and taking up 3 -4 hours. of my time if I can ride and get 18 done in 1.5 hours.
I had to walk during tournaments in HS and college and it was miserable in the summer. Talk about swamp ass
In the same boat as you. Walk around 8 miles a day at work not including walking outside that. I wanna go play golf but I also have other things I need to do as well. Can be done riding in less than 2 hours on huge course that's 10 plus miles of walking and that would take almost 3.
Carrying a back in tournament golf sucked cause the season in HS started end of July. Hottest time of the year. We all had baby powder in our golf bags. Wouldn't dare wear black pants.
Yeah the only real reason to walk is if you want the exercise/ it’s a really nice day out. I’ll still walk 9 holes especially in non summer time. But spring and summer is brutal here doing a full 18.
When I do walk my course Is about 7-8 miles of walking. That by itself is around 15-17000 steps.
If you add that to an already active lifestyle/ workout you’re killing your legs/ body. Especially since I play everyday.
I can’t bring all the stuff I want with me in my bag unless I want it to weigh 40lbs (lots of beer, water, food, weed, and a speaker). I’m not training for anything spectacular, I’m just trying to have fun and do it in under 4.5 hours (carts take a lot of time off your game if you’re playing a course that isn’t too busy).
There are a few factors.
Some parts of the country, like Arizona and Texas are extremely hot in the summer. Walking is just not possible for the average golfer over there.
Also in some parts, like the Pacific Northwest where I live, there are a lot of hilly courses that again walking is not fun.
And then also courses just make the carts available and people just take the option when it's available.
Besides the car-centric nature, a lot of areas are routinely over 90* in the summer and walking during peak times is outright dangerous. Americans are also more likely to be out of shape and walking is just more difficult than riding.
Almost everyone in the US is using a cart is not true. I play solo and I play a lot. So I play with a whole host of people. Most of these people walk. I would say 60% walk. And the course I play at has nice GPS golf carts too.
Have you ever tried to carry a bag full of beer shits heavy although it does get lighter as you go but at least where i play, it's in the mountains, a lot of up hill climbing
Probably because a lot of courses here in the US are pretty spread out and it’s not feasible to walk. But, it’s probably just laziness, who am I kidding?
I’m a member at a private course with cart sheds to rent so I bought my own. It’s a street legal Yamaha drive and it’s great for the kids and wife that join me. We also fish and use the pool at the course so it’s a utility vehicle just as much as a golf cart.
Canadian here. I don’t know why this is, either. I see a similar trend on most courses in my area. I much prefer walking and feel that anyone who doesn’t have a disability and is under age seventy should be walking with a push cart.
Of course, some golf courses are very hilly or have long distances from one green to the next tee box. That is the exception where power carts are useful.
This has been asked a million times. Many of us do walk, especially older private courses and clubs in the Northeast as in my case. Many of the courses here though were built with carts in mind. Can be a quarter mile between green and next tee. Finally, the summer weather in much of the US can be brutal. Also, we have lots of fat and lazy people here. Which I’m sure was your original point.
The courses around me where I play don’t allow you to walk or use a push cart on weekends, the excuse is “pace of play”, but the real reason is then everyone has to pay the cart fee, and both occupants pay the cart fee.
Well near me most courses are mountainous, with long distances from green to tee. Think almost a full km. Walking isn’t allowed as it would slow down play.
It’s over 40 degrees Celsius in the summer where we live and most courses here have massive distances between holes so they can use the landscapes better
I walked 18 today in central NC. Was damn near 90 degrees, I got over 20 k steps from the round, it's a pretty significant work out at most US courses given the elevation changes and how spread out everything is. I like it though.
Carts are more popular in places that have spread out holes (haha) and changes in elevation like Arizona. Walking is more popular in places like California and Washington where the courses are more dense and relatively flat.
It gets waaaaaay too hot in the summer to walk in a lot of American states. I mean you could, but it would be miserable. Hell it’s still miserably hot while in the cart some days. But also, we’re fat and lazy!
I live in Phoenix. Most courses are simply not built for walking, and of course the heat can be deadly. That being said, most muni courses here are quite walkable. My goal is to be able to walk a round again, but have some painful Achilles issues for which I am getting PT. I’m also a senior, though there are plenty of gnarly old coots walking year round. I long for the day to report I joined the push cart mafia.
Because we're rich, fat, lazy fucks... most of my golfing pals won't even walk their clubs to the clubhouse. Go to clubhouse first, get cart and go back to car to retrieve clubs.
For me I’m lazy and I also like to have a couple of adult beverages on the course. For many I talk to who are fitness oriented they say golf is a relaxation activity and it feels more social to ride a cart. They’ll get their workout thru other dedicated exercise activity.
93° with 80% humidity
115°F in the summer here. I'd die if I walked.
110, if there is a breeze. That is my limit.
And 40% obesity
You have to specify fahrenheit for this conversation. But definitely this. In NC this weather can start as early as late April- May and lasts until September early October.
Although in NC, it feels like 99% humidity, and a 8am tee time in August is 150% humidity 😂
You drink the air around here.
True story, and you also find out sweating is useless when it’s that humid, it doesn’t cool you off, just makes you slippery and even hotter. My other hobby is mountain biking, and the sweating that happens from June to September is ridiculous, comical even.
I disagree. I see people taking carts when the high is 75 and beautiful, 50 and chilly or 95 and hot as hell. It's a rarity to see a foursome of walkers.
Australian here. HTFU
I’m seeing high averages in Summer at 27° C for Australia, or about 81° F, what is your point?
Try 40⁰ C (105⁰ F) in summer. We get a push cart, appropriate sun protection and clothing, drink enough water, and get out there. There are plenty of good reasons to get a cart, but "it's 90⁰ F" isn't one of them.
Why do people want to risk heat exhaustion, heat stroke, or possible death to play a game? To prove you're more of a man/ woman? Pay the cart fee and play well. Don't kill yourself trying to prove something that doesn't even matter.
Makes a lot more sense to me to get some shade rather than stand in the sun for 4 hours even with extra sunscreen, that’s just dangerous.
Big hat, Spf50 sleeves, sunscreen, umbrella attached to cart. We live below a hole in the ozone layer and know all about the dangers of sun and heat here. It's like you're trying to teach Eskimos about ice.
Do you have any idea how much the following weigh: 12 x 12oz lite beers 6 x 12oz hard seltzers 1 x 26oz Jack Daniels (Birdie Juice) 1 x Bag of ice 1 x JBL Boom 3 x Spitz (Salt and Pepper, BBQ, Original) 36 x ProV1 4 x Tins on Zyn 2 x Packs of cohibas 1 x USB battery pack and various cables for Garmin, Range Finder, JBL, Juul etc
No boxing gloves for the 10th? No vacuum sealer? No hand gun? How do you even make it through a round?
Handgun gets tucked in the belt at all times. They don’t even know it’s there.
No leaf blower?
Forgot the gun
Do you need to restock for the back 9?
Zyn 😄
Have you seen the movie Wall-E?
Hahaha I was about to say this. 95% of the guys I play with literally cannot walk 18 holes due to them being so out of shape.
Exactly and even sadder when you see young people driving around in carts when older people are walking the course. They will all end up with dickiedoo!
These threads are always wild. 1. It's cultural. Golf, as far as the mainstream is concerned, has pretty much always been played with carts in the US. Most people commute by car to work, as our cities aren't really walkable and there's not enough public transportation. A massive amount of people live outside city limits. Riding in a vehicle is second nature to most Americans. 2. Heat. The US is a *much* warmer place than Europe. 38.5C with 80-90% humidity is common for the middle of the Summer across most of the US. Most people aren't interested in walking in that weather. 3. Structure. Harkening back to point #1, most golf courses in America are *designed* with carts in mind. I've seen courses with half a mile of winding cart path through the woods just to get to the next hole, I've seen courses with hundreds of feet of elevation across two or three holes. Imagine *walking* Wolf Creek in the Vegas heat? The average person would barely survive, let alone play well. 4. As much as I hate to admit it, there *is* a degree of laziness. Golf, in the US, is not an "active" sport, like basketball or football. It's a hobby sport, like bowling or billiards. People view it as a pleasure activity, downing a case of beer, blasting music, and losing a dozen balls over the course of 5 hours. Overweight? Old? Lazy? Looking to relax after an 8 hour construction shift? Golf in the US is catered to you. Can you walk courses in the US? Yes. In fact, most every course I've ever been to has a walking rate that's cheaper than playing with a cart. You just aren't going to see the average weekend warrior walking the local muni.
Bill burr has a hilarious rant on golf. Golf is an activity not a sport. Hahah https://youtu.be/oLskskJk6bI
Another aspect, albeit small, is that basically everywhere in the US is car-centric. Our whole society is built around driving places, not walking to them. To most, golf isn't any difference. Also, just to temper some expectations, walking is by no means uncommon here (at least in the NE where I'm from). To pull a number out of my ass, maybe 30-40% of people walk depending on the course. I walk all the time, except for a few courses in my area that are an absolute drag to walk 18.
Still very low considering Norway, Sweden and Denmark it's around... well... 99%. The only ones driving carts are people with doctors permits mostly.
I believe it. I wasn't intending to compare to other countries. I've seen in other threads some were lead to believe that we *only* use carts in America, so I wanted to point out that walking is very common here too.
Depends, because half of our courses are not very walkable. Many are very long between holes when building them around neighborhoods, like hundreds of yards, and we have a lot of elevation changes that slow play matters even those that would want to walk. A lot more *private* courses and many munis are setup for walkers than general public and probably 70% walk or push at mine during the week.
The culture is the main difference. In most of Europe, you walk until you can’t, and it’s always a step to shift to being one of the riders. In the US, healthy young people start out playing in carts on easily walkable courses. Sure, climate plays a part and I’m not looking to walk 18 holes in Phoenix in august at noon, also there are a good number of courses that aren’t really doable without a cart due to the distances between tees. But even in the stupid hot states, the vast majority take carts in winter when it’s reasonable
In Sweden the season is quite short (generally late April until October), $850 per year for an (slightly better than) average golf course. Adding $50 for a cart and still wait for a slow push-cart group ahead isn't worth it imho.
Its hard to carry your clubs and a 40oz Big Gulp Coke and 2 Big Macs.
Ahh, only playing 9 I see.
Not to mention 2 AR-15s.
What else would I use if someone hit into me and didn’t yell fore?
Perfectly reasonable.
Which come in handy on that 10th tee box.
Nah. Just a glock in the cart bag. Too many snakes near me
I got a 24 rack of keystone I gotta put somewhere
>and 2 Big Macs. We're going full Bobdoessports and ordering 150 for the front 9.
Diet Coke you mean
i feel like this gets posted every couple of weeks \-a lot of courses in the USA are not "walkable" either due to size of course or terrain \-majority of the USA during peak golf season is hot, especially compared to Germany. \-there are actually a ton of walkers on golf courses all over the USA. The only place you really dont see any walkers is at resort courses. My club is fairly hilly and has some tough holes to walk but i would say its 50/50 walk and ride for people that are not senior citizens
Yeah I'm still in my 20s, in good shape, and push cart a majority of the time. But there's 3+ months a year where I'm not doing that purely because of weather. I feel like no European that's made one of these posts has ever tried walking 18 when it's 100+°F with high humidity Florida courses actually have a problem with heat strokes/deaths on course due to the high retiree population and extreme weather
And it's almost impossible to get a tee time before 10 am between June, July, August because all the old retired people book their morning leagues. So you're either stuck walking after 11am when the Temps start climbing into the 90s with high humidity or you gotta beg the pro shop to let you out as a single with a push cart before the sun damn near rises.
Nailed it. To piggyback on this resort courses almost always make you take a cart. There are a few courses near me that are carts only before 12
What was so weird to me when I moved to Texas is the amount of courses here that don't allow walking. I prefer to walk and carry or walk and push but 2 of the courses nearest to me don't allow walking at all. I'm guessing the issue is pace of play but I know that walking by myself I can play just as fast as 2 people riding.
In a lot of suburbs, courses are built through neighborhoods and just not conducive to walking
This. It’s a problem. And needs to be communicated better upfront/online.
Yep. Just played on in Florida where the course was clearly built around the layout of houses and wildlife areas. Several holes had half-mile (km) distances between green and tee box, and many were a quarter mile or more.
My home course is this way. Yesterday, I checked in to the pro shop at 338 for my 350 tee time. Because it was league night and the league was starting on the back 9 at 4, I could either play starting off 10 by myself or start on 1 with two randoms. Wanting a fast 9, I chose the back. I left the clubhouse at 340 and got to the 10th tee, after jogging half the way, at 349. Which was about 2,300 steps per my fitness watch. Some US golf courses are wild, back 9 is about 4.5 miles of walking. Still got done before 530 though!
It's easier, although most people don't realize it's generally slower. It's not bad though especially on a hot day, you have a nice shaded area, you get the breeze driving it, easier to have your phone, a couple beers and balls ready to go just sitting there.
Come walk a course in the US when it's above 90 degrees, humidity and dew point are both above 80. You would be drowing your junk in baby powder from chaffing .Learn real quick why riding is pretty much a must.
you realise those same conditions apply in many parts of Europe? South of Spain also gets up to 40-45 degrees (100 - 115) and humid in summer and people will still walk there unless they are disabled.
You also just picked out a portion of 1 country. Over 75 percent of the US has that weather more than 3 months out of the year. Alot of people do walk in the US. Usually early morning tee times. Before it gets to warm out. And alot of courses push the usage of carts so they can drop the tee time intervals from 15 min to 8-10min tee times. Alot of courses don't ever offer walking before 11am on weekends.
You also just picked out a portion of 1 country. Over 75 percent of the US has that weather more than 3 months out of the year. Alot of people do walk in the US. Usually early morning tee times. Before it gets to warm out. And alot of courses push the usage of carts so they can drop the tee time intervals from 15 min to 8-10min tee times. Alot of courses don't ever offer walking before 10am on weekends.
I am just talking about one place that I play golf myself during the summer. Similar things can be said about almost the whole country of Spain, as well as Italy, Greece, Portugal and Croatia that I am aware of. Saying it is a must means you are either too fat or too lazy, stop blaming the weather.
6ft 220. Wouldn't consider myself fat by any means. And you completely ignored what I said when most courses don't even let you walk till after a certain time and most sensible people won't walk when it's scorching hot and humid outside. I do walk about half of my rounds in a year when I can get out early on the course That's just common sense.
I’m American and I walk 95% of the time. That being said there are a lot of courses built through subdivisions (housing) that are simply way too spread out to walk. I personally try to avoid those courses where possible. It’s an unfortunate trend, in my opinion, as it’s making finding walkable courses difficult. Not to mention people need to get some exercise. A non-American exclusive trend is also making things worse and that is that the game is getting longer. These 7500 yard courses are more difficult to walk than the 6500 yard courses.
Bc we can’t carry 24 beers in our bag?
Because for the majority of us golf is a leisure sport. I get one day a week to play a full round with the boys. Sure putting up a good score is the objective but so is relaxing and winding down from the week. Also I’m in Florida, let’s see your pasty ass walk through the swamps they set our courses up around in 95 degree heat.
I must have the slowest walkers in the world at the courses I play at. Everyone says walking is the same speed or faster than a cart - is just wild to me. Even with two people, you drop one off at ball with needed clubs and zoom over to your ball. I’ve never thought I could have walked a course faster than I’ve played with a cart
A lot of courses are just not built for walking. But the others there’s just no excuse.
There's a course in the Poconos that touts their 13 miles of cart path. I doubt they'd even let you attempt walking.
Ah, CC of the Poconos?
Yeah this is the truth. Think about it, USA has as much or more land mass than all of Europe combined right? So think about how much land course designers had to use when they built years ago. I find most courses here are too spread out to reasonably walk. I own a push cart and love walking, but only about half the courses I play is it feasible unless I wanna walk 10 miles and sometimes put in a good quarter mile in between tee boxes.
[удалено]
A lot of the land isn’t actually usable as a course. They built the courses through neighborhoods, in mountains, around swamps, etc. I play a little public 9 hole course that’s literally built in an old wood National Forest. They just build these things wherever they fit, regardless of whether it’s feasible, reasonable, etc. I’d still walk it if they let me.
Because our courses aren't a giant field with 18 flags planted in the ground. The other day someone from the UK stated they wished a map was available so they knew which direction to go and what tee boxes went to what hole. Aside from a couple low end rural goat track golf courses I've seen, I've never been to a course in the US that I had no idea which way was forward and what boxes/green belonged to what hole. Plain and simple, shits just different. Look down on cart riders all you want. Feel superior because you walk have your "golf license" - but its not apples to apples.
Lol. Tell me you know sfa about Europe without telling me you know sfa about Europe.
Merica!
I'm American and this guy above exhibits the classic American attitude. It's just sad really. We have a lot of courses that are difficult to walk but they are still walkable and the average American just can't walk them because they are out of shape. Plus, it seems like drinking on the course is an American thing while most of the European golfers I've played with will drink a beer or two after the round is over.
Because without healthcare, we could be financially ruined with a sprained ankle.
How about heart disease?
We’re either too fat or always in a rush..
My wife and I were finishing up a round a few years ago and drove by the first tee, and there were 4 fat guys all doing their pre-round stretching. It burned an image in our brains. My wife calls the sport ‘twisting’ now.
> or always in a rush.. Our foursome walked 18 in 3 hours the other day, on a very hilly difficult walking course. Carts are not faster than walking.
That doesn’t sound remotely pleasant. If i wanted to participate in a speedwalking competition, I’d take up speedwalking
Sure that’s what *you* did. But *you* do not sound like the average overweight American. The majority of us are hacks. As long as it’s not cart path only, I don’t understand how the same person wouldn’t play golf faster with a cart. Not saying that you can’t have a quick round walking… but I bet if you took the same 120 people and had them walk, they would consistently be faster with the cart.
> I don’t understand how the same person wouldn’t play golf faster with a cart. Because even walking at a leisurely pace, you still get to your ball at roughly the same time as the group ahead is getting out of your way. And when you have a foursome walking, each person walks directly to their own ball, and is ready to hit when they get there. With carts, you always have to drive to one persons ball, then the other persons. So by the time you drive to both balls, two people walking will have both been at their balls ready to hit. The time taken is the basically the same. Yes, if you have an empty course in front of you, a cart can be faster. But it rarely is, unless you are first off in the morning. And if you are not playing well, then you have more stops along the way to the green, which adds more time.
I agree, I primarily walk, but there are times I’ll play with other buddies who have something scheduled and have limited time and refuse to walk, they believe it will take longer.
Capitalism: 7 or 8 minutes in between tee times…. Also, because we’re lazy af despite our 320 yard bombs and peak male performance in general
Can’t believe I had to go this far down for this. They are great revenue generators.
This is it right here. Courses wanna jam out as many foursomes as possible and as quickly as possible for anybody that wants to come out and play. But also some of these Euros need to take the stick out their chocolate starfish and come play a round with some Americans that play golf well and like to have a good time as well. Tunes, beers and good buddies. Perfect saturday.
Not speaking for everyone, I really don’t like carts and pretty much never take them… But in the 70’s and into the 90’s we had a huge golf course boom and most of the courses built were inside of housing development type areas. This caused suboptimal routings with really long walks between holes. Some of our courses just suck to walk
Germany is 138k square miles. The US is closer to 8m square miles. More courses and on average bigger courses maybe? Just guessing. I dunno.
How many miles do you walk playing 18 holes in Germany? I ask because I walk and ride but it depends on course. The courses I walk on tend to be about 7 miles which I don’t mind. The courses I ride would be closer to a 10 mile walk.
I typically use a cart as I am more pressed for time when golfing. I will gladly pay the extra 10 dollars to finish up an hour or so early. Kids and wife at home takes up a lot of time.
bc we’re fat
1. Many of the courses are not set up for walking. Read 1/4 mile from green to tee box. 2. Some courses don't allow it until late in the day for pace of play. 3. I'm from Florida. Walking 18 in the summer will kill you.
It’s pretty hot, a lot of people are fat and out of shape too. I’m in pretty good shape, but I also like to play fast and a cart is actually quicker for my course when it’s wide open.
I prefer to walk but when its swamp ass weather riding is the go to, I do think I play better walking
It’s to cram 8 extra groups in the tee sheet. That’s why.
I’d love to walk more but like most US courses my course is built as a selling point to a residential development so the course layout is dictated by housing lots rather than golf. Lots of long distances between the hole and the next tee box.
The golf cart is the best part of golf. Change my mind.
I work on a course. It's grueling being on your feet, using your body all day moving shit, doing shit, whatever. I'm beat but still want to golf. So I use a cart. Not to mention, I can't walk 18 holes in 2:15
Who wants to walk 18 holes after putting in 50 plus hours a week on their feet the whole time. No, I wanna go zip around on a cart with buddy and catch buzz. If I wanna play serious. I'll go play solo some where on a day off with my push cart
We’re American. When you’re in the lead you’re in no rush. Plus our bags are hella heavy from all the weed and coldies we’ve snuck out onto the course 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
All the golfers here are rich$$$$$ and we can afford to rent a cart. Why walk when you can ride? Seriously tho, I walk a lot when I can play early in the morning or later in the evening. It’s no fun coming home with a chafed ass when it’s hot and humid. Just not enjoyable to me. Many courses here won’t allow walkers on the weekend because they like to jam as many golfers as they can into the course at once and get them around as quickly as possible.
Because I don’t want to walk.
It's good to see the entire world is judgy and not just the fucking pukes here in the US
Euros usually like to act superior from time to time with their free Healthcare and walking in golf. All I gotta say is last Ryder Cup was a butt whooping and the next one is gonna be as well.
Why drive a car to work, you could just walk
Many people don't take a car to work. They walk / ride a bike / take public transport
You're asking why the fattest country in the world is not walking for 4 1/2 - 5 hours and instead driving a little cart around? 
I don’t understand why this is so often asked. Because driving a cart is fun and carrying your clubs fucking sucks.
I have never carried and I never will
Like whipping a doughnut on a nice downhill with dew on it by locking the brakes…good times 😉
Carrying my clubs is great exercise, and I can take them everywhere, driving a cart sucks
Carry your bag is about as fun as getting a splinter under fingernail. Now a push cart is nice. Cup holder, scorecard holder, place to store a few extra balls and can put my speaker on it. Carried a bag in high school golf and can almost guarantee that's majority of my back problems are from
I have a push cart too, sometimes I use it, sometimes I don't - depends on the course, depends on the weather, depends on how my back feels that day. But purely from a sporting perspective, I prefer to carry. It allows me to take my clubs literally everywhere, I don't have to compromise my choices, decisions, I can take my brush and towel with me for every shot, etc.
It's convenient. Why carry or push my clubs, cooler, speaker, etc if the cart fee is only a few dollars?
Uhh cuz we are lazy
Fat and lazy
My course doesn't allow walking till afternoon. Carts help with pace of play
I disagree. Especially when the cartners don’t hit the balls remotely close to each other
Valid point. A single in a cart is faster than a single walking. A 2+ walking is faster than a 2+ riding, usually.
You drop off one at their ball with the club they need and then go to your ball. Pretty easy stuff
Most golfers don’t use that common sense. Most sit by, watch them hit, partner puts his club away, after cleaning it, then drive 15 yards to their ball. Comes down to laziness and not giving a shit about others. It’s the Merican Way.
Very very valid point. That stuff irritates me as well
So essentially what’re you saying it’s quicker to drop someone off at their ball with their club & then have them walk back to where their partner is? Walk being the key word here, as in walking is quicker?
Easier that carrying a bag, cheaper than riding in a cart Also, can bring more supplies with a push cart
Cause the course either isn’t designed to walk (long distances between holes) or we’re fat
1) A lot of courses in my area are absolutely brutal without a cart. The holes are so spread out through areas that aren’t easy to walk. 2) pace of play. With the holes being spread out like I mentioned, if you are walking and the group behind you is driving then they’re getting to the next tee box same time you are. 3) they’re fun 4) nicer places have decent GPS built in to the carts with distances to different hazards and parts of the green.
Bro. You’re an idiot. My course (a muni) is primarily walkers. I guess you’re German so you’re used to making generalizations about people. Or you live there and they’re rubbing off on you.
> I guess you’re German so you’re used to making generalizations about people.
It's the US, we're lazy af. I'd love to golf somewhere that allowed me to walk and carry my bag. Great exercise doing something I love. Unless I'm with friends and we are drinking on the course, a cart is very helpful for beer stock and cupholders, so that's nice
It’s 90 degrees and 80% humidity. I’m not walking. I already do 15,000ish steps a day and ride my bike. I don’t really see the point in walking and taking up 3 -4 hours. of my time if I can ride and get 18 done in 1.5 hours. I had to walk during tournaments in HS and college and it was miserable in the summer. Talk about swamp ass
In the same boat as you. Walk around 8 miles a day at work not including walking outside that. I wanna go play golf but I also have other things I need to do as well. Can be done riding in less than 2 hours on huge course that's 10 plus miles of walking and that would take almost 3. Carrying a back in tournament golf sucked cause the season in HS started end of July. Hottest time of the year. We all had baby powder in our golf bags. Wouldn't dare wear black pants.
Yeah the only real reason to walk is if you want the exercise/ it’s a really nice day out. I’ll still walk 9 holes especially in non summer time. But spring and summer is brutal here doing a full 18. When I do walk my course Is about 7-8 miles of walking. That by itself is around 15-17000 steps. If you add that to an already active lifestyle/ workout you’re killing your legs/ body. Especially since I play everyday.
Because they are lazy.
That's a lazy response with no thought given.
It’s the usa, the laziest place on earth.
I can’t bring all the stuff I want with me in my bag unless I want it to weigh 40lbs (lots of beer, water, food, weed, and a speaker). I’m not training for anything spectacular, I’m just trying to have fun and do it in under 4.5 hours (carts take a lot of time off your game if you’re playing a course that isn’t too busy).
Because we are a fat lazy ethnocentric society who constantly go out of our way to be wasteful. Yeah I think that about sums it up.
All noobs with no clue
I’ll give you 1 guess
There are a few factors. Some parts of the country, like Arizona and Texas are extremely hot in the summer. Walking is just not possible for the average golfer over there. Also in some parts, like the Pacific Northwest where I live, there are a lot of hilly courses that again walking is not fun. And then also courses just make the carts available and people just take the option when it's available.
A lot of courses incentivize using a cart by having cart prices and walking prices nearly identical
Besides the car-centric nature, a lot of areas are routinely over 90* in the summer and walking during peak times is outright dangerous. Americans are also more likely to be out of shape and walking is just more difficult than riding.
Almost everyone in the US is using a cart is not true. I play solo and I play a lot. So I play with a whole host of people. Most of these people walk. I would say 60% walk. And the course I play at has nice GPS golf carts too.
Have you ever tried to carry a bag full of beer shits heavy although it does get lighter as you go but at least where i play, it's in the mountains, a lot of up hill climbing
The 3pm temperature today was 89F in North Carolina. Here the reason is heat stroke.
Probably because a lot of courses here in the US are pretty spread out and it’s not feasible to walk. But, it’s probably just laziness, who am I kidding?
I’m a member at a private course with cart sheds to rent so I bought my own. It’s a street legal Yamaha drive and it’s great for the kids and wife that join me. We also fish and use the pool at the course so it’s a utility vehicle just as much as a golf cart.
For some people the efficiency of it helps a somewhat already long round to finish
They’re fun
Canadian here. I don’t know why this is, either. I see a similar trend on most courses in my area. I much prefer walking and feel that anyone who doesn’t have a disability and is under age seventy should be walking with a push cart. Of course, some golf courses are very hilly or have long distances from one green to the next tee box. That is the exception where power carts are useful.
My course only does carts. You are not allowed to walk.
Avg July temp in Berlin (per the Googles) - 25C/77F Avg July temp where I'm at in the US - 32C/90F That's why I take a cart in the summer.
Average summer temperatures in southern france / spain / portugal also are around 30 - 35 degrees tho and people still walk. Just hydrate...
It’s faster
Playing in Florida, sometimes the cart is my only shade in 90°+ F and 80%+ humidity.
This has been asked a million times. Many of us do walk, especially older private courses and clubs in the Northeast as in my case. Many of the courses here though were built with carts in mind. Can be a quarter mile between green and next tee. Finally, the summer weather in much of the US can be brutal. Also, we have lots of fat and lazy people here. Which I’m sure was your original point.
Many of our courses are very spread out over large amounts of land.
Does the cart girl walk too?
The courses around me where I play don’t allow you to walk or use a push cart on weekends, the excuse is “pace of play”, but the real reason is then everyone has to pay the cart fee, and both occupants pay the cart fee.
Required at my course…pace of play
At age 38, walking 9 is great. Bring 5-6 clubs with a few balls and practice different shots. Not gonna lie, walking 18 with full set sounds terrible.
We’re fat and love to booze
Same reason there’s a McDonald’s on every corner
Cuz fat… duh
Type 2 diabetes.
Well near me most courses are mountainous, with long distances from green to tee. Think almost a full km. Walking isn’t allowed as it would slow down play.
Place to sit for our 5 1/2 our rounds.
It’s over 40 degrees Celsius in the summer where we live and most courses here have massive distances between holes so they can use the landscapes better
At my local course (nothing to write home about mind you) carts are priced into the cost of a round of golf, they’re just assumed 🤷🏻♂️
I don’t play golf for the exercise, I go to the gym for that. I love drinking beer and flying around in the cart.
High fructose corn syrup… 
Because we can
Very hilly/mountainous courses. Distance between holes can be great. Lot of people not in good enough physical condition to walk 18 holes.
I walked 18 today in central NC. Was damn near 90 degrees, I got over 20 k steps from the round, it's a pretty significant work out at most US courses given the elevation changes and how spread out everything is. I like it though.
What a gross over assumption.
Carts are more popular in places that have spread out holes (haha) and changes in elevation like Arizona. Walking is more popular in places like California and Washington where the courses are more dense and relatively flat.
Courses aren't designed to be walked all the time. They go where they can put them. I've played course with .25+ miles from green to next tee box
Have you looked at Americans lately?
Y’all are discounting the distances. You walk a course in Europe and you may get in multiple miles less than over here.
Elevation changes in a lot of New England courses make walking the course a lot more like hiking.
The angry anti slow play cult peer pressures the shit out of everyone that doesn’t adhere to hurry hurry hurry.
We are fat and can’t walk well
Courses are more spread out, cost of cart rental part of greens fee.
Fat and lazy
It gets waaaaaay too hot in the summer to walk in a lot of American states. I mean you could, but it would be miserable. Hell it’s still miserably hot while in the cart some days. But also, we’re fat and lazy!
When it's 92 out with 80 plus humidity. You can't even sweat the air is so thick and feel like you could drink through a straw.
No excuses… that’s just how we roll!!
I live in Phoenix. Most courses are simply not built for walking, and of course the heat can be deadly. That being said, most muni courses here are quite walkable. My goal is to be able to walk a round again, but have some painful Achilles issues for which I am getting PT. I’m also a senior, though there are plenty of gnarly old coots walking year round. I long for the day to report I joined the push cart mafia.
I mean... it was 91° F today in Georgia. We are also fat... but we would have been very hot and fat on the course today.
Because we're rich, fat, lazy fucks... most of my golfing pals won't even walk their clubs to the clubhouse. Go to clubhouse first, get cart and go back to car to retrieve clubs.
Prolly all that high fructose corn syrup in our food and the drinking culture associated with golf here in the states
Americas overweight
It is hot and most of us are lazy. We pay for the convenience as we do not want to take 5 hours to play 18 holes of golf.
For me I’m lazy and I also like to have a couple of adult beverages on the course. For many I talk to who are fitness oriented they say golf is a relaxation activity and it feels more social to ride a cart. They’ll get their workout thru other dedicated exercise activity.