The debate has been raging for decades. Walk, or ride a cart? It seems like both sides of the argument are full of absolutists and lots of opinions that use the words “right” or “wrong”. It’s like the Coke versus Pepsi debate.

To me, walking wins out. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I never take a cart. If I’m playing with a friend that I know likes to ride, I’ll ride. But I believe that walking definitely has a positive effect on a round. For one, it helps keep you more loose. Especially on a cooler day. Taking a shot then sitting down/riding until the next shot keeps you from really getting and saying loose. Cart riders will notice that they do loosen up some after several holes. Usually, that’s because they end up having to do some walking to the places they can’t take carts, like in sensitive areas or around the greens.

Another benefit to walking is that it gives you a chance to think about your next shot, or what you did right or wrong on your previous shot. As you walk up to your ball (assuming it’s not still a few yards ahead), you can be thinking about how you’ll be attacking the rest of the hole, going over some swing thoughts, or clearing out any negative emotions left over from the last shot or hole. Cart riders generally have a much shorter trip and may not get the same benefit. I really feel that when I walk, I’m more focused and play a better game, in general.

One undeniable benefit of walking is the exercise factor. While riding a cart provides some exercise because players still have to do some degree of walking where carts can’t go, walking the course provides a great workout. Consider the fact that a 7000 yard course is almost 4 miles of walking, and that doesn’t include the distances to get from one green to the next tee and extra walking you have to do to hunt down errant shots.

Not only does the player benefit from walking, but the course does too. Cart paths require maintenance. Carts cause a lot of wear and tear when coming off of cart paths where players tend to favor the same areas. I can also tell you from my four years working golf course maintenance in college, that way too many players ignore cart rules altogether. They ride their carts too close (or ON) to greens and tees, ignore roped off areas (you knew that little opening in the ropes is for mowers and walkers, right?), ride through wet areas, and so on. All of this has an adverse effect on playing conditions.

I believe that pace of play can be affected by carts too. It’s not so much the cart itself. Of course a person in a cart gets to his ball and is ready to hit faster than a walker. But in a foursome, what ends up happening sometimes is that both guys go to one ball, take the shot, then both go to the second ball or they engage in some other time-wasting cart antics. They should both be ready to hit in turn when next leg of the hole is clear. Four walkers typically fan out to their own balls and are ready to go when the coast is clear. I guess that’s more of an etiquette issue, and mostly just comes from ignorance, but it’s one that wouldn’t be so prevalent if more people walked.

While I can’t say I look down at people who use carts (especially since I do it sometimes), I really feel that there are just too many benefits to not walk some rounds here and there. You might find, like I did, that it helps your game more than you might think.

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