Golf Lesson – Why Walking Is Better Than Riding A Golf Cart?
We might not realise this, but golf is good for your health. According to the United States Golf Association, that is. Their expert advice is for you to forgo the rides on the golf carts and walk the golf course.
Even though driving around in the golf carts is the easiest way to get from one hole to another, it will be even better for you if you decide to walk along the fairway. By walking, you get to exercise your heart, which pumps and circulates blood all over your body. Besides that, walking is also a great enjoyable workout.
According to David Fay of the United States Golf Association, walking makes the whole golf game more satisfying. He further commented that whizzing around in golf carts should be stopped.
Walking is the most basic way for you to get fit. It is good exercise because it is easy to do and anyone can walk. It improves circulation and strengthens your muscles. In a nutshell, walking is beneficial for all.
Some people believe that walking around the green while playing a round of golf is not a healthy thing to do, due to the nature of the game itself. On the other hand, research has shown evidence of many people who related their own experiences with walking through a game of golf. Many of these people told of the positive effects of walking.
In Sweden for example, researchers discovered that the benefits of walking through a game of golf is equivalent to about forty to seventy percent of intense workout in an aerobics class. This is on the basis of playing eighteen holes.
In a separate study done by cardiologist Edward Palank, it was found that golfers who chose to walk the greens were healthier than their cart-riding counterparts, as they had a lower level of bad cholesterol in their bodies. At the same time, the good cholesterol level in their bodies was normal. This cannot be said for golfers who opted for rides on the golf carts.
The Golf Science International also concluded that playing golf for four hours was equivalent to attending a forty five minutes fitness class. Another association, the Northern Ohio Golf Association testified that when a golfer chose to walk across the golf course, he is walking for a total of roughly three to four miles. This includes walking up and around hills, on the fairway, and over the greens and tees.
Still not convinced? Try out the following activities. That will give you a chance to see and feel the difference yourself. The next time you play a game of golf, try walking along alternative holes. That way, by the end of it all, you would have walked a total of nine holes. It is all right if you do not feel up to it. The next time, try walking a set of nine holes and riding the cart for the next nine.
If you golf with a partner and he insists on you riding the golf cart together with him, fret not. Just make sure that you ride only on the path meant for the cart. You can stop the cart and walk down the fairway to your ball. That way, your partner can bring the golf cart up.
Are you still not convinced? Then look at it this way. If you think your health does not permit you to walk around the course to exercise your legs and start your heart pumping, then look at this in another light. Consider the damages done by all those golf carts running around the fairways. Golf carts damage the areas around the greens and sand traps. Even though the golf carts are only supposed to be on the assigned golf cart path, this doesn’t mean that they do. Most of the time, people will drive golf carts all over the course.
With the advent of new technologies, golf courses now boast magnificent looking grasses. These grasses are grown even on areas where they were not able to originally. That is why golf courses nowadays look fantastic. However, these courses are exposed to the wear and tear, more so from the roving golf carts. Driving the cart along the greens will damage the beautiful grass.
Now that you have all the facts, isn’t it time for you to go green? Walk! Not only will you benefit from getting all that exercise, you’ll also be saving the greens.