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Pace of play - walking versus riding

overall I can't imagine walking to be faster than riding, but if a golf course was built to be a walking course I guess its possible, you walk off a green and the next tee is right there, could be quicker than walking to the cart driving to the next tee but i am not sure how many of those type of public courses exist(in my area).

Here in Florida so many courses are built in & around housing communities, there can be long distances between holes sure we have our share of older courses that were built for walking, but i can't think of a public course around me that I would want to walk
 
I hate this debate, because it always seems to put one vs the other, when it really just doesn't matter. I've walked with a group of randoms while they rode and kept pace fine. Hit the ball and walk. If I was racing a single or pair in a cart I'd lose.

There's a single guy that rides at my home course every Sunday. Typically I get out before him, but eventually I see him cruising down the fairway. I usually hang out for the three minutes it takes for him to reach me and let him keep going. There's also a twosome there that will occasionally catch up to me too, but not always. Either way, who cares.
 
A lot of good points here. I think the biggest thing is what some mention. That is riding can be faster but it is depended upon if its done correctly. And that takes effort to care. Trouble is that people dont. And in fact i would argue that because they are riding they often dont feel the need to worry about doing what is required. It for some reason creates a flase snese of not having to worry and then many of the reasons mentioned in the OP become more problematic.
 
All else being equal, knowledgeable riders are going to be faster than even experienced walkers. However than statement can change depending on several factors. Course policy for riders - are all or many holes cart path only (might as well just walk if it's cart path only)? How close to the green are the cart parking areas? How long are the walks/rides from green to the next tee?

When you have lazy riders the difference can become lost as one player sits in the cart while the other one hits, then the other player does the same. How it should work is that they drive to one ball, Player A gets out with his club or clubs and GPS or Laser, then Player B drives to his ball. Player A plays his shot, then starts walking up the fairway. When Player B has hit, he picks up Player A and they move to the next shot. A modification - if both balls are in the same general area, say no more than 20 or 30 yards apart, then you park halfway between them and each player walks to his own ball, hits, then returns to the cart.

When riders play ready golf as I described above, a single walking golfer can really struggle to keep up with two players in a cart because the cart moves at least 3 times as fast as a walker, greatly reducing travel time. I've been in this situation on both ends, as the walker and as one of the riders, and the riders usually have to wait after hitting for the walker to get to his ball, although for a good walking player such delays are usually minimal. Also, on most courses I play, we can't move as fast as we might because there is always a group in front of us to wait on.

All bets are off when either the walkers or riders, or both, are clueless.
 
I also hate seeing this debate come up. A slow player is going to be slow in a cart or as a walker. A fast walker might be slower in a cart, but someone fast in a cart might be a slow walker. But not necessarily. It's all about ready golf. And people who say walkers can get to their ball and be ready to hit, lose the advantage of having someone there to help them watch their ball when they hit for ease of finding. But someone walking can head straight to their ball instead of going somewhere else first and then not being able to remember exactly where they hit their ball. So it's better to walk. Or ride. Or both. Or neither.

Courses that are set up where there are huge distances between the green and the next tee take the fast walker out of the equation. Carts are a necessity.
 
I love to walk. It's great exercise and I get to enjoy the round but if I am looking at getting in a quick 9 or 18, I will ride.

Riding is so much faster than walking. I hit my drive go to my ball hit my second shot and take a putt or two. Like JB said I can play a hole of golf by the time a walker gets to their drive (unless they duff one off the tee).
 
JB said:
There have been a ton of "studies" on both sides.
Riding is far faster in this area. Mainly because golfers down here tend to be golfers and know what they are doing.

Some of these studies are funny. In all of them, none of the riders go with proper ettiquete and all of the walkers do. How is that a study?
If done properly, there is absolutely no way walking is faster than riding, simply because a walker cannot walk 15 mph. By the time a walker gets to their first ball, I am on the green.

Once again, ettiquete causes slow play. But anybody that would like to challenge the experiment, we can certainly do so.
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I am in agreement with this, but in my experience, most times etiquette and ready golf play a pretty major factor.

It often shocks me that as a group of 2-3-4 walkers on any given evening, I can keep up with the carts ahead of us. Mind you, we're playing relatively fast -- probably sub 2 hours as walkers -- but it's still shocking every time.
 
I love to walk. It's great exercise and I get to enjoy the round but if I am looking at getting in a quick 9 or 18, I will ride.

Riding is so much faster than walking. I hit my drive go to my ball hit my second shot and take a putt or two. Like JB said I can play a hole of golf by the time a walker gets to their drive (unless they duff it off the tee)
 
Canadan said:
I am in agreement with this, but in my experience, most times etiquette and ready golf play a pretty major factor.
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This is without a doubt true. I see it at every event we host. Guys walking around a putt 16 times to line it up. Standing by their cart for 90 seconds to choose the club, only to then take 8 practice swings to "feel the turf". And lets not forget about the "towel guy". The guy that has their towel with them everywhere and takes 7 minutes to clean off grips, ball, hands, etc before every shot and putt. Now this is not every "towel guy", but it seems to happen quite a bit.
 
JB said:
This is without a doubt true. I see it at every event we host. Guys walking around a putt 16 times to line it up. Standing by their cart for 90 seconds to choose the club, only to then take 8 practice swings to "feel the turf". And lets not forget about the "towel guy". The guy that has their towel with them everywhere and takes 7 minutes to clean off grips, ball, hands, etc before every shot and putt. Now this is not every "towel guy", but it seems to happen quite a bit.
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I play with a guy every once in a while who takes his towel and sweeps the ENTIRE line between him and the hole any time there's anything on there. It doesn't matter if the green is absolutely littered with leaves or what have you, he takes the full amount of effort to sweep a 5-10 foot wide line to the hole hahahahaa!

Pace of what now? All you can do is laugh sometimes and put the pin back in and walk to the cart once in a while as he's doing it -- Just so he gets the hint.
 
JB said:
This is without a doubt true. I see it at every event we host. Guys walking around a putt 16 times to line it up. Standing by their cart for 90 seconds to choose the club, only to then take 8 practice swings to "feel the turf". And lets not forget about the "towel guy". The guy that has their towel with them everywhere and takes 7 minutes to clean off grips, ball, hands, etc before every shot and putt. Now this is not every "towel guy", but it seems to happen quite a bit.
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That friend of mine who turned into a sit sit stay stay settle settle guy, is also towel guy. Made playing with him doubly worse!
 
Ill agree fully that riding in a cart is fast if its compared to both walker/rider using proper "ready golf". For some reason along with cpirse etiquette, cart etiquette is all but lost these day. Dropping your partner off with the clubs he will need to finish the hole doesnt seem to happen.

Just last weekend I was behind a 2 some that would be 125 out and would wait after every duffed shot instead of just leaving the guy and going to find the other ball. Honestly got mad.

I would venture to say, and this is a guess, that if more begginer walked pace would speed up a little. Less talking, already has all their clubs and their buddy doesnt sit there for no reason just to watch the shot.

I like to walk, specially sknce the beginning of the year when I decided to shed some pounds. Ive been in a couple groups where the guys in the cart are waiting on me a little and ive played rounds where they had no idea what they were doing and I could have eaten a sandwich before they got to the green.

At the end of the day I truly believe alot of proper etiquette, people being honest how good/bad they really are, and courses not encouraging the pace of play is killing the game
 
I think if you put a "fast" walker in a cart, he would be a "fast" carter. Conversely someone who plays slow in a cart will play slow as a walker. Its all about experience and etiquette.

My regular foursome is made up of seniors (I'm the youngest at 66). We are decent golfers, but we all have varying aches and pains that prohibit walking for 18 holes - arthritis being the main culprit. We played 18 the other day in a few minutes over 3 hours. We didn't rush, and enjoyed the round. Among us we have 200+ years of golfing experience - maybe that helps.
 
This seems a bit like debating which of two cars are faster when the speed limit is 55. Other than the first group off, we just need to stay up with the group in front of us. Seems to me walking and riding are equally capable means of doing that.
 
ArmyGolf said:
Riding is faster hands down assuming the riders use a modicum of common sense and play some form of ready golf.
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You know what they say about assuming ...

The problem with people playing slow in carts is that the majority do not know HOW to properly use a cart to enhance pace of play. Since they have paid for the cart, they are tied to the cart and so don't grab a couple of clubs and go to their ball while their partner is hitting his. They will go look for a ball on one side of the fairway and wait till it's found and then ride over to their ball after their partner hits their shot. They will park on the wrong side of the green, away from the next tee. I've seen groups where BOTH carts ride together to every shot and on and on ...
I'm a walker, but I have never played at a course that provided a tip sheet on proper cart etiquette or how to help maintain pace of play in a cart, they are just taking the money (and carts are THE big money maker at any course). And then you bring in the Ranger factor - don't get me started.
 
I love to walk courses and don't play many of my rounds in a cart, but I can't deny that going in a cart is faster than walking. Heck, I played 36 holes in Florida by myself one day in 4:30 while riding in a cart. It was unlimited play that day, so I finished the first 18 and headed straight back out for a second 18. No way I could have walked 36 in that short of a time. If a person has the same routine time-wise while hitting shots whether they are riding or walking, then the only thing that differentiates pace of play is the time it takes to get to the ball between shots, and the cart will win every time over the walker.

Where cart golf slows down is what others have mentioned: when the 2 people in a cart feel like they can't function independently at all, aka the cart has to be drive to within 2 yards of each player's ball at all times and one player is "wasting" time waiting on the other player to hit. I have this issue almost every time I play golf with my dad, who rides in a cart all the time, he doesn't understand that I can just get out of the cart with a few clubs and go hit my approach shot while he takes the cart to his ball. It's the same reason why I can go out as a walker on the muni that I normally play and usually keep up with 2-3 guys that are riding in carts because they don't really know what to do in the carts.
 
There is no doubt that a cart is faster if used properly....we have all played with the guy or behind the guy that will sit in the cart and wait for his buddy to hit even though his ball is 10 feet away and he could be getting ready for his shot.....thats what slows cart riders down.

I also agree with JB that the time spent around the green is the biggest factor....the guy who think he has to look at every angle of his 5 foot putt for double even though he just blew the bogey putt past the cup and should already know the break.

I played a month or so ago with a random guy that spent 3-4 minutes cleaning his club after each shot before replacing it in his bag.....REALLY?? Drive to my ball and clean your club while I am hitting.
 
I'll preface my comments here with the fact that I much prefer walking. I try to play fast. I don't always succeed to the level I'd like, especially when I'm working on a swing change, but I did play a 1:10 9 hole round the other day.

I agree with all the folks who pretty much say it comes down to etiquette. A lot of the folks I see on the munis I play around me who get a cart have no idea what they're doing. They'll sit in the cart, wait for someone to hit, then drive over to the other ball, rather than grabbing out and . At some of the other courses in the area where they make you take a cart (no way I'd want to walk that quarter mile between each hole), the pace of play tends to be a bit quicker, and the courses are designed a bit better for carts. The rangers also do a good job of explaining exactly how to get around on the first tee, which I appreciate.

All things considered, if you're not restricted from driving on various parts of the course like when it's cart path only, I don't see how someone who plays fast walking will play slower in a cart as a single.
 
arydolphin said:
Where cart golf slows down is what others have mentioned: when the 2 people in a cart feel like they can't function independently at all, aka the cart has to be drive to within 2 yards of each player's ball at all times and one player is "wasting" time waiting on the other player to hit. I have this issue almost every time I play golf with my dad, who rides in a cart all the time, he doesn't understand that I can just get out of the cart with a few clubs and go hit my approach shot while he takes the cart to his ball. It's the same reason why I can go out as a walker on the muni that I normally play and usually keep up with 2-3 guys that are riding in carts because they don't really know what to do in the carts.
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Don't forget about the people who park the cart on the wrong side of the green and have to go back to get it after they are done with the hole.
 
People can play fast while riding and walking, and you know what? People can play slow while walking and riding as well!

I walked twice last week, with 2 other walkers and a guy in the cart. 1st group played in 3:30 on a course where pace of play is set at 4:30. 2nd group took us 4:40... Only constant in the group was me and the course played (1 was late afternoon and there was not many people on the course, and the other was in the morning, almost no one on the course).

Wasn't held up either time by other groups, so it was just the guys in the group who made over an hour difference in the pace of play. 1 group guys played ready golf, chatted in between shots while walking and left their cart in the best position to get to the next hole... the other group guys took 4-5 practice swings per shot, waited by the other peoples ball to hit before going and sizing up their shot, etc.

The really sad thing is, the group that played in 3:30, I was the lowest handicap (right about a 16) and the group that played in 4:40, there was one guy who was probably a 20, myself, a guy who was probably a 10 and the last guy was single digit to scratch... So the handicap really didn't play into it at all.
 
I like to walk. I walked the front nine this morning in 1:15, and that includes the time it took for me to look for 5 bad drives in the trees. Shot a 47, which is about what I normally shoot these days.
 
All things being equal, playing alone, with no one in front of you, yes riding is faster. Where I play that really never happens though. Personally, I find riding carts an abomination, unless used by those who couldn't otherwise enjoy the game. The main problem is most people do not use them properly, they go back and forth, park them in the wrong places and don't play ready golf. For me it is more difficult to play ready golf from a cart, while I'm walking up to my ball, I'm deciding what to do, what club to hit and how, that can more difficult from a cart.

I play plenty fast walking, yeah a single with no one stopping them might finish in 2:20, in a cart where it might take me 2:45 for 18 holes. IMO it's the lack of golf etiquette and being ready when its your turn that slows things down and I'm sorry, but I see this more from people in carts than walkers.
 
widespot said:
Personally, I find riding carts an abomination, unless used by those who couldn't otherwise enjoy the game.
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Geography plays a roll here too. Nobody would think that if they had to play the courses around here, where many times it can be up to a quarter of a mile between greens and tees (3 or four times a round).
 
JB said:
Geography plays a roll here too. Nobody would think that if they had to play the courses around here, where many times it can be up to a quarter of a mile between greens and tees (3 or four times a round).
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We have courses like that too, and one of those is owned by the guy who owns our course. The course I play most is definitely not like that, in fact it is almost the opposite. The first time I played it, I thought the tees and greens were way to CLOSE to each other! (I have gotten used to it, but I was used to courses with more space between them!)
 
JB said:
Geography plays a roll here too. Nobody would think that if they had to play the courses around here, where many times it can be up to a quarter of a mile between greens and tees (3 or four times a round).
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That is a valid point, I have played a course or two where the holes were really far away from each other, in this case carts are really necessary.
 
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