Before you tee-off on the first hole; heck, before you even fork-over your hard-earned money in the pro shop; you have to decide the answer to a simple question: Am I going to walk or ride? Until recently, I never thought this could mean playing two different games.
For many, this question is easily answered. On the one hand, you have the walkers; these people either want some exercise or they are traditionalists who feel walking is the way golf was intended to be played (or both).
On the other hand, you have the riders (not counting when a course has a mandatory cart rule), who are usually lumped into two groups: people who physically need to take a cart, and those who just don’t take the game of golf too seriously.
Think about that second group for a moment…
Now don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with someone wanting to ride around the course just having fun. In fact, it seems golf would lose a ton of business if it weren’t for people wanting to do that. But many times this leads to behavior on the course that serious golfers consider unacceptable…But that’s because we’re playing two different games!
Not long ago, I asked if you drink while you golf. Most people say they don’t drink during the round. But really, there’s this notion that some rounds are for serious play and other rounds are just for drinking and fun. Maybe I’m a few fries short of a Happy Meal, but this never even occurred to me before – that these are two different games we’re talking about here; one walking, not drinking and playing the game seriously; and the other riding, drinking and just out there smacking balls every which way while you spend time with your buddies. See? Two different reasons for being out on the course.
Consider this: Our pals over at Of Course posed the “walk or ride” question the other day on their Facebook page and received some interesting responses; things like “I ride because how else am I suppose to carry a case of beer around on the course?” And other gems like “Golf is the only sport that allows drinking and driving” and “when I want to play serious, I walk.” That last comment suggests sometimes people play rounds seriously, while other times they’re out there just to drink and have fun – in which case they take a cart. In fact, the majority of those commenting rode simply because they wanted to use the cart as a portable keg.
Now I understand the fellas over at Of Course appeal to a certain demographic, but this “two different games” notion seems to be a reality in golf – it’s no wonder those playing one game don’t get along with those playing the other…albeit one group is usually breaking a plethora of etiquette rules. Angrily we think: “Hey, we’re all out here trying to play golf, right?” Ah, see now that’s where we’ve been wrong.
