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Section: Life & Leisure
Walk the Walk on the Green
By Anthony Chabala
On any given day at any given golf course, you can look out onto the links and see golf carts buzzing people around chasing their errant shots. As a local golf professional, I have handed out more cart keys than I could ever count. Why is this? Why do golfers (especially — let’s be honest here — the not-so-young golfers) opt to spend money, burn gasoline, pollute the air they breathe, damage the grass, and try to exert the least amount of energy possible when they could take advantage of this time on the course to enjoy the scenery and walk their round of golf?
There are many misconceptions regarding walking versus riding the golf course. My favorite misconception has to be that taking a golf cart leads to a much faster round. If you are the only group on the course and you play ready golf, then you will indeed play faster, but if the course is at all busy and each member of your group walks to their ball in an appropriate manner, then you will not notice much of a time difference.
Another misconception is that you barely burn any more calories walking than you do riding. Based on independent research provided by Swedish scientists, walking one full round of golf is equivalent to taking part in a 45-minute fitness class!
The health benefits to walking the golf course are endless, even if you don’t burn a billion calories each round. Long-term research has proven that, when taking the retired crowd into consideration, each half mile walked reduces the risk of heart disease by 15 percent. Given that you walk between three and five miles during a round of golf, you can do the simple math and see how beneficial walking can be for your fickle ticker.
Calories burned is not always the greatest indicator of a good workout, for there is much to be said about developing muscle tone, reducing the risk of heart disease and dramatically increasing your daily energy. When the doctor tells you that you need to reduce your bad cholesterol, go get a push cart and begin playing more enjoyable golf.
Think of the bad habits riding the golf course allows. It would be much tougher to bring a 12-pack of your drink of choice for you and your buddy to share when walking the course. Seldom do you see a person walking the golf course with a burger in one hand, a hot dog in the other, and a candy bar sitting on their push cart, yet you would be hard pressed to not see something your doctor would frown on you ingesting in any golf cart at any moment.
When walking, there is a great deal more time between shots to think about what the next shot will involve, allowing you to prepare more affectively, and giving you a better sense of your abilities when you have to stare down a bad shot the entire time you are trekking over to it. If nothing else, it is motivation to play better and not make your group look for your ball every hole.
There you have it. Next time you approach the counter at your golf club, be sure to tell the club’s employee that you will be walking today. Find a group that walks everyday and add that to your list of hobbies. You could even make a game out of it and try to find the hardest golf courses in WNY to walk. Start a group consisting of only walkers. Also, feel free to make the transition slowly. For example, start out by walking the front nine and carting the back. Once you build up your immunity and energy, let the good times “stroll” — put the bag on a push cart and put your good foot forward.
Anthony Chabala is a teaching professional at Tan Tara Golf Club in North Tonawanda. He is a PGA Apprentice and instructs multiple local club champions and top-ranked amateurs. To ask a question or book a lesson, contact him at anthonychabala@yahoo.com.
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