I won't play the Marshes

[mrcasual]

Now that the courses are all closing it's a good time to vent on the Marshes.

I won't play there (unless it's part of a charity scramble) unless they give me the option of walking. Am I the only one that feels this way?

I don't have an objection to people who want/need to take a cart. I just prefer to walk. It's not a money thing either. I'm willing to pay the full fee. I just enjoy it more walking.

If enough people lobby them maybe they'll change the policy.

Anyone else with me?

[mr shank]

I also prefer to walk, as anyone who considers themself a golfer & is able to should be.
Problem is carts generate revenue for these clubs which is obviously why they require you to take one.
I'd hate to this area become like Myrtle Beach where every course makes you take a cart. These people are not really in the golf business but the cart rental business.
I won't play a course that forces me to use a cart either, but I don't think the Marshes is about to change their policy.

[mrcasual]

That's what I initially figured as well, i.e. carts = $ but they balked even when I said that I would pay the full rate.

I guess they figure I won't be able to order drinks from the cart either so that is yet another lost $ point.

Oh well, maybe if enough of us get together and lobby they will change their minds. Maybe if they don't get the traffic they want they'll end up relaxing the carts mandatory rule.

[el tigre]

I agree - a MANDATORY power cart rule has no place in the game of golf. I usually rent one on a mountain course like Mont Cascades or Malone, but at least I have a choice.

Many courses justify a mandatory cart rule to promote faster rounds (which also equals more $ for the course) - I believe this is why you see this rule so much in Myrtle Beach. However, this only holds true when they allow carts on the fairway. On a course that does not allow carts on the fairways AT ALL (i.e., not even a 90* rule), carts promote a SLOWER round because you are forever walking to AND from the cart to your ball.

Plus, using a cart often results in lost clubs (from bringing a wedge AND putter with you when you are near the green) and/or playing with the wrong club (because your bag is 30 yards away when you discover your true yardage/lie). Please, the game is tough enough!

[powerlefty]

I despise carts. They don't do anything for the pace of play and they don't allow you to get into a rhythm during the round. In this climate I use them only when I am forced to by the course or in extreme cases on mountain courses.

I have used carts in southern climates (Hawaii) and appreciated them only because they kept me out of the blazing sun and the courses generally ran up and down the side of volcanos. On the other hand I have played in Jamaica and used a caddy and walked hilly courses. The caddy was great for course knowledge and reading putts. I'd pay for a caddy any day opver having to take a cart.

In general I cannot see carts speeding up play as you are always trudging back and forth between the cart and your ball with a fistfull of clubs. The only instances where a cart may speed up the pace of play is when you can drive in the fairway directly to your ball and where the cart has GPS (So you don't spend your time pacing yardage from the marker to your ball - something you normally can do while wlking without any extra effort).

[faldo]

Glad to see there's a lot more of me out there!!
All my regular golfing buddies will do anything to avoid a cart. The only course that needs one in our part of the country is HERITAGE. Those hills are just too much......

There's a move afoot within the Senior PGA to make everyone start walking. However it seems to have been squashed already as 33% of those golfers that people pay to see play are no longer able to get around a golf course without a ride....SIGH.....

[Colby]

I enjoy walking, and I do it 99% of the time. The exceptions are tournaments and courses that carts are manditory. I even walked the OttawaGolf Tour tournament at the Nation, when quite a few others rode...

In a lot of cases carts do not speed up the game unless the golfers know what they are doing. Good golfers in a cart will always be faster than bad golfers walking.

The Marshes uses their carts to monitor pace of play. The GPS in the cart allows the clubhouse to see where golfers are bunching up and sends a Marshall out to investigate. When I played there, the group ahead of us was quite slow. On the 5th hole, the Marshall came and asked us if we were waiting, and we said yes we were, on almost every shot. He said to just keep going as we were, and went to "chat" with the group ahead of us. We didn't wait anymore after that.

It's a personal choice, not a personal affront. If you refuse to play a course that makes cart manditory, that is your right, just as it is their right to make a cart manditory. In the case of The Marshes, you will miss out on playing a very nice course. As for changing their minds, they have a crowd of people willing to ride around and not walk, so I think that might be a little far-fetched.

It's a $100.00 +taxes a round. I will play that course once or twice a year because I like it. I can't afford to play it as much as I would like, but for those few rounds I will take a cart.

My $0.02