Golf, if you subscribe to the fabled cliché, is a good walk spoiled.
While the origin of what is perhaps the most famous of all golfing quotes has never been conclusively authenticated, it is widely attributed to the American author and humorist Samuel Langhorne Clemens – better known as Mark Twain.
Chances are, the refrain was uttered following another thoroughly absorbing (read frustrating) day on the links. That much, for all the extraordinary advances in sports science, agronomy and club and ball technology in the past century or so, hasn’t changed. The sport has always been and will always be the most maddening, and thus wholly addictive, of pursuits.
What has changed since Twain’s day is the “good walk” side of the equation. Like their forebears, golfers everywhere still find it incredibly easy to spoil their scorecards – and with alarming regularity. The issue is that scorecards are no longer tucked into one’s hip pocket; rather they are neatly clipped into place on the steering wheel of a motorised cart.
The humble, battery-powered golf buggy is to the contemporary game what hickory clubs, gutta-percha balls and double bogeys were to Twain and his times.
Riding the region’s world-class fairways has become the comfortable norm for players across the golfing hub that is the Middle East, especially during the summer months when walking is an impractical proposition. But a recent movement has seen more and more players return to their walking roots in this infuriatingly fabulous sport by pushing trolleys or slinging a stand bag over their shoulder during the cooler winter.
And why not? If you are going to devote four or more hours to 18 holes, why not cash in on the obvious physical and psychological benefits? Why not get a brisk cardio workout while warming your heart by soaking in the surrounds of one of the UAE’s 22 golfing gems? Golf is, in essence, something to do during a walk in a beautifully manicured park.
A recent study in the United States added scientific data to the long-perceived benefits of negotiating courses on foot.
Headed by director Neil Wolkodoff, the Rose Centre for Health and Sports Sciences engaged eight male volunteers – between the ages of 21 and 61 years with handicaps ranging from two to 17 – in an experiment that analysed energy consumption and scores. The participants were wired so that variables such as heart rate, oxygen consumption, carbon dioxide production and distance covered per round could be measured. Each golfer then played nine holes at The Inverness Golf Club in Denver in four different formats: carrying a bag, pushing a cart, with a caddie and, finally, in a motorised buggy.
The findings were revealing, with the volunteers burning on average 721 calories over nine holes by carrying their own clubs, compared with 411 calories riding in a cart. Extrapolated to 18 holes, it is fair to assume that a golfer will burn at least 620 more calories by carrying a bag versus taking a cart.
In an intriguing bonus, Wolkodoff found a direct correlation between walking and improved scores – and it didn’t translate to those who rode in a cart.
Injury prevention is another sound reason to walk whenever possible, says Neal Dinan, a performance coach for the Scandinavian-inspired SHP, a personal training and rehabilitation facility based out of Jumeirah Lakes Towers in Dubai.
Dinan suspects he would see a lot less of the most common golf aches and pains – such as back, shoulder and knee complaints and the golf version of tennis elbow – if players relied on heart and lungs rather than man-made battery power.
“The biggest thing about walking is that it promotes freedom. Motion is lotion, so walking is going to lubricate the system between swings,” says Dinan.
“You are far more likely to stiffen up in a buggy, sitting with your knees and hips hunched up, and then attempting to reverse the pattern when you get out to swing – especially when you wait five minutes between swings while your mate drives around looking for his ball.
“You may actually become too relaxed sitting in a buggy. It’s a bit of the Goldilocks syndrome … she found her porridge a little bit too hot and then a little bit too cold. Walking allows it to be just right for golf.”
Dinan’s walking wish comes with a hydration warning for UAE golfers, who should be as vigilant with their intake of water and isotonic drinks as they are with applying sunscreen and protecting their eyes with sunglasses.
“I’d say walking is not very clever much above 32 or 33�C. But in the winter here, everyone could have been walking from before Christmas until around late March.”
So, what are you waiting for? There’s still time to dust off that carry bag before summer arrives. It is, after all, the very way the royal and ancient game was intended to be played. Just ask Twain. On second thoughts, perhaps it’s lucky you can’t.
FIVE REASONS TO WALK
Physical: You can shed twice as many calories as you would riding in a cart and you can soak up that vitamin D. Just don't forget to slap on the sunscreen.
Psychological: Savour the natural beauty of the course from tee to green and everywhere in-between. Remember to switch off your mobile phone.
Social: You have a much better opportunity to interact with all your playing partners.
Scoring: You set a natural pace with walking, and research proves this can lead to lower scores. We reiterate the "can".
Environmental: The course superintendent will love you for keeping carts off his carefully mown masterpiece.
FIVE TIPS FOR NEW GOLFERS
Take lessons: Most clubs hold regular group and individual lessons for beginners. Make it your first investment in a game that can be played for a lifetime, because the sooner you cement the fundamentals, the faster your scores will dip and your enjoyment will soar.
Get fitted: You wouldn't purchase an ill-fitting suit, so why fork out wads of cash on clubs that don't suit your swing? Second only to sourcing a PGA professional for lessons should be a visit to a qualified club-fitter. Correctly fitted clubs will shave strokes off your score.
Start backwards: If most experienced players could have their time again, they'd learn to putt and chip first. We all love bombing big drives, but golf is about scoring from 100 yards in. Head for the short game area … immediately.
Play it forward: Each hole has a series of tee boxes appropriate to your ability. So ditch the ego and play it forward. Your round will be faster and far more enjoyable. There is a reason why Rory McIlroy plays from the championship tees and why you probably shouldn't.
Have fun: There is also a reason why the pros play for dough and amateurs have handicaps … and a day job. Focus on your surroundings and the sweet shots and sweat not the mis-hits. The beauty of golf is the very next shot, not the last stinker. Consider joining a club too – the 19th-hole banter is just as much fun as the on-course competition.
Kent Gray is a golf journalist and an inconsistent five-handicapper. His best round – at the home of golf in St Andrews in Scotland – was achieved on foot.
