Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Paul Nelson reportingAs the weekend draws closer, people all over the Wasatch Front are thinking about hitting the golf course. But a new study says you should think about using a golf cart if you want to keep your score down.
You should see me tee off on the golf course. It's hilarious. It looks wrong, it feels wrong, and it even sounds wrong.
The young man in the cart picking up the balls off the driving range at the Central Valley Golf Course flatters me by looking to see if I could possibly hit him. I assured him that he was right in front of me, and that's the safest place possible.
But still it's fun to go out and meet other golfers (not that anyone would consider what I do "golfing" per se) who just want to get out and enjoy the game.
The question becomes, "Walk or ride?" I asked people walking the course why they liked to hoof it instead of using a cart.
One man said, "Well, I always thought golfing was a walking sport." A woman told me, "I like walking. It's good exercise, and that's why we do it."
A new study presented at the American College of Sports Medicine says walking a course could make your score worse. That's not deterring some walkers.
One man said, "It may be true, but I really don't care because I'm doing it just for the exercise and the enjoyment, not for the competition."
The study says, as the game progresses, golfers who walk aren't able to properly transfer weight to their front leg, which messes up your stroke. Assistant PGA Pro Scott Flick says he can see why the study would say that.
"When you're not used to walking 18 holes, or maybe even nine holes, as the day goes on, your legs do go away. As far as in the swing, the first thing to go as part of your golf swing is your legs," he said.
But, Flick says that doesn't mean you don't need to exercise to play golf. Matter of fact, he says players need to exercise their legs off the course so their swing can be consistent.
"There are guys that have walked their whole life. All the PGA members, they walk every day and they seem to get stronger as the day goes on," he said.
As for how Tiger Woods won so many tournaments with a broken leg and a bad ACL, well, obviously, I'll never know.
E-mail: pnelson@ksl.com
