To buggy or not to buggy: Do you prefer to walk a course?
We may not get to use them over here in winter but during the summer and when we travel abroad, we can often find ourselves navigating the course in a buggy.
Sometimes we’re not given an option and it is insisted that we use them. But do they add any enjoyment to the round? Do they make things easier? Or are they a hassle and actually take away something from playing a round of golf?
The Niggle team have their say…
James Savage: A couple of years ago using a buggy was still quite novel for me. But after playing a fair bit of golf abroad since then, that novelty has well and truly worn off. Unless the next tee is a mile from the green, I’m struggling to find any reason for them. Please just let me walk, get some exercise and enjoy the course.
Mark Townsend: Given the right circumstances a buggy is brilliant. On one golfing holiday to Spain I’ve never enjoyed a round of golf less – temperatures up in the high 30s, too far to walk to get to the next tee and shirts that resembled the Turin Shroud after a few hours in the afternoon sunshine.
Roll the clock forward a day and 36 holes was a breeze, despite there still being no breeze. A couple of beers in the afternoon, too many belongings spilling around everywhere and still the chance to chat and do everything else that you normally do other than walk too far.
James Savage: In those circumstances, I agree with you. A buggy between green and next tee is fine but whizzing alongside the fairway on a cart path rather than walking up the middle of it just seems wrong.
Dan Murphy: The only good thing about a buggy is it provides somewhere to put your drink. The worst aspect is being forced to evaluate your shot from the wrong angle miles away from your ball, especially when the ‘cart paths only’ rule is in effect. You take four clubs with you and it turns out none are the one you want, especially if you’re in the trees or facing a tricky chip.
Alex Perry: You can’t blame the buggy for ending up in the trees.
Dan Murphy: The main negative was it felt like we rarely got to chat with our playing partners, only seeing them around the greens.
Steve Carroll: I played three rounds in Florida recently. It was great to leisurely drive around and not have to carry the bag. But having to stick to cart tracks that only went up one side of the hole was a big contributor to slow play. Some of the rounds were six hours.
As Dan says, you only see them around the greens when you couldn’t chat as someone was always putting or you were getting ready to play yourself. Light carry bag for me.
Alex Perry: I actually love to get in a buggy as it’s not often that I can play golf, be comfortable and make a sandwich at the same time.
James Savage: I tried doing the same and ended up sitting on a blob of cream chesse in black trousers. Another problem with buggies is you start doing things you wouldn’t normally do during a round of golf.
Alex Perry: You need to work on your sandwich making skills, James. I believe buggies are a necessity for some courses especially in places like Europe and the US, where many courses are made between villa and hotel resorts where you’re crossing roads or going under bridges just to get to the next tee.
Also if we didn’t have buggies we wouldn’t have the refreshment cart which is a vision of beauty after dropping an eight down a par 5 and you want to drown your sorrows.
Steve Carroll: Put it this way: golf is meant to be a “good walk spoiled”…
Your say: Do you like using buggies? Or are you far more keen to take in the walk? Let us know in the comments below, or you can get involved in the discussion on Twitter and Facebook.
Should you buy the drinks after a hole-in-one?
Do you have any pre-round rituals?
You’ve hit it out of bounds? Just drop one in the fairway
