Buggies

[Alex1975]

I hate and dont read posts with alot of crying in them and am very easy going about getting held up but....

This weekendend at the club I am a member of I was out with my mate for a game and we were bullied by two clowns in a buggy (non members if it matters). My mate and I had a scrach comp going on in front of us who were playing a good pace but every time we looked over our shoulder there they were, all over us like a rash. In the end we let them through just because they were being such dicks. As they came round the corner to the tee we were letting them through on, one of them commented to the other "and we catch them up again". I was raging, what a prat that he and his buddy on a saturday afternoon in the sun should feel the need for a buggy and then the need to chase the group in front who were butted up on the afternoon comp.


We let them, through they both smashed balls out of bounds (into the brook) and then spent 10 mins looking for them even though it was clear from the tee that they both needed to hit another ball.

No sooner had we got there fools going, there came the next buggy doing exactly the same thing. At this point I made it pretty clear with some body language that they were not going to be coming through.

I get that the club needs to make money, but surly this was not through out by the shop when they sold the buggys?!

Rant over.

 

[john0]

Do you feel better now Alex?

 

[AuburnWarrior]

I've nothing against buggies per se but I hate seeing young people in them! We're not allowed to use buggies in competitions at our place unless injury/disability dictates so it's normally only the older guys who use them but I hate seeing two twenty-somethings using them for a Sunday afternoon knock.

Oh, one other thing, our buggies are LPG and they STINK!!! If a member of our swindle uses one I can normally still smell the buggy's fumes well into Sunday evening!!!

And they're antisocial.

Other than that, I'm OK with them.........

 

[G1BB0]

hehe, wait till I am in one at Beau Desert Alex, have you seen jackass the movie?

just kidding btw before anyone gives me a ticking off

 

[Alex1975]

Do you feel better now Alex?

Hehe, I do.... Kinda.

 

[StrangelyBrown]

I don't mind buggies per sé, if someone wants to use them then who am I to object?

And again with the puffy chested indignation that someone behind wants through..? Life's too short, just let them by. Trying to keep people behind is a case of cutting off your nose to spite your face as you end up all annoyed and in a bit of a rush.

I think i've said this before, but sometimes it doesn't matter that you're 'right'...

 

[Alex1975]

I don't mind buggies per sé, if someone wants to use them then who am I to object?

And again with the puffy chested indignation that someone behind wants through..? Life's too short, just let them by. Trying to keep people behind is a case of cutting off your nose to spite your face as you end up all annoyed and in a bit of a rush.

I think i've said this before, but sometimes it doesn't matter that you're 'right'...

yep, and thats how it shook out and on another day it may not have even botherd me. There is no answer, if I mail the club then I become "that guy". For me, you can go as slow as you like, that never bothers me, I just hate having people behind me I guess.

Anyway as I say, just a rant, no actual answer to this one.

 

[USER1999]

I think the problem with buggies is that every one who drives one thinks it has one speed, flat out.

If they went at walking pace, they wouldn't be up the arse of the game in front, and if they have any one walking with them, they could still talk to them.

Most people in buggies behave like idiots.

 

[StrangelyBrown]

Anyway as I say, just a rant, no actual answer to this one.

As long as it was cathartic mate

 

[Oddsocks]

ok so whats worse, 20-something year olds in a buggy, or mid teen juniors with tour bags and power caddies.

At our club.range one of the kiddies who works there is off about 10, he hits a good solid long ball and is around 17 years old. a few weeks back i turned up at the range one saturday morning for a few buckets and there he was, cobra tour bag and power caddy assisted.

I couldnt help but rip it out of him infront of the other assistants and pro's. i honestly cant see why a ball stricker of he's ability would need anything more than a stand bag with 2 sleeves of balls max, instead, rumour has it (not started by me....er....honest guv) that he carries first aid kit, tent, sleeping back, packed lunch, change of underwear, and many other much needed items in he's golf bag.... oh dear!

 

[Alex1975]

ok so whats worse, 20-something year olds in a buggy, or mid teen juniors with tour bags and power caddies.

At our club.range one of the kiddies who works there is off about 10, he hits a good solid long ball and is around 17 years old. a few weeks back i turned up at the range one saturday morning for a few buckets and there he was, cobra tour bag and power caddy assisted.

I couldnt help but rip it out of him infront of the other assistants and pro's. i honestly cant see why a ball stricker of he's ability would need anything more than a stand bag with 2 sleeves of balls max, instead, rumour has it (not started by me....er....honest guv) that he carries first aid kit, tent, sleeping back, packed lunch, change of underwear, and many other much needed items in he's golf bag.... oh dear!

Hehe, I would if I could. I have no issue with young players using power caddys, its safer for there back and I am sure they have alot of better ways to get fit than lugging a bag of clubs about, I know I did.

 

[Bucky]

As a 27 year old (with a long list of knee injuries behind me) using a buggy is easier for me as after carrying for 18 my right knee is in quite a lot of pain.

However, I get nowhere near as much enjoyment from my round when using one, so I dont anymore. I walk, because I play better golf when I do and I really feel like ive played a round of golf. Yes i'll be aching but better that than flying around from ball to ball having no time to focus, plan, visualise etc. I always play poorly when using a buggy. (I play slightly less poorly without )

I have a friend who i have just converted to carrying rather than using a buggy. Yesterday he broke 100 for the first time and for a change, really enjoyed himself.

This isnt really related to the OP I appreciate but I guess im trying to say that if these youngens who are for the most part, fit and healthy, tried carrying their bag they might actually realise they liked it, played better, and would save themselves £20 in the process.

 

[Oddsocks]

ok so whats worse, 20-something year olds in a buggy, or mid teen juniors with tour bags and power caddies.

At our club.range one of the kiddies who works there is off about 10, he hits a good solid long ball and is around 17 years old. a few weeks back i turned up at the range one saturday morning for a few buckets and there he was, cobra tour bag and power caddy assisted.

I couldnt help but rip it out of him infront of the other assistants and pro's. i honestly cant see why a ball stricker of he's ability would need anything more than a stand bag with 2 sleeves of balls max, instead, rumour has it (not started by me....er....honest guv) that he carries first aid kit, tent, sleeping back, packed lunch, change of underwear, and many other much needed items in he's golf bag.... oh dear!

Hehe, I would if I could. I have no issue with young players using power caddys, its safer for there back and I am sure they have alot of better ways to get fit than lugging a bag of clubs about, I know I did.

lugging a bag of clubs... please! most lightweight bags are now between 3-4lbs complete with a stand, you can go silly light without a stand with weights around 2.5 lbs. if as a fit young person you cannot carry a bag around a field that weighs no more than a stone max, you should be in a nursing home.

Back when i was a kid i used to caddie at weekends, some of the bags i carried must have gone atleast 3/4's of a stone, thing leather belt style straps, heavy leather bags full of everything the old boys could possibly use. i reckon their bags with clubs must have gone close to 2 stone. i would caddie in the morning, then play 18 in the afternoon both saturday and sunday.

 

[Alex1975]

ok so whats worse, 20-something year olds in a buggy, or mid teen juniors with tour bags and power caddies.

At our club.range one of the kiddies who works there is off about 10, he hits a good solid long ball and is around 17 years old. a few weeks back i turned up at the range one saturday morning for a few buckets and there he was, cobra tour bag and power caddy assisted.

I couldnt help but rip it out of him infront of the other assistants and pro's. i honestly cant see why a ball stricker of he's ability would need anything more than a stand bag with 2 sleeves of balls max, instead, rumour has it (not started by me....er....honest guv) that he carries first aid kit, tent, sleeping back, packed lunch, change of underwear, and many other much needed items in he's golf bag.... oh dear!

Hehe, I would if I could. I have no issue with young players using power caddys, its safer for there back and I am sure they have alot of better ways to get fit than lugging a bag of clubs about, I know I did.

lugging a bag of clubs... please! most lightweight bags are now between 3-4lbs complete with a stand, you can go silly light without a stand with weights around 2.5 lbs. if as a fit young person you cannot carry a bag around a field that weighs no more than a stone max, you should be in a nursing home.

Back when i was a kid i used to caddie at weekends, some of the bags i carried must have gone atleast 3/4's of a stone, thing leather belt style straps, heavy leather bags full of everything the old boys could possibly use. i reckon their bags with clubs must have gone close to 2 stone. i would caddie in the morning, then play 18 in the afternoon both saturday and sunday.

Its a fact that putting down and picking up a stand bag is bad for your back. It seems to me it does not matter what happend in the past, why risk your back?

As an FYI, I have always carried before this year.

 

[surefire]

I'm with Alex on this one.

Ignoring the fact that I actually mostly end up using my pencil bag and a half set...

I don't hit golf balls in the gym for the same reason that I would rather use an electric trolley on the golf course.

The gym is for working out and the course is for playing. That's just my agenda though, if people play golf for exercise, that's fair enough too, although usually there are far more efficient methods.

 

[Evesdad]

We use buggies on our annual day out, more novelty value and a laugh than anything else! But does get frustrating as normal both balls in different parts of the course!

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I was asked to do a piece for another magazine (yes I know) on the similar line to the GM for and against argument that appears each month on the bject of buggies. I think my position is pretty clear

Mark Twain may not have been much of a golfer but I bet he’d have been a buggy user with all this “good walk spoilt” malarkey.

Let me set my stall out here. Buggies are the antipathy of what golf should be about and if you use one on a regular basis you are losing the very soul of this great game. Golf is a chance to escape the trappings of the “right now” society and escape into a quieter environment. Why rush? Golf is essentially an exercise in masochism conducted out-of-doors. Whether you are a once a week hacker or off single figures, the battle, some say the whole point, is not only to hit the ball as well as you can, but to keep in check all those thoughts and emotions running through your head. There simply isn’t the time to battle your inner demons in a buggy.

It doesn’t matter how you are playing, there is nothing like the grass beneath your shoes. Take your time and enjoy the course or as Hagen said “don't forget to stop and smell the roses”. You can’t do that zipping along at a rate of knots in a buggy. Nor can you coax a buggy into some of the remote spots my ball finds. Sometimes, two legs are the only way in and out.

Golf is a fickle mistress who will infuriate and delight but learn to love her in all her glory. Walk don’t ride.

 

[viscount17]

the problem with buggies is that everyone who gets one forgets how to walk, zig-zagging all round the course because they're too b' lazy to walk the width of a green, let alone a fairway.

and I hate seeing three-balls with one buggy, the walker might as well be playing solo

 

[richart]

No buggies on our course, the bridges are not wide enough.

 

[G1BB0]

I am using a buggy at Beau Desert, purely because I am driving up in the morning and home afterwards, 36 holes walking will kill me, 18 is pretty tiring tbh as my flat feet will tell you afterwards!!!