Carrying vs trolleying

JezzE

JezzE

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Afternoon all,
Just working on a debate piece on the above topic and would be interested to get the forumers' views on the relative merits of carrying vs trolleying, and why you might choose one over the other (year-round rather than specifically at this time of year when you may not have the option at some courses).
Best of the musings could make it into the bottom panel of the debate piece...
Jezz
 
Foremost i prefer to use an Electric trolley. I still feel quite full of beans after 18 holes compared to other methods of getting my clubs around a course.

Manual trolleys are ok on Flattish courses but hard work pushing/pulling up steep slopes etc. So on a hilly course i would prefer to carry a stand bag if the electric trolley was not allowed for some reason.
 
I have carried all my life.
Occassionally when I have to play 36 in one day I'll dust down the electric trolley and big bag but apart from that, it's carry all year round.
It does however sadden me as a 50 year old to see so many youngsters with electric trolleys, where's the excercise gone in the sport. :(
 
The advantages of carrying are that you can be on the course milliseconds after arriving, a quick change of shoes, grab your bag and you are off. You can go directly to your ball, climb over fallen trees, ditches, dead members of the 4 ball in front and get on with playing. If you are a quick walker you can set your own pace, run if you like. The down sides are that 14 clubs, 2 jumpers, a set of waterproofs, an umbrella, 2 litres of water, 14 golf balls, 4 gloves, 3 hats, a set of winter mitts and some wine gums weigh a ton, and will give you neck knack.

For the electric trolley, the pro's are that you can cram your enormous tour bag with half the contents of your house, and still move round the course without crippling yourself. You can fit an umbrella holder, which makes playing in the rain way easier. The down sides are that it takes ages to assemble, you have to remember the battery, you have to remember to charge the battery, they are heavy, they take up loads of boot space, they damage the course, they get banned, you get marshalled in winter, they get clogged up with mud, they are slow, and they look naff.

Manual trolleys are like having a dog, and barking yourself. Pointless
 
Factors such as age, physical fitness and strength often cloud this debate. Looking at purely the pros and cons I'd say that the principle advantage of carrying over a trolley is time. Not just the time to get around the course, though this is well documented, but time "on the shot". I find I get to my ball quicker on the green and immediately start weighing up the putt. In the rough or par 3 tees my clubs are right next to me and the options for club selection are easier to evaluate and change when necessary. Golf is a thinking game and the more time you have to think the better.

Of course this has to be weighed against the undoubted benefits of being less tired especially in competition play but I hate seeing beginners turn up with their starter set including trolley just because that's the way they think golf is played.... ie bag, clubs, trolley, balls, shoes and away you go.

Personally (at 47) I have just last season bought a PowaKaddy for comp play but take a half set in a small carry bag for social games. Best of both worlds perhaps.
 
In my opinion, unless you're really old or have a medical condition, carrying is the way forward. It saves time and aides physical fitness. I too am dismayed at the number of plump juniors with electric trolleys, there really is no need.
 
For those who advocate electric trolleys... is this what you want to see on your course?

sophie-trolley.jpg
 
In my opinion, unless you're really old or have a medical condition, carrying is the way forward. It saves time and aides physical fitness. I too am dismayed at the number of plump juniors with electric trolleys, there really is no need.
Click to expand...


How old is "realy old"? and are you sure the Juniors are plump because they don't carry?.......Nothing to do with Maccy Ds and junk food then.

Oh, and what medical condition would qualify me to carry?
 
I honestly don't have a preferance and am more than happy to carry.
I have to admit to recently thinking about purchasing a Powakaddy, one of my playing partners has one and swears it saves him 1-2 shots a round.
Main factors for using one would be the reduction in fatigue towards the end of a round, no messing around with a brolly and all the extra dinks etc you can carry without breaking your back.
 
I actually feel quite qualified to comment on this considering i've just bought my first electric trolley having carried or used a pull trolley previously.

Carrying gives you the most freedom on the course and this is the single biggest benefit. You walk where you want and take your bag with you. This is the only thing that i feel is more beneficial over an electric trolley. On a negative note, you have to watch how many extras you put in your bag on top of the clubs, balls and other required equipment. Lifting and putting down a fully loaded carry bag almost 100 times during a round of golf is good for no-ones back.

A pull trolley takes away your freedom to roam anywhere on the course with your clubs. Sure it relieves some of the stresses of carrying, but pulling in a twisted position for 4 or 5 miles is doing your back less favours than carrying. This is especially apparent when pulling your trolley up a steep slope.

Now, onto the electric trolley. It takes away all of the usual back ache, tiredness, and general inconvenience of having to pick up and put down and then pick up my carry bag. I feel better and fresher for it and that can only be good for my golf. With a carry bag, you lift your bag at least as many times as shots you take. Over a round, that's a lot of effort. Then you have to do things like climb hills all with that weight on your back... not with an electric trolley. I am noticing this in a big way towards the later stages of a round when i now feel as if i can easily go on and play another round, rather than looking foward to putting my feet up in the clubhouse. I'd bet that even more energy will be saved in the winter months with the trolley than in the summer, what with the extra gear we carry and the more difficult walking conditions.

Only downside to the electric trolley is (again) having the entire freedom of the course. As long as you know what club you need when you need to leave your trolley somewhere, this isn't a problem.

All in all, the positives of the electric trolley far outweigh the negative and i look forward to continued use of it apart from when i'm going for a quick 9 holes and will take a half set of clubs in my carry bag.
 
@ Twire

Something like diabetes or a bad back.

No, the plump juniors are already chubbers, but using their thumb to get their clubs around the course isn't exactly helping them shift the pies is it?

@ Bobmac

It's hard to define really old, but essentially, when an otherwise physically fit individual feels too knacked to carry the clubs for the full 18/36 or whatever.
 
I used to carry always when I played years ago. It was in the days before double strap systems, with a leather strap that didn't have a lot of padding, and the bag wasn't particularly lightweight.

By about the 6th hole I would start swapping shoulders and by the end of the round both of my shoulders hurt. I should add to that that I was 9st dripping wet in those days (as opposed to 10st now) with no 'padding' of my own.

Not that I could have afforded one, but electric trolleys were for 'girls and old men'.

Since I started playing again I see far more people with electric trolleys.
I started with a double-strap lighweight stand bag, and although my shoulders were fine and walking with a little extra weight on my back seemed to be ok, every now and then I'd get a little twinge from picking up and putting down the bag over and over.

I bought an electric trolley and love it. The inconvenience of setting up time and having to watch where you take it is far outweighed by how much more I enjoy the walk round the course, and as Murph said, playing in the rain is so much easier.
 
I don't get the argument about time to set up an electric trolley. It takes no more than a minute. Leave the house one minute earlier and you're sorted. Also, the amount of time people spend faffing around in general before a game is much longer...
 
For those who advocate electric trolleys... is this what you want to see on your course?

sophie-trolley.jpg
Click to expand...

I would rather see that than her struggling to carry a set of golf clubs and keep up with her playing partners and the group in front.
 
In my opinion, unless you're really old or have a medical condition, carrying is the way forward.
Click to expand...

How old is really old?
50? 60? 70? 80?
Click to expand...

Bob, I am 76 and love my GoKart.
Unfortunately it is not welcome on my course at present and I struggle with my pull trolley fitted with hedgehogs.
 
I like my powakaddy but it does not stop me carrying there are arguments for both.

The carry bag is better for moving about the course it can go where you go and it is good excersise.

I see the powakaddy being of good use in 36 hole competitons and it is also that wee bit bigger for throwing you clubs at as there is less chance of missing :D ;)
 
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