I played in the a roll up last week on a very wet course.
It was very noticeable the different extent of damage being caused to the course by either carrying / trolleys or buggys.
We don't have many traditional 2x person golf buggys at our course, but we do have quite a number of people who use the one person mobility type buggy / scooter things, I followed one of these last week & the trail of destruction he was leaving behind him was heartbreaking.
The shear weight of the thing on the ground was leaving deep tracks everywhere he went, he got stuck in the mud at one point & his playing partners had to pull him out, leaving deep muddy ruts in the ground, at another hole I came across a 2x foot long rut in the fairways caused by the wheels spinning whilst he accelerated.
Also it was noticeable that damage was being caused by heavy electric trolleys fitted with standard wheels, as these tended to either dig in to the soft ground or spin & rip up the turf.
Carrying was ok provided people were sensible about where they walked (some didn't seem to give a monkeys & blindly walked though already damaged areas causing even more damage)
But, the least damage by far was from trolleys fitted with Hedgehog wheels, as these tended to distribute the weight better & not spin under power.
The best solution was 3x wheel push trolleys with Hedgehog wheels as these were lighter & caused no damage at all.
It seems daft that my club will occasionally bans buggys & trolleys if the course is very wet & impose a carry only policy & yet it seems to me they would be better off stipulating that only trolleys fitted with proper Hedgehog wheels should be allowed when it is that wet.
It was very noticeable the different extent of damage being caused to the course by either carrying / trolleys or buggys.
We don't have many traditional 2x person golf buggys at our course, but we do have quite a number of people who use the one person mobility type buggy / scooter things, I followed one of these last week & the trail of destruction he was leaving behind him was heartbreaking.
The shear weight of the thing on the ground was leaving deep tracks everywhere he went, he got stuck in the mud at one point & his playing partners had to pull him out, leaving deep muddy ruts in the ground, at another hole I came across a 2x foot long rut in the fairways caused by the wheels spinning whilst he accelerated.
Also it was noticeable that damage was being caused by heavy electric trolleys fitted with standard wheels, as these tended to either dig in to the soft ground or spin & rip up the turf.
Carrying was ok provided people were sensible about where they walked (some didn't seem to give a monkeys & blindly walked though already damaged areas causing even more damage)
But, the least damage by far was from trolleys fitted with Hedgehog wheels, as these tended to distribute the weight better & not spin under power.
The best solution was 3x wheel push trolleys with Hedgehog wheels as these were lighter & caused no damage at all.
It seems daft that my club will occasionally bans buggys & trolleys if the course is very wet & impose a carry only policy & yet it seems to me they would be better off stipulating that only trolleys fitted with proper Hedgehog wheels should be allowed when it is that wet.