19th Hole
Study shows how using a push cart or electric trolly can help lower scores
Golfers love a stat.
Apart from keeping score, there are more than a handful of devices available to measure ball speed, plane, stance, putting stroke and on and on.
Even non-players are involved in numbers, with golf bettors using the likes of tour-tips.com and datagolf to crunch the figures and sort out which player’s best attribute suits that week’s course.
So, even though it may seem fairly obvious that walking and pushing a golf cart is more beneficial to your health than riding a cart, the latest study by the Colorado Center for Health and Sports Science adds the oft-sought science to the belief.
The study was carried out by lead researcher Neil Wolkodoff, PhD and backed by Europe’s number 1 golf bag and push cart brand BIG MAX. It also set out to find out how energy expenditure varies in golf based on the mode of transport, as well as recording data on participants’ reported mental focus and their scores across a round of nine holes.
Researches used a VO2 Master metabolic analyzer and a standard Hans-Rudolph mask to test energy expenditure on the course, finding that golfers burned most Kcal per hour using a pushcart, a significant 36% increase on motorized cart use.
Both using a push cart and electric trolley reached the threshold for being recognized as moderate intensity exercise and would have a positive impact on the health of users, while golf using a motorized cart constitutes a health improvement activity.
Wolkodoff commented, “It is clear that if you walk the course, you will experience the same health benefits as other moderate exercises, possibly better. Particularly noting that improvement when using a pushcart, and certainly more than when taking part in recreational or leisure walking.”
“Previous studies I’ve worked on demonstrated that using a pushcart had performance benefits over other types of course transport. The walking modes in this study had a clear improvement in reported mental focus of participants when walking compared to a motor cart.”
The health benefits were pretty much a given, but how does this affect your actual performance? Will walking gain you that vital shot for your weekend $50 scramble?
In reporting mental focus and overall score to par, the studies concluded that pushcart and electric trolley usage came out with very similar results.
For reported mental focus, manual cart use averaged a score of 5.67 while the electric versions scored 6.63, both outscoring an average of 5.01 for the motorised aid. Scores to par fared similarly, with the two manual carts scoring 10.4 and 10.2 above par respectively with the motor over a shot behind over 9 holes at 11.5.
Rick Oldach, CEO of Big Max USA, the company that supplied all the carts and bags for the experiment, was pleased with the end results.
“Neil and the team have done a fantastic job,” he said enthusiastically. “The methodology for testing energy expenditure delivers undisputed evidence for the health benefits of walking the course. The results that particularly please me though are around mental focus and scores. I’ve long suspected that having time to think between shots, to decompress after each shot and to have time to prepare for the next shot is of real benefit, and this study proves that walking improves performance.”
So, not only for your health, but to also beat your buddies for that free round of beers, go manual!
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19th Hole
LET pro gives detailed financial breakdown of first week on tour…and the net result may shock you
On Friday morning, Ladies European Tour player, Hannah Gregg, took to social media to share her weekly expenses playing on the LET.
Expenses of my first week on Ladies European Tour:
Flights: $2600
Work Visa: $350
Food: $377
Caddie: $0 because I have an amazing Fiancé
Hotel: $0 because @GregChalmersPGA sorted me host housing for the week! ?
Rental Car: +0 because the Tour Tee guys GAVE me their car ??…— Hannah Gregg (@hannahbggg) April 26, 2024
“Expenses of my first week on Ladies European Tour: Flights: $2600 Work Visa: $350
- Food: $377
- Caddie: $0 because I have an amazing Fiancé
- Hotel: $0 because @GregChalmersPGA sorted me host housing for the week!
- Rental Car: +0 because the Tour Tee guys GAVE me their car
- Gas: $165
- Entry Fee: $130
- Lounge Pass for caddie: $50
- Gym: $0
- Yardage book: $0
- Total expenses: $3672
Made cut, finished 54th, total earned: $1244 Factor in 35% tax on earnings. To break even, needed to finish 24th. To make money, 21st. Guess we have our goals laid out for next event!”
When factoring in Gregg’s free housing, free caddie and free rental car, it’s evident that most LET players would have to finish well inside of the top-20 to make any money.
With ridiculous amounts of money being thrown around in professional golf these days, it’s important to remember the other side of the coin as well. There are countless professionals out there who struggle to get by on their golf salary.
More from the 19th Hole
- The wild reason why Mark Wahlberg was initially denied entry to an Australian golf club
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Edoardo Molinari reveals the latest PGA Tour golfer to turn down ‘good offer’ from LIV Golf
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19th Hole
54-hole golf tour deemed eligible for OWGR points…but it’s not LIV
After a seventeen-month application process, a 54-hole golf tour was deemed eligible for OWGR points.
Unfortunately, for LIV Golf and their fans, it was the Clutch Pro Tour.
After the decision, which is effective immediately, OWGR chairman Peter Dawson issued a statement.
“This is a significant milestone for golf, and OWGR is deeply encouraged by the achievement and the continued efforts in developing the sport of golf in the United Kingdom.”
“We look forward to watching the progress of the Clutch Pro Tour as it continues to play a key role in the development of players from the region,” Dawson added.
OWGR Announcement
Read more here – https://t.co/7J4bFpawqv#OWGR#OfficialWorldGolfRanking pic.twitter.com/ZfBJWCFAm8— OWGR (@OWGRltd) April 25, 2024
The Clutch Pro Tour operates in the United Kingdom and features a 36-hole cut. It also has an open qualifying school.
More from the 19th Hole
- The wild reason why Mark Wahlberg was initially denied entry to an Australian golf club
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Edoardo Molinari reveals the latest PGA Tour golfer to turn down ‘good offer’ from LIV Golf
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19th Hole
Charlie Woods attempting to qualify for spot at 2024 U.S. Open
As first reported by Bob Harig of Sports Illustrated, Charlie Woods will be attempting to qualify for this year’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.
The first stage of qualifying for this year’s tournament will be an 18-hole local event on Thursday, April 25th, in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
There will be 84 players in the field, five of which will reach the 36-hole qualifier that will take place in June.
Earlier this season, Charlie attempted to qualify for the Cognizant Classic, and struggled, shooting an 86.
If the younger Woods is able to qualify, he will tee it up in the same field as his father in a few months at one of the more historic U.S. Open venues.
More from the 19th Hole
- The wild reason why Mark Wahlberg was initially denied entry to an Australian golf club
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Edoardo Molinari reveals the latest PGA Tour golfer to turn down ‘good offer’ from LIV Golf
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