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Walking vs Riding

Are you better off walking or riding? This is always a spicy topic for many reasons. I was curious what the data would look like on this.I am not looking at this from the aspect of which approach is healthier (although you will log more steps when riding than you probably think you do). I am also not looking at this the way some folks do (e.g., walking is how the game was originally played and meant to be played).

For the record, I walk as much as I can - about 80% to 85% of my rounds. I generally use an electric cart with a remote control, although sometimes I carry.

My main goal was to understand those players that *mostly* walk or *mostly* ride. How do they play when they walk?

How do they play when they ride?

In order to be selected for this analysis, a player needed to log 35 or more 18-hole rounds in a calendar year. I used a players median handicap for that year.

The Stats

Let's get to my favorite part... the numbers!

• 27% of players ONLY ride

• 10% of players ONLY walk

• 37% of players ride at least 90% of the time

• 19% of players walk at least 90% of the time

• 12% of players ride 60% to 80% of the time

  • Of these players:

    • 52% have a better median strokes gained when they ride than they do when they walk

    • 23% have a median strokes gained when they ride that is at least 2 shots better than their median strokes gained when they walk

• 13% of players walk 60% to 80% of the time

  • Of these players:

    • 51% have a better median strokes gained when they walk than they do when they ride

    • 24% have a median strokes gained when they walk that is at least 2 shots better than their median strokes gained when they ride

• Players that walk at least 90% of the time:

  • Average handicap = 10.6

  • Median handicap = 9.9

• Players that ride at least 90% of the time:

  • Average handicap = 11.2

  • Median handicap = 10.6

• Players that walk 60% to 80% of the time:

  • Average handicap = 10.5

  • Median handicap = 10.0

• Players that ride 60% to 80% of the time:

  • Average handicap = 11.2

  • Median handicap = 10.6

My Thoughts

One way to look at this is it's essentially a draw. There is no real advantage to walking or riding.But...

• There are some golfers that will tend to perform better walking.

• There are some golfers that will tend to perform better riding.

• Like many things in golf, it is individualized.

If you are a player that mostly walks or mostly rides, or you are somewhere near 50/50 walk vs ride, I would encourage you to track your strokes gained (or differentials) for walking vs riding. See where you fall. You might discover that you perform much better one way. You can then use this information to make sure you choose YOUR best option for the rounds that matter most.

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Thanks so much and have a great week!

— Lou