The great golf cart debate

It seems like fair enough logic: Golf carts move faster than your average bag-laden golfer. So it makes sense that if every golfer rode a cart, the game would move faster, making the course able to accommodate more golfers.

But what if you want to walk?

Tough. That’s the line from Nassau County, which in July mandated the use of carts on it Eisenhower Red course.

An Associated Press story today shows that Nassau is not the only municipality to make a carts-only decision, all with the hopes of speeding up play. But opponents of the measure worry that forcing people to use golf carts, especially on public courses, could price out lower-income players who can’t afford to pay the extra cost of renting a cart.

And let’s not forget the obvious claim, supported by a doctor quoted in article, that walking the course good exercise.

From the story:

Nassau County officials argued that Eisenhower Red is so popular that carts are necessary to keep up the pace of play. They contend that anyone who wants to walk can still use the county’s two adjacent 18-hole courses at the park named in honor of one of the country’s best-known presidential duffers.

Of course, the added income from golfers paying up to $29 each to rent a cart won’t hurt the bottom line for the county.

“We’re not doing it for the money,” deputy county executive Peter Gerbasi said after the policy went into effect. “We’re trying to make the course more available to more people.”

Adrienne Danzig of Westbury isn’t buying it.

“I love to walk,” she said on a recent summer morning as she prepared to grab her pull cart from the trunk of her car. “I think golf is made for walking unless you’re at a resort where you have to walk a mile to the next hole. I’ve played here for many years, love to walk, love the Red Course, and they have completely destroyed this option.”

Rich Martorana of Massapequa said it was wrong to insist on carts, especially on a public course. He also questions whether carts have actually made for quicker rounds.

“I use carts with my friend all the time,” he said. “However, you shouldn’t force people on a public golf course to now take up a cart. And it doesn’t speed up play. It hasn’t improved anything. … I think the county is simply making money on the deal.”

Beyond the fiscal benefits for the county treasury are the physical advantages, said Brett Ostrager of Woodbury.

“Being a physician, I think it’s good exercise for people to be able to walk the course,” he said. “If people follow the rules of the game, I think the pace is probably the same. … Most people that walk do know the rules of the game.”

Tatum contends that charging extra for carts inhibits people from all economic classes from enjoying the game.