Golf buggies have long been seen as the province of the disabled or elderly – but those days are long gone. Nowadays, the use of golf buggies has become the norm on golf courses throughout Australia. Increasing numbers of people prefer to access the benefits offered by a golf buggy, rather than the drawbacks of lugging their bag around the course.
And once you discover how many advantages there are to using a golf buggy, you’ll never want to go back to carrying your own bag! Below are some of the very handy benefits of using a golf buggy.
It’s safer to use a golf buggy
Many medical experts believe that it is much better for your health to use a buggy rather than lugging your clubs around. Carrying your clubs places a huge amount of compressive force on your spine and can be the cause of extremely poor posture. We’ve probably all seen that person hunched over as they lug their set of clubs around the course. As well, you have to lift and drop the bag potentially more than 100 times throughout your round. Considering the average golf bag can weigh anywhere up to 15 kilos, this places a great deal of torsional stress on the spine. Carrying a heavy golf bag from a young age could potentially lead to a lifetime of back issues if not dealt with properly.
Carrying a golf bag strains your back and shoulders and all that walking can be hard on older knees. Research shows that carrying your golf bag leads to an increased chance of injury to shoulder, back and ankle, and a decreased ability to score. Carrying your clubs leads to lactic acid build up in the surrounding muscles, causing fatigue which potentially leads to injury.
Using a golf buggy saves your back, keeps you fresh and enables you to stay more flexible and pain-free, as well as conserving your energy. The golf swing is tough on your back. If you use a golf buggy and keep one more stressor away from your back, that’s got to be a good thing.
And for those who are injured, have a medical condition or are aged over 65, golf buggies can be a God-send. People with limited physical abilities or who are physically unable to walk long distances can still play golf with the help of a golf buggy. For some people, using a golf buggy may be the only way they can continue to enjoy their passion. Golf buggies enable aging and physically limited people to play as often as they can – which is great news for their health and wellbeing.
And using a golf buggy doesn’t mean that you miss out on the health benefits of walking the course. Research has shown that even golfers using a motorised buggy can burn around 1,300 calories during an 18-hole round. This is because you can’t take your golf buggy everywhere, such as on the greens, the tees or the bunkers. There’s still a bit of walking involved, even if you’re using a buggy.
For more on how to minimise golf injuries, see this handy guide.
It allows you to play better
Studies have shown that players shoot lower scores when using a buggy or walker rather than carrying their bag. Particularly for those with physical difficulties, walking the course could add strokes to your score, as you get more physically exhausted. A golf buggy allows your body to contribute all its energy stores towards your shots and will usually lead to a better round.
It’s practical
You can also store many items in your golf buggy, such as cool drinks, snacks, extra jackets in case the weather turns nasty etc. Golf bags usually don’t have a lot of room to store extras, so if you carry your bag you may also find yourself having to carry a lot of extra items too.
Click here to find out how to organise your golf bag.
It conserves energy
Golf is a game that uses all your muscles, joints and soft tissues. Swinging a golf club repetitively uses a significant amount of energy. Carrying a golf bag on top of all the other effort you’re exerting saps your energy, especially on a hot day.
We all know walking is good for us, but the fact is most golf courses are between 10 and 12 kilometres. Walking this distance can be tiring, especially when you factor in around 100 golf swings that you might take as well. Many golf courses involve elevation changes, undulation and sometimes tricky terrain to navigate, meaning that you’re likely to use more energy walking around. Carting around roughly 15 kilos over 12 kilometres can place a lot of stress on the body and adds significant stress to the back and knees.
It makes sense to use a golf buggy to conserve your energy, particularly on courses with long distances between the green and the tee. Golfers don’t get as tired as when they walk, particularly older ones, and can use this extra energy in their game.
The use of a golf buggy also allows you to retain more energy for what you have to do after your round of golf (e.g. work etc.). Walking the full course can be tiring, and leave you just wanting a meal and a nap afterwards. If you have other things you need to get on with, using a buggy can allow you to conserve the energy you’ll need for later.
It speeds up the pace of play
Slow play on the golf course can be extremely frustrating – and the use of a golf buggy can help alleviate this problem. The average time for a round of golf is roughly four hours – although it can be slower or faster than this. However, you can shave a fair bit of time off your round just by using a golf buggy to speed up those long walks.
A golf buggy may also allow you to play more often. If you can’t get onto the course till later in the day, using a golf buggy will allow you to finish your round before dark. If you just want to fit in a quick round, the use of a golf buggy will definitely help you do that.
It increases longevity
If you want to be playing the game into your 70s and 80s, you’ll be better off using a motorised buggy. Less wear and tear on your back and body adds up to greater longevity in the game. If you use a motorised buggy in your 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s you’ll be more likely to still be playing golf in your retirement years. Save your back, your knees and your body and use a golf buggy.
For more on how to become a lifelong golfer, have a read here.
It allows you to enjoy the views on the golf course more
Many of Australia’s golf courses are highly scenic, and often offer fabulous views over the surrounding countryside. These views can be better enjoyed when you use a golf buggy. You’ll be able to reach high outlooks on the course more quickly and easily than if you walk up them, and that will allow you to take a moment to enjoy the views.
It helps you to focus
Having a lot of time to walk between holes is not necessarily a help to your focus. Too much time means you can overthink your last shot and put unnecessary pressure on yourself for your next shot. Using a buggy helps you to stay sharp between shots and only focus on what is necessary, rather than letting a million and one thoughts crowd and confuse your mind.
It increases enjoyment
Golfers who use buggies report getting more enjoyment out of their round, as they didn’t have to worry about carrying their bag or try to figure out how to carry their extras. It helped them focus on their golf more, leading to better scores and increased enjoyment.
To take advantage of all the great benefits offered by golf buggies, have a look at Parmaker’s full range of high quality and affordable golf buggies here: www.Parmaker.com.
For tips to get the most out of your golf buggy, click here.
