© Reuters
Golf trolleys have offered players the world over the chance to ditch carrying their cumbersome clubs and added a much-needed element of rest and ease of movement to a game that was already very physically taxing.
But so many players - particularly younger ones - are still choosing to carry their clubs over their shoulders for a full eighteen holes, rather than setting them down on an easy-to-roll golf trolley.
While it might seem simple and using a golf trolley could be interpreted as taking the easy route, carrying your clubs for a whole game isn't without its disadvantages that could affect everything from your score to the way others around you play the game.
With this in mind, here are just a few reasons why choosing to use a golf trolley is a smart move, rather than carrying your clubs yourself.
Why a golf trolley is a smart option
Reduced strain
Let's get the obvious point out of the way. On average, a men's golf bag filled with your favourite clubs can weigh anywhere between 20 and 30 pounds. That may not sound like much extra weight to carry around. But, when you're constantly hoisting and lowering those clubs from around your shoulders every time you need to take a shot, that added weight can begin to take its toll.Specifically, golfers can begin to notice aches and pains in their upper shoulders and neck - where the bag straps are located - all the way through the middle and lower back, in some cases. This is especially true for older players.
Yes, it's natural to feel some pains when we've undertaken a few hours of exercise (as you do when playing a round of golf) but changes like these in the way we feel can result in unwanted alterations in our swing, which can cause significant problems. Sometimes, moving in different ways to avoid pain becomes an unconscious motion, so you may not even realise you've made unnecessary adjustments to your swing which could cost you strokes.
However, with a golf trolley, there's no strain involved whatsoever. Once the bag is loaded onto the trolley and strapped in, the wheels help the clubs glide effortlessly from hole to hole. The smoothness provided by the wheels also adds a feeling of weightlessness to the entire setup, alleviating any other potential strains you may pick up in your arms as a result of pulling/pushing your clubs around.
In other words, if you want to avoid pain, keep yourself in top condition and play the best possible rounds, add a golf trolley to your arsenal.
Speed
On the busiest days on the golf course, it can feel like a nightmare moving from one hole to the next, knowing you have another group of faster, more experienced players hot on your tail. You don't want to feel like you're holding them up, and you don't want to lose time by letting them play through.If this situation sounds familiar, you and your group could be losing a lot of time on the course if you're carrying your clubs instead of pulling/pushing them on a golf trolley.
Every time you stride up to take a shot, you need to go through the rigmarole of:
- Removing your clubs from your shoulders
- Standing your bag on it's legs
- Selecting your club
- Lining up your shot
- Taking your shot
- Replacing your divot (if you've taken one)
- Returning your clubs to the bag
- And hoisting your clubs back onto your shoulders.
It doesn't seem like much in the moment. But when it's spelt out like this, the whole shot-taking process begins to feel like a time-consuming effort.
However, with a golf trolley, multiple steps in this process are eliminated, allowing you to take shots faster, cut your game times, and stay ahead of other players who might be rushing you. Plus, over the course of eighteen holes, you could end up saving a lot more time than you expected when adding everything together.
Golf bag legs
It may not feel like a major issue, but some greenkeepers may disagree with that....One of the key benefits of good golf trolleys is that they don't cause any significant damage to courses, despite the fact they're carrying a lot of weight that could potentially harm the grass below.
Because the weight is evenly dispersed across multiple wheels - which are built with course care in mind - fairways remain virtually unscathed, even though they have hundreds of trolleys dragged across them daily.
Compare this to the legs included in many golf bags, which unceremoniously stick into the soil causing punctures that, no matter how small, could affect how the ball travels once it's hit the ground and begun to roll.
