[Death of the Two-Person Cart]

1 hour ago, Kenny B said:

On an empty course 4 carts would certainly be faster.  On a typical playing weekend in the summer at my muni, a group with 4 carts plays no faster than 4 walkers.  There's no where to go.

At my old course we had a group that had 4 carts and they did not care about anyone else.  If they came up on a group, they skipped ahead to the next open hole; might be 2 or 3 holes ahead, wherever it was open.  I don't know how many holes they played; they probably didn't either.  We called them "the Polo Club".

 Did they even bother to stop the carts to swing? 

I'm just thinking if its drastically quicker to play with 4 single rider carts it might be profitable for certain courses to have them in the fleet so they can get more people on the course. That way its not just a convenience for the golfer (2-3 hour round) but its also advantageous for the course to get more people on the course on peak days.

If nothing else book the tee times where the earlier guys are guaranteed a quicker pace of play with the single carts and as the day goes on a course could work the slower double person carts since its almost guaranteed to be a longer round later into the morning.

[Death of the Two-Person Cart]

+1. One league I play in 22 weeks/season is a mix of motorized 2 person carts and walkers with push or remote control carts. In general walkers move just as quickly as 2 person carts, week after week. Although the carts are quicker between shots, the walkers all go directly to their ball instead of making two stops (sometimes far apart). And motorized can't go places walkers can, so they have to park further away some times. Or when it's cart paths only, 2 person carts are slow. So I'd conclude 2 person carts and walkers move about the same pace all else equal.
I am sure solo motorized carts would be faster than 2 person carts or walkers. By how much I don't know. Minutes, 10's of minutes, more?
And like others have said before. Slow play is only partly due to carts and other tools. In my experience, at least 50% of the cause of slow play is bad habits by players, it won't make much difference if they have a cart. The bad habits are many, and they've been detailed many times already.

Completely agree. Most people who walk are usually better and quicker players.

I would really like to see how much quicker a round would be with 4 carts instead of 2. I also think it would depend on skill level greatly. 4 single digit guys might shave off an hour or more but four 20+ handicap guys might not save half that.

Personally I think the two best ways to improve pace of play is to improve the average golfers score and play “ready golf”.


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[Death of the Two-Person Cart]

22 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

One issue I can see with single-rider carts is for those days when carts are restricted to cart paths.  Those days always require a lot of walking, and tend to slow down.  With two riders, there is often at least one player on the side of the golf course nearest the cart.  The player on the far side can walk green-ward after his shot, while his cart-partner moves the cart forward.  With single-rider carts, anyone on the far side of the fairway from the path will be required to take that long walk back and forth, there's no way anyone will be able to move his cart onward.  Single rider carts will slow down play in these circumstances.

I know that these cart-path-only days aren't every day, and in some areas may be very rare, but this is one thing that should be considered before making a change.  

I just played yesterday cart path only and had the same thought. Single carts wouldn't speed up the pace and as you say could lengthen the time. 

 

[Death of the Two-Person Cart]

https://mygolfspy.com/the-two-person-golf-cart-needs-to-die/

I have seen this topic on MGS a lot in the past couple weeks and there is already a ton of comments on the blog. 

I don't see courses switching to full fleets of single rider carts unless there is a profit advantage. Perhaps shortening the rounds can get more people on the course and raise revenue. I could see courses purchasing/leasing a handful of these type carts for singles, threesomes and millennial golfers. 

Has MGS tested how much quicker a foursome with their own carts would be? I'd really like to see the data on how much quicker 4 carts vs 2 carts would make a foursome. Maybe run the numbers and see how many more golfers a course could get though in a day if all the rounds were shorter. 

Thoughts?

[What golf books are you reading?]

I just finished Dave Pelz's Short Game Bible a few months ago. Had some solid info on wedge distances even if I think he takes some of his ideas to the extreme. 

Just bought "Walking with Jack" and "Bunker Play with Gary Player". The latter has some beautiful pictures and would look great on a coffee table but I've not had time to dig into either of these books. Grabbed "Butch Harmon's Playing Lessons" a few months ago too. I always gravitate to the sports section of our local used book store... 

[2019 PGA Show-What Do You Want to See or Hear About]

9 hours ago, Golfspy_CG2 said:

 

First stop tomorrow  morning.  But basically RB Tour and RB Tour X  Both 4 piece and urethane cover.  Big story is the dimples, they are flat on the bottom which creates more air disturbance--which ChrisVoshall says is a good thing--than the typical dimple.  By all accounts many who hit them in a strong wind yesterday at demo day, said they held the line and flight very well. 

 

Epic. That sounds really interesting. Can't wait to learn more. Sounds like I'll need to buy some to try out when they are available. Thanks!

[2019 PGA Show-What Do You Want to See or Hear About]

What kind of info did you get on the NA launch of the Mizuno Golf balls? 

I've always played their irons and wanted to try their tour golf balls but to my knowledge they've only been available in Japan. 

[Ping's new adjustable length putter]

I've tested several of the Sigma 2 line at the local PING fitter's pro shop. I really liked the feel of several different putters but I'm kind of leaning toward getting a Kushin Sigma G from the previous version.

The PING pro was telling me how much time it was going to save him with the adjustable length putters. He made it sound like regripping one for someone after a fitting would be a thing of the past and replacing the grip when they wear out would be pretty easy to do. I will say it was super easy to adjust them by turning a provided tool a few times. It made testing each of the different heads at my desired length super easy to do. 

I can see a huge benefit to a pro shop only having to carry one of each and being able to adjust the length to suit each individual golfer. 

I do wonder if purchasing one would mean when you "have" to replace the putting grip at some point due to wear you'd only be able to replace it with a PING grip. (The tool screws into the end of the grip) 

[2019 Official MGS Fantasy Golf League]

I’d love to play.


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[Sweetens Cove]

I was actually fortunate enough to play 27 holes there a few weeks ago. What an incredible place. It's about an hour and half a drive but worth every minute. The reviews I had read compared it to Augusta National (which I have to admit I laughed at until I played a few greens.) The greens are what make this track a must play. I've never seen greens with this much undulation. The landing areas and slopes around the green make you need a complete arsenal of short game shots. My exact quote was it made me realize how "amateur and inadequate my short game is."

 

If you live close enough you won't regret the trip. The manager did say they have plans to make it a private course so get your rounds in asap.