Cart Path Only- does it affect your game?

[Rob Person]

TL/WR - Do you adjust your game if it's CPO? Do you not play if you know it's going to be?

 

This is something I dread to see when I go play lately...

With all the recent rain, it seems that CPO is just becoming the new norm at my local courses.   And I get it, working at a golf course myself, I see the "why" of its necessity. 

Recently though I have realized a couple of things. 

First,  I have even less control of my ball when it's CPO.    In adapting my course management to keep the ball closer to the cart path, I seem to miss that area even more! 

Secondly,  I am in fairly good shape and physically fit, but walking back and forth constantly between shots seems to create a frustration in my game I had not realized I had. It also adds a hurried effect in my head, as I don't want to hold anyone up. (I can run back and forth and still feel like I am going too slow)

Third, I am jealous of walkers and push cart golfers when it's CPO, as generally it only applies to electric/gas carts! (Sometimes though, even the push cart mafia has to stay on path)

Lastly, I truly WANT to be able to walk through courses, but realistically they are very hilly, steep, and would wear me down in the warmer months very quickly!  I don't believe I could ENJOY playing if I was sweaty,  sticky, and just plainly uncomfortable without any relief between shots.

A true testament to my loathing of CPO was the other day golfing with my son. I tried my darnedest to stay within 20 feet of the path, and I did not care about my lie by the 3rd hole. I just didn't want to have to traverse an entire fairway all day.  Ha!  The greens are almost all elevated at my frequent course, where a miss or over run results in a dramatic walk down then back up again.  Even the cart path to most of the greens is cumbersome. 

[russtopherb]

For me, not really - I walk more than I ride, and if it's CPO I just make a point to bring a selection of clubs with me so I'm prepared when I get to my ball. 

[Rob Person]

2 minutes ago, russtopherb said:

For me, not really - I walk more than I ride, and if it's CPO I just make a point to bring a selection of clubs with me so I'm prepared when I get to my ball. 

Do you walk on course with the bag/cart or stay on path?

[Owengeorge13]

I walk and carry…

doesn’t really become an issue for me unless I’m playing mountain courses when I take a cart.  Running back and forth for the right club can be super exhausting 

Edited May 17 by Owengeorge13

[russtopherb]

1 minute ago, Rob Person said:

Do you walk on course with the bag/cart or stay on path?

I walk on the course. I've never been told not to when it's CPO. 

[scbelowpar]

Absolutely impacts my game.  For two reasons. 

1. I get tired earlier in the round than normal.  (probably should exercise more so this doesn't happen). 

2. Slow play.  I hate slow play and with CPO, the pace of play always seems to slow down significantly.

[cnosil]

It doesn't seem to impact me.   I get to my where my ball is on the path, grab a few clubs, and walk over to the ball.  Not really any different than carry/push cart except you don't have all the clubs,  just ballpark of what you will need.    

[chisag]

... Thankfully with 300 days of sunshine we don't get much rain here in Phoenix. Sometimes up to 6 or 7 months with zero rain.   So when we do get some rain we all love it. I walk with a remote cart from Oct-May and ride when the heat seems to reside between 105*-115* from June - September.

... The thing I dislike most about CPO is not seeing my shot as I approach my ball. While walking or even riding up to my ball in a cart, I am envisioning my next shot depending on the pin, the wind and how I am swinging that day. Approaching from the side with my cart on the path does not give me that option and just throws off my normal routine. So taking as many as 4 clubs with me is a Pia as well as changing the way I approach my shot.  

[RetiredBoomer]

12 minutes ago, cnosil said:

It doesn't seem to impact me.   I get to my where my ball is on the path, grab a few clubs, and walk over to the ball.  Not really any different than carry/push cart except you don't have all the clubs,  just ballpark of what you will need.    

 

It screws me to a fare-thee-well, so I'm glad it's only in soggy conditions.
I bring a couple of clubs and GPS tells me that they're both wrong.

[DiscipleofPenick]

The first half dozen rounds here can be soggy, and courses that reside in valleys it can last longer than that. It can be frustrating because of the wet and the cold just costing all kinds of distance. Any more I don't let it bother me and after a couple months off I treat them as rounds just to get the swing going again.

[bens197]

If it’s cart path only I’m walking. 

[RetiredBoomer]

6 minutes ago, bens197 said:

If it’s cart path only I’m walking. 

Good choice, but in my case,
I'm looking for a card game in the clubhouse instead.

 

[johngschulz]

6 minutes ago, bens197 said:

If it’s cart path only I’m walking. 

Yesterday league was cart path only. Several times we just grabbed our bags off the cart and walked to our balls if my partner and I weren’t close. Wish we could have just walked.

[Josh Parker]

I played in CPO conditions today and my course is full of hills so I don't walk it and haven't but a few times.  With CPO golf, I always have an extra large towel with me and take several clubs from the cart to the ball.  I also utilize the range finder a lot more.  

I never aim for the cart path.  My game plan is always going to be the same no matter what the conditions are.

I take my time and don't feel the need to be rushed when its CPO.

I actually think mentally, sometimes the CPO helps with focus.

[ctg44]

I would never (ever) ride on a cart path only day at our normal club (either of the 2 courses) unless it was just me and my son (after 5 years of JHS / HS golf, he refuses to walk most days), and he was adamant about riding...even then, I'd probably dismount my bag and just hold onto it between shots and walk to my shots with my bag.  

I hated the fact that in Arizona most clubs are adamantly opposed to walking, even when the pace of play is so slow that walking for me would at least let me focus on my ball without being overly frustrated with the hacks playing their 3rd shots having not made it to the forward tees after thinking they could play the tips...and then waiting to hit into the green on their 4 shot from 250 out on a par 5 because that one time on the range 3 months ago their 3 wood hit a sprinkler head and went 235....(not hostile or anything about slow play...ok, yes I am....not worse than a sloth on a golf course).

Yeah, that's a stream-of-consciousness mess of a post. Sorry, guys. Slow play and people being chained to their carts are pet peeves of mine, and they seem to go very hand in hand around here and out in Arizona from what I saw on my recent trip out there.

[Shrek74]

First, if I'm able to play a round with all this rain, CPO doesn't matter to me one little bit. I won't play in the rain, snow, or below 50*. But CPO is all good.

I do tend to run out of gas towards the end of the round, depending on how much walking I've had to do. I'm trying to get better at drinking water between every shot, have snacks handy every 4-5 holes along with a PB&J at the turn. But unlike you, I'm very out of shape (although round is a shape) and I know it. It's something I'll be working on throughout the summer/season to get into better shape (other than round) for all the right reasons.

I'm not an accurate enough ball striker to play to the paths all the time, and quite honestly it doesn't always pay to do so. When we drive up to the area across from my ball, I get a quick distance reading then grab a few clubs around that distance and take them all out with me so I don't have to be "that guy" taking just 1 club out with me then realizing I need a different one, and you know how the rest of that story goes.

Ultimately I just do a better job planning the clubs I take out with me to my ball to ensure I have all distances and lies covered with those clubs. But I don't plan my shots any differently than I would on normal days.

[funkyjudge]

5 hours ago, Rob Person said:

TL/WR - Do you adjust your game if it's CPO? Do you not play if you know it's going to be?

 

This is something I dread to see when I go play lately...

With all the recent rain, it seems that CPO is just becoming the new norm at my local courses.   And I get it, working at a golf course myself, I see the "why" of its necessity. 

Recently though I have realized a couple of things. 

First,  I have even less control of my ball when it's CPO.    In adapting my course management to keep the ball closer to the cart path, I seem to miss that area even more! 

Secondly,  I am in fairly good shape and physically fit, but walking back and forth constantly between shots seems to create a frustration in my game I had not realized I had. It also adds a hurried effect in my head, as I don't want to hold anyone up. (I can run back and forth and still feel like I am going too slow)

Third, I am jealous of walkers and push cart golfers when it's CPO, as generally it only applies to electric/gas carts! (Sometimes though, even the push cart mafia has to stay on path)

Lastly, I truly WANT to be able to walk through courses, but realistically they are very hilly, steep, and would wear me down in the warmer months very quickly!  I don't believe I could ENJOY playing if I was sweaty,  sticky, and just plainly uncomfortable without any relief between shots.

A true testament to my loathing of CPO was the other day golfing with my son. I tried my darnedest to stay within 20 feet of the path, and I did not care about my lie by the 3rd hole. I just didn't want to have to traverse an entire fairway all day.  Ha!  The greens are almost all elevated at my frequent course, where a miss or over run results in a dramatic walk down then back up again.  Even the cart path to most of the greens is cumbersome. 

If it's going to be cart path only, the course better allow walking, or chances are about 90% or more that I am NOT going to play that course that day .... end of story!

[funkyjudge]

1 hour ago, bens197 said:

If it’s cart path only I’m walking. 

ABSOLUTELY!

[funkyjudge]

23 hours ago, Rob Person said:

TL/WR - Do you adjust your game if it's CPO? Do you not play if you know it's going to be?

 

This is something I dread to see when I go play lately...

With all the recent rain, it seems that CPO is just becoming the new norm at my local courses.   And I get it, working at a golf course myself, I see the "why" of its necessity. 

Recently though I have realized a couple of things. 

First,  I have even less control of my ball when it's CPO.    In adapting my course management to keep the ball closer to the cart path, I seem to miss that area even more! 

Secondly,  I am in fairly good shape and physically fit, but walking back and forth constantly between shots seems to create a frustration in my game I had not realized I had. It also adds a hurried effect in my head, as I don't want to hold anyone up. (I can run back and forth and still feel like I am going too slow)

Third, I am jealous of walkers and push cart golfers when it's CPO, as generally it only applies to electric/gas carts! (Sometimes though, even the push cart mafia has to stay on path)

Lastly, I truly WANT to be able to walk through courses, but realistically they are very hilly, steep, and would wear me down in the warmer months very quickly!  I don't believe I could ENJOY playing if I was sweaty,  sticky, and just plainly uncomfortable without any relief between shots.

A true testament to my loathing of CPO was the other day golfing with my son. I tried my darnedest to stay within 20 feet of the path, and I did not care about my lie by the 3rd hole. I just didn't want to have to traverse an entire fairway all day.  Ha!  The greens are almost all elevated at my frequent course, where a miss or over run results in a dramatic walk down then back up again.  Even the cart path to most of the greens is cumbersome. 

If the golf course is so wet that (non-electrified) push carts are forced to stay on the cart path, I'm definitely not playing that course.

Edited May 18 by funkyjudge

[bens197]

5 hours ago, johngschulz said:

Yesterday league was cart path only. Several times we just grabbed our bags off the cart and walked to our balls if my partner and I weren’t close. Wish we could have just walked.

I get it, and that’s the best resolution that you chose.

If I’m with someone who loves driving I’ll often ride.  This isn’t exclusive to just CPO days…I really want to walk as often as possible and there’s a couple occasions where I’ll do that.  If it’s a round with one of my good friends or my dad, we ride and talk.  

[GolfSpy_APH]

13 hours ago, Rob Person said:

TL/WR - Do you adjust your game if it's CPO? Do you not play if you know it's going to be?

 

This is something I dread to see when I go play lately...

With all the recent rain, it seems that CPO is just becoming the new norm at my local courses.   And I get it, working at a golf course myself, I see the "why" of its necessity. 

Recently though I have realized a couple of things. 

First,  I have even less control of my ball when it's CPO.    In adapting my course management to keep the ball closer to the cart path, I seem to miss that area even more! 

Secondly,  I am in fairly good shape and physically fit, but walking back and forth constantly between shots seems to create a frustration in my game I had not realized I had. It also adds a hurried effect in my head, as I don't want to hold anyone up. (I can run back and forth and still feel like I am going too slow)

Third, I am jealous of walkers and push cart golfers when it's CPO, as generally it only applies to electric/gas carts! (Sometimes though, even the push cart mafia has to stay on path)

Lastly, I truly WANT to be able to walk through courses, but realistically they are very hilly, steep, and would wear me down in the warmer months very quickly!  I don't believe I could ENJOY playing if I was sweaty,  sticky, and just plainly uncomfortable without any relief between shots.

A true testament to my loathing of CPO was the other day golfing with my son. I tried my darnedest to stay within 20 feet of the path, and I did not care about my lie by the 3rd hole. I just didn't want to have to traverse an entire fairway all day.  Ha!  The greens are almost all elevated at my frequent course, where a miss or over run results in a dramatic walk down then back up again.  Even the cart path to most of the greens is cumbersome. 

When I did play it I couldn't stand it. Just not something that is enjoyable. That said it has been years and years since I have had to play CPO. All the courses here are basically walking only which means not having to worry about it!

[Dweed]

I usually walk so when it is CPO I generally don't play that day. If it's too wet for carts that means it'll be too wet/muddy for my taste. I'll head to the range on those days.

[rkj427]

Typically here I will walk, and if I play on a weekend and the course is CPO it usually means very slow play and long rounds, so now that I have retired, I try to get rounds in during the week instead.

I have played and rode before, and when it was CPO I would typically still play normal shot positions and take the 2 - 3 clubs needed depending on wind, distance, etc. and walk to the ball.

[NM01]

It doesn’t affect my game. The extra walking doesn’t affect my fatigue because I’m in pretty good shape. Being cpo doesn’t affect me mentally because it’s not that being of a deal. I’m also prepared for the shot at hand and the next shot rather than walking back to the cart then driving up to the ball unless I’m the one who dropped my cart partner off and advanced the cart.

I don’t let the little things affect me

[Willie T]

As a transmet amputee, carts are more the norm for my rounds.  So when it’s CPO, I do the “best guess” estimate based on the angle of the cart to the pin location versus the angle of the ball to the pin - could be over or under clubbed, still it’s all good.  My home course is on a sand ridge, drains exceptionally well except on 4 holes (and if you’re a regular you know where to not drive).  Does CPO slow down play, maybe but for me what’s even slower - groups that have a single or dbl behind them and no one in front and refuse to let such play thru….but that’s just another topic for another day….

[Tmakris]

If it is CPO I will take a push cart which I prefer over riding anyway. CPO with a cart is almost pointless on my home course so walking is the better option for me in that case.

[release]

We try to avoid the cart path only golf courses.  It usually means the golf courses are not walker friendly and the condition is not ideal for the carts to get on the fairway.  

Cart Path Only, interrupt the flow of the game when a rider has to get off the cart to walk to the next shot and walks back to the cart to continue on the cart path to the next location.  Usually the rider will ended up walking more than a walker.  Around our area the cart path only means either very hilly terrain or very wet turf or both.  

We avoid those golf courses.

[mottyshreds]

I am 99% carrying or using a push cart, but if its a day I am taking a cart and its CPO, I am 1000% walking. CPO throws be off my game and yardages. Also, nothing is worse than taking the wrong club, then having to run back the the cart, and then be in a rush to hit. My rule of thumb is if its CPO and you are able to walk, Walk. 

[MarvChamp]

Just about anything affects my golf nowadays! I have very old bones, and  issues with legs and low back pain. I can no longer walk the distances, and trudge up and down hills, as well as I once did.

When cart path only, I will sometimes forget score altogether and try to hit all shots in the vicinity of the cart path. When my errant shot is too far from that target, my wonderful (and somewhat younger) golf buddies toss the ball a little closer. 

After all, it is the game we love...the thrill of seeing a well-struck ball in flight and the companionship of friends...not the score. Best, -Marv

[mardukes]

Of course!  I think the tiring comes from the coincidence of walking on soft wet ground.

However, I can't stand not knowing the distance before leaving the cart.  Once last year I got out of the cart around 150, headed over with a 7 and 8 then got to my ball near a sprinkler head reading "109".  Now what?  Go back?

I'm a hooker, so theoretically I'm crossing the fairway half the time.

And it certainly adds to the length of time taken to finish.