Walking, the way golf was invented and intended, is trending in top communities nationwide with healthy results in all parts of the game
On a mild February afternoon in Scottsdale, Ariz., Tim Miles approached the 12th green of the Cochise course at Desert Mountain as he usually does these days, with a golf bag full of clubs strapped to his back. Three months earlier, he could never have imagined a scenario that found him walking, rather than riding, the golf course.
“I had back surgery at 60 and a hip replacement two years later,” says Miles, now 68. “Previous to that, I had always walked when I played golf. I never took a cart. My back surgeon told me I would probably never walk and carry a bag again.”
After further consults with his primary care physician and a nutritionist to address weight and inflammation issues, Miles slowly ventured down a path that included walking nine holes—with some difficulty—aided by a motorized push cart. As the pounds, pain, and inflammation washed away, Miles eventually purchased an ultralight golf bag and began walking all 18 holes on his home courses—with ease. Through walking, he has rediscovered the joy of playing golf.
“Not only is walking good for you,” says Miles, “but it’s the camaraderie and the enjoyment of sharing a walking experience in a sport with three other people. That’s why I play the game.”
The resurgence of walking a golf course isn’t limited solely to Desert Mountain, a community with six Jack Nicklaus Signature courses and an 18-hole short course. As golf boomed nationwide during the pandemic and beyond, the percentage of rounds that are walked not only kept pace, but increased, according to the National Golf Foundation (NGF). Why the rise in walking rounds in residential communities, where riding in carts has long been de rigueur? The reasons range from the obvious to the surprising.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
During the pandemic, golf proved to be an ideal haven for families seeking safe recreational activity that they could do together. Demand for tee times since has continued unabated. The NGF notes that the average age of an on-course golfer dropped from 44.6 in 2018 to 43.5 in 2023 and that 71 percent of post-pandemic-rounds growth came from golfers under the age of 50. Perhaps it’s not surprising that younger golfers are fueling the walking trend.
“Most people used to look at Reynolds as a retirement community to a degree,” says Wesley Forester, PGA director of golf at Reynolds Lake Oconee in Greensboro, Ga., a community with seven golf courses—soon to be eight. “We’ve gotten much younger over the last four to five years. If we had one to two walkers on our golf courses, that was a lot. Now we’re probably seeing 10 to 12 a day. Some days it’s even more, especially during springtime and in the fall when the weather’s ideal. More kids are playing now than have ever played. They love walking and the parents love walking with them.”
There are fewer walkers in the Deep South by percentage, as play there tends to be year-round, average temperatures are higher, and golfer demographics show a higher concentration of older retirees. Greystone Golf & Country Club in Hoover, Ala., a 36-hole community just southeast of Birmingham, annually hosts a PGA Tour Champions major, the Regions Tradition. The club hasn’t witnessed the walking numbers that Reynolds enjoys—other than a dramatic jump in the Covid year of 2020—but those who hoof it are younger and fitter.
“The influx of younger golfers is one factor in the rise in walking,” says Ashley Devine, membership marketing director at Greystone. “A lot of young executives are joining clubs now because they’re doing a lot of remote work and they have the health and body to be able to walk.”
Meanwhile, Barton Creek in Austin, Texas, is experiencing a youth and walking movement at its namesake 72-hole country club. “As the average age of the membership has declined and younger families are moving in, we’re seeing at least a double-digit increase in walking rounds among members,” says Spencer Cody, corporate director of club and golf operations for Omni Hotels & Resorts, which manages the golf operations at Barton Creek.
Maybe the term “youth movement” should be broadened to include those young at heart. Or young at feet? At Greystone, D.C. Coston, 75, and Tony Locascio, 60, are both former bag-over-the-shoulder guys who now play with the help of push carts.
“Greystone is at the very southern end of the Appalachian Mountains with hills around us and a lot of hardwoods and some evergreens,” explains Coston. “It’s a beautiful area throughout the year. Walking provides me the chance to enjoy that much more than just jumping in a cart and immediately going to a ball. You get to look around and enjoy that scenery, as well as getting the exercise that comes from walking.”
“I like the health aspect of it,” says Locascio, “and it’s much better for my game. I don’t feel rushed. I kind of plan out what I’m doing as I’m walking. Most people consider me a fast player and walking helps me do that because as I’m walking, I’m thinking and when I get to my ball, I’m ready to execute my shot.”
And Locascio cites another reason for walking: “At Greystone, push carts are provided for free.”
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
As Locascio points out, the neon-flashing benefit to walking is it’s healthier to walk than to ride. A 2006 Mayo Clinic study concluded that walking a regulation-length golf course yielded an average of 11,948 steps per 18-hole round of golf, surpassing the popular benchmark fitness goal of 10,000 steps per day. Recent smartwatch data revealed that those numbers can reach 14,000 or even 17,000 steps. With the elevated heart rate comes more blood and oxygen circulating to the muscles and the brain, generating heightening attention and awareness. We focus better. We feel better.
The Club at Ibis in West Palm Beach, Fla., serves up three championship courses. Director of Golf Robin Boretti has logged 32 years at Ibis and she well remembers the days of no walkers. As in zero. An uptick of golf on foot occurred following the redesign of its Legend course in 2017, but the step-by-step method soared during Covid.
“To this day, we have 15 to 20 walkers daily,” says Boretti. “If it’s a cart-path-only day, we could see 40 walkers. It’s definitely a younger, health-conscious crowd that is doing the walking. It’s the same people that go to the gym, that ride bikes, that swim. They’ll either use a push cart or an electric trolley or they’ll carry their own bag.”
GAME IMPROVEMENT AND ENJOYMENT
Not only can walking a golf course help your heart, it can help your mind and golf game, too. “You can take in everything much better walking than riding,” says Boretti. “You can enjoy the scenery, see the blue sky. You’re keeping in exercise mode, actually moving your body from one shot to the other rather than sitting and starting from a static position. Walking is just more pleasurable.”
To be sure, most cart-riding golfers relish their day on the links every bit as much as those who walk. Yet, between the enhanced rhythm in the golf swing, the greater proficiency to focus on swing mechanics, the ability to process natural and man-made course features at your own pace, and the exercise benefit, it’s unquestionably the better form of golf.
“From the time you hit the tee shot to get to the second shot, you’re calculating as you’re walking,” says John Lyberger, who recently left as Desert Mountain’s director of golf after seven years. “It’s not simply drive up and hit. You’re sharing a conversation with three other people, not just the one you’re riding with. When you’re in a cart, you often zip by all the beauty. When you’re walking, you can focus longer on your surroundings. It creates more of a serene, joyful atmosphere.”
Greystone Director of Golf Steve Smith, who taught Archie, Peyton, and Eli Manning during his days in New Orleans, says much of the appeal to members who walk is practical. “Staying in shape and a savings of the cart fee are what I hear most,” he says. “You also hear that they like just going to their own ball.”
ACCOMMODATING WALKERS
Elite golf communities have responded to the surge of walkers by stocking state-of-the-art gear and accessories that appeal to them: That includes ultra-lightweight stand bags that can be carried comfortably, plus additional standard push carts and electric trolleys, that is, motorized, battery-powered push carts. While maximum calorie burn occurs via bag-on-shoulder ambulation, tests show you’ll get nearly the same health benefits with push carts and power trolleys. Barton Creek and Reynolds utilize Tempo Walk units from Club Car, while Desert Mountain, Ibis, and Greystone members rely on MGI electric caddies. Many of these units have a remote-control feature, others are hands-free, and some will even follow you as you walk.
UK-based Stewart Golf, which makes a range of push and electric trolleys, currently doesn’t offer fleet sales in the U.S., but it has a substantial presence at private club communities such as Mission Hills Country Club in suburban Kansas City, Kan., Tatum Ranch near Phoenix, Ariz., and Almaden Golf and Country Club in San Jose, Calif. Stewart reports that its U.S. sales are nearly four times what they were prior to the pandemic, thanks to increased demand from clubs with walkers.
There is a learning curve to adapting to remote-control electric push carts, though a three-minute tutorial on the first tee box usually suffices. No matter what method walkers choose to transport clubs, the benefits include improved fitness, focus, camaraderie, cost savings by eschewing a cart fee, and environmental impact, as walkers leave a smaller footprint on the golf course turf than riders.
Courses have also acted to accommodate more walkers through design and maintenance measures. Following the 2024 restoration of its Cochise course, Desert Mountain’s agronomy team formalized and widened green-to-next-tee trails that members had roughed out naturally. Reynolds Lake Oconee added walking bridges at The Preserve and Creek Club courses and established paths through the native grasses at the Creek Club. Ibis has provided more sand buckets on the course so golfers can fill in divots if the sand bottle they started with has emptied and also installed benches for golfers who seek a brief rest.
Tim Miles at Desert Mountain is a happy convert. “I’m playing better golf,” he says. “I’m walking to my ball and I’m finding shortcuts that the courses here have installed for people who walk that I never knew existed. As I’m walking to my ball, I’m game-planning my next shot. I’m noticing more birds, more animals. Walking keeps you more engaged. It’s like a whole new world.”
