The Pellucid Perspective - May 2015 - (Page 7)

Golf maretInG "Paces" of play a healthy alternative for golf? By Jim Koppenhaver www.PellucidCorp.com The Pellucid PersPecTive Photo by Kzenon / shutterstocK I 've spent numerous occasions in the past outlining the nu- measure, cart golf would fare slightly better but, still, you're ridmerous ways in which golf, in its current form, is out of sync ing around and taking ~100 relatively static swings per 18 holes. with changing consumer preferences and behavior. These inWalking golf, on the other hand, encompasses 5-8 miles of clude it's difficult, it's time consuming, it's a relatively expensive walking (whether you're pulling a cart or carrying your bag, I'm investment (influenced by the initial equipment purchase) and still a bag-carrier so I can tell you there's a little bit of upper not strenuous enough for the under-30 set (AKA Millennials). body work included) which various studies have translated to At the same time, while some cohorts within the Millennials 10,000-12,000 steps. For all those folks out there with Nike are very active, there are at least an equal number whose idea of Fuel Bands, Apple Fitness apps and Fitbits, they know that the serious recreation is hours behind the console playing Call of daily recommendation for activity is at least 10,000 steps, so Duty or binge-watching Breaking Bad. Somewhere between 18 holes of walking golf gives you 100% of your "daily requirethose two extremes I'd like to suggest that golf is missing an ment" in that category. Various other studies have also transopportunity to play up one of its underlying benefits without lated that step count into a calorie expenditure of between 250altering the basic product. 620 calories. (The high end of the estimate is actually cited in I had the opportunity last week to play my first round of the blog response from a limited study of men walking 9 holes the season and it turned out to be 9 holes at twilight, walk- and registering 310 calories of exertion). ing at one of our client courses, Palatine Hills Golf Course (a Doing a little further research on how that might compare solid municipal course, good value, appropriate conditioning, no with other common recreational activities, I did a little more pretense). Playing a somewhat random pattern of holes as a web research that placed walking golf at a Metabolic Equivalent single weaving between twosome and threesomes that I caught of Task (or MET) value of 4.3-5.3. (They place carrying clubs at after the 3rd hole, it took me about 1 hour and 15 minutes to the low end of that range, pulling a cart at the high, go figure). play 9 holes. The green-to-tee distance was very reasonable and Looking at comparable activities in the 4-6 MET range would there's not that much elevation change, so the basic layout of the yield volleyball, shooting baskets, skateboarding, rock climbing course didn't offer a very strenuous exertion test on the surface. (moderate), punching bag boxing, trampolining and doubles Not to worry though, I didn't play particularly well that evening tennis. I can personally attest to the exertion involved in all so I added considerable distance to the 9-hole loop with my the above activities over my 50+ year lifespan. While it's not "military golf " shot pattern (right-left-right-left) which prob- the same as I've experienced in playing competitive singles tenably added 1/3 to the tee-to-green yardages or someone playing nis, racquetball, running or biking at moderate speed/distance, down the fairway on most holes. it's nothing to sneeze at. I was intrigued by some of the comThe reason I bring this up is I recently saw in Club & Resort parisons but don't want to get into an Outside the Ropes-depth Business a reference to a NY Times blog response by a "wellness expert" to the question of Walking golf "Is golf good exercise?" The first sentence in the encompasses 5-8 response started with, "Unfortunately, golf does miles of walking, which various studies not provide much of a workout....." Given that have translated I've likely walked the majority of my rounds as to 10,000-12,000 a golfer and have some first-hand knowledge, steps; 100% of your I'd like to suggest that the wellness expert needs recommended daily to go walk a few rounds and reconsider. In fairrequirement for that activity. ness, he notes that cart golf and walking are two distinct activities. For riding, comparisons are made between golf, shuffleboard and tai chi (ugh). There's one major "catch" here in that the measure they use for comparison is effortper-minute, which significantly handicaps golf in that the time between shots is relatively long compared to other "continuous motion" activities. If we took the time component out of the 7 http://www.PellucidcorP.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Pellucid Perspective - May 2015

TOC
Third party tee time space battles heat up
NGCOA draws flak on owners’ message board
GPS Industries, Club Car forge rare GPS success story
“Paces” of play a healthy alternative for golf?
Flying Tee aims to top Topgolf with debut facility
April golf weather impact: Put another month in the “plus” column
Denver: Profits not Rocky Mountain high, but better than most
ClubCorp reports outstanding first quarter results
The Players, on and off the course

The Pellucid Perspective - May 2015