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Re: -4 after 9 holes at Bethpage

• 464 Posts

  Wed, Jul 14 2010 5:14 PM

  With the varying elevation I can completely see why some would prefer pull carts.

  What is it.. a tough guy thing? Do they laugh at you if you have a caddy too? That's even worse.

• KingOfTheCourse 419 Posts

  Sat, Jul 24 2010 7:43 PM

  neildiamond11790:

  play it often in real life.  The whole course is brutal, but you have a few more scoring opportunities on the front.  I have shot 35 on the front (plays a 36 in real life) as my best, and my best back is 9 was 37(same day as the 35), for  a 72.  This was from the whites.  From the blues, or worse the tips, the back 9 is much harder for a few reasons(IMO):

  I've been lucky enoguh to play many LPGA and PGA Tour Played courses, right before the 2002 & 2009 US Open I went down to check out Bethpage, We tee'd off early in the morning. I guess I should have known what I was in for when I saw the warning sign on the first tee.  With me being a scratch golfer at the time I decided to play the farthest back tee's.  WHAT A MISTAKE! I was lucky enough to get a helping wind on 10 so I reached it in two.  I had one birdie the whole round and that was on 13.  Both nine's IMO are equally hard but whatever nine you drive better on will always be the lower score.

  -King

• Richard4168 4,309 Posts

  Sun, Jul 25 2010 2:21 PM

  neildiamond11790:

  You know the famous sign, this is a hard course, yada yada,

  What, you mean this sign Neil?

  

   

• KingOfTheCourse 419 Posts

  Wed, Jul 28 2010 9:10 AM

  Richard4168:

  neildiamond11790:

  You know the famous sign, this is a hard course, yada yada,

  What, you mean this sign Neil?

  

   

  That sign is deffinately there for a reason lol

• neildiamond11790 1,115 Posts

  Wed, Jul 28 2010 10:51 AM

  Sorry to offend some about the whole pull cart thing.  But to see a guy in his 20's to 30's pulling a pull cart with a carry bag attached seems a little strange. 

• TarheelsRule 5,560 Posts

  Wed, Jul 28 2010 11:05 AM

  I tend to agree with you Neil, back when I was in my 30's and even 40's, I always walked and carried by own bag.  Frankly I found a pull cart puts more strain on my back than does the nice carry bags with the double shoulder straps.  While in Scotland a few years ago, we had a big rain and got to the course and none of the caddies had shown up.  We had the option (there are only a few courses with carts) to carry our bags or use what they call trollies, which in this case were battery powered pull carts that were easy to use, after getting used to them and running a few into sand traps  lol

  Walking is so much more fun than is riding a cart.  It amazes me even today how many of the young players always hop into a cart and take off, never even thinking about walking.

• Doublemochaman 2,009 Posts

  Wed, Jul 28 2010 11:16 AM

  Good commentary TarHeels.  I am still young but I tried using a pull cart last Spring for the first time, instead of carrying.  I got to the 8th hole and needed to execute a short chip from the right fringe.  The next tee was on the other side of the green.   The green happens to be very long and skinny.  After chipping I noticed I either needed to pull that cart 200 feet back around the front of the green or 200 feet around the back of the green to get to the next tee.  If I had my carry bag I would have only needed to carry it 30 feet across the green to get to the next tee.

  That is the day I gave up using a pull cart.  That thing is now collecting dust in my garage.

  I love the Bandon Dunes courses and Chambers Bay where you don't even have the option of a riding cart.  And when I played Pebble Beach I used a caddy and enjoyed strolling the "scenic route" along the bluffs.  Riding carts put you more inland through the trees and you don't get to enjoy the full pleasure of the course.

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Wed, Jul 28 2010 11:17 AM

  TarheelsRule:

  I tend to agree with you Neil, back when I was in my 30's and even 40's, I always walked and carried by own bag.

  Me too and I bet it wasn't one of those nice lightweight stand bags of  today (at least mine wasn't.) Then I used to have one of those collapsible carts that stayed attached to the bag and folded up for transport but these days I must confess-too many years behind the plate is taking its toll on the knees and it's easier to carry the cooler when you ride. :-D

• neildiamond11790 1,115 Posts

  Wed, Jul 28 2010 11:50 AM

  There are very things like walking a nice golf course.  Often when I go play Montauk Downs I am playing with a few friends that love golf, but only play cart golf and they miss out alot on what the course offers.  You get some ocean and lake views that in a cart you would pass by so quickly.  Often I will take the cart from green to next tee box, and walk the rest of the holes.  For me the only thing better then walking a course, is walking a course without a bag.  It gives me that strolling/tour pro feeling.

• TarheelsRule 5,560 Posts

  Sat, Aug 14 2010 5:13 PM

  Once in a while rain will require cart parts only, or work on courses.  I find that riding a cart when it is cart paths only is worse than walking, except for the bag of course and the light weight bags of today make that not so bad, if you empty your bag and only leave a couple of gloves and a few sleeves in there.

  At Kiawah, the Ocean Course you can't walk until the afternoons.  They have caddies much like BethPage does.  WInged Foot has two 18 hole courses and no carts are allowed except for handicapped players and they are required to have a caddy, no place to put a bag on that cart.  Shinnecock Hills was caddy only when I was there as well.  In Scotland we played lots of courses, and only 2 of them had carts, we used caddies instead.

  We did use the electric carts, basically a pull cart with a battery at a course in Scotland that I can't recall the name of, Scottish Open was played there recently.  I actually liked those once I learned how to use them, they would not be good for hilly courses but for fairly flat courses they work great, my friends say they will laugh at me should I buy one though.