Introducing The Weekly Walk-A-Round with BATCADDY

Welcome to the the Weekly Walk-A-Round with BATCADDY – Our new blog covering all things related to walking golf, from health and wellness to product and community. Our goal is to inspire, grow, and connect the community of golfers who forgo golf carts and enjoy the benefits of walking from shot to shot. If you are passionate about walking golf, please share these posts with your friends and personal community to support the movement of golf as a walking sport.

To kick things off, we thought we would take a look back at the origins of golf and the inception of the golf cart. We think you'll be as surprised as we were!

THE ORIGINS OF GOLF
The game we love, golf, originated off the eastern coast of Scotland where players would attempt to hit a pebble over sand dunes and around tracks using a bent stick or club. The country's enthusiasm around golf grew before getting temporarily banned by King James II due to its negative impact on military training. In 1502, the sport earned the royal seal by King James IV making Scotland the world's first golfing monarch.

In 1502, the sport earned the royal seal by King James IV making Scotland the world's first golfing monarch.

Over the coming years, the popularity of golf, or what was originally termed "kolf" or "kolve" simply meaning "club" in Dutch, would grow throughout Europe. Officially being deemed a sport in 1744 with rules written by Duncan Forbes, which are in large part aligned with the game today.

ENTERS THE RIDING GOLF CART
Over the next few centuries the game continued to grow, making its way across the Atlantic to America in the 18th century, followed by the inception of United States Golf Association in 1894. From there, the game would explode in rounds played and course development. While much remained the same - men and women enjoying 18 holes of golf, walking from shot to shot and hole to hole while enjoying conversation, and receiving a great workout along the way; something new came along in 1932 – Golf Carts! Invented by Lyman Beecher, they were used for the elderly and those of poor health to get around the golf course. That's right - Those of poor health. Seen as somewhat of a nuisance, those who used golf carts were frowned upon by the golfing community. It wasn't until 1951 when entrepreneur Merle Williams introduced the Marketeer that golf carts took stride in the United States and healthy, capable golfers began riding instead of walking.

Invented by Lyman Beecher, they were used for the elderly and those of poor health to get around the golf course.

Golf carts would then boom in production with multiple manufacturers, including Harley Davidson taking a stab at it. Before you know it, golfers in the United States are bypassing the walk for the ride. Today, while hard pressed to find a golf cart on a course in Europe, nearly 70% (fact check this) of rounds played in the U.S. choose to ride.

Today, while hard pressed to find a golf cart on a course in Europe, nearly 70% of rounds played in the U.S. choose to ride.

WE RESPECT RIDERS BUT WE LOVE TO WALK
We respect the right of golfers to choose whether they walk or ride. In fact, many of our friends and playing partners choose to ride in any given round. However, we believe walking allows you to get the most out of every round, not just from a health standpoint or paying homage to the roots of the sport, but from a scoring perspective as well! A topic we'll cover in another post!

If you're an advocate of walking golf, please share this post and help spread awareness to the benefits of being a walking golfer.