MARK Twain it was who described golf as a perfectly good walk spoiled. Today, Twain might have considered it rather more appropriate to refer to golf as a perfectly good buggy drive spoiled. The ever-increasing popularity of the golf buggy - on and off the links - is undeniable. Just ask the good residents of Discovery Bay. We've even reached the stage where golf buggies are becoming collector's items. Frank Sinatra, it was recently reported, has decided to sell off his own personalised cart emblazoned 'Ol' Blue Eyes' on one side and 'Lady Blue Eyes' on the other. It is expected to fetch US$6,000. In Asia, golf carts are widely considered as much a part of golf as the golf clubs within your bag. The cart invasion came along with the golf boom that swept the region in the late 1980s and early 1990s. As big money-spinners, they have been taken on in large quantities by a high proportion of the many hundreds of clubs that have sprung up. Which explains why, for the new generation of Asian golfers, the prospect of walking a full 18 holes is totally alien. Part of the fun of playing golf, they have been misled to believe, is to drive around the course in carts, zig-zagging along concrete paths that blight the landscapes. Why would anyone in their right mind expend their energy by traipsing over several miles of rugged, undulating land on foot when a far more comfortable mode of transport is available? And for only a few hundred dollars. It's not just Asia. Go on a golfing holiday to America, Guam, Hawaii, the Philippines, Portugal, Spain or Thailand and the odds are that the resort-style courses you play will encourage the use of a buggy. At an increasing number of clubs, the use of golf buggies have been made compulsory. You have no choice. If you wish to play a round of golf, you must ride around in a buggy. Golf course designers are not to be blamed for the preponderance of these paths and carts. They are only acting on the requests of the developers, although it can be argued that courses where there are lengthy distances from greens to tees are poorly designed. It is also a myth that golf carts speed up the pace of play. More often than not, they have the opposite effect. Many are the times you park your cart on the path and grab two or three clubs only to find when you reach your ball that you do not have the one you need. What to do? (1) Go ahead and hit with the wrong club, resulting in a miscue that means you require several minutes of frantic searching to find your ball; (2) Stroll back to the cart to collect the correct club which will take up at least a couple of minutes. Another downside to the inexorable march of the carts is that it is threatening to turn the caddie into an extinct breed. More's the pity, particularly when you consider that so many great players have worked their way up through the caddie ranks. Thankfully, not every new club has fallen prey to the ubiquitous golf cart. China's Lotus Hill Golf Resort, for example, have vehemently resisted the temptation. 'It was never even an issue,' said Eric Chan, one of the directors and himself a keen golfer. According to Chan, the decision to employ caddies [who are not compulsory] as opposed to carts has not been questioned by a single member. 'We decided at the start that we didn't want cart paths spoiling the course. It goes right down to our original philosophy of setting ourselves up as a club for true golfers,' added Chan, who is adamant the admirable anti-buggy policy will not change. 'Absolutely there will be no buggies on our golf course. Period,' he said. So, there is some hope left. Or is there? One club currently under construction in Asia recently released their sales brochure, expounding the many and varied benefits of joining their esteemed establishment. Prominently featured was a colourful artist's impression of the expansive clubhouse, fronted by the spectacular finishing hole. Slap, bang in the middle was the 18th green . . . with a buggy parked right on it. Spencer Robinson is Managing Editor of Asian Golfer
