Photo by Dave Robinson on Unsplash There's a particular quality to the golf course at 6:30 in the morning that's impossible to fully describe to someone who hasn't experienced it. The dew still on the fairways. Birdsong without background traffic. The day's light arriving at an angle that makes every blade of grass cast a shadow. The course empty ahead of you, the pace entirely your own. If you've been playing golf at sensible mid-morning or afternoon hours and haven't tried a sunrise tee time, you're missing the best version of the experience. The Practical Advantages Empty Courses Morning tee times — particularly the first three or four groups of the day — mean a pace of play governed only by how fast you choose to move. There's nobody ahead to wait behind, no backed-up group on the green, no standing around on the tee box. On a busy public course that takes 5.5 hours on a weekend afternoon, the same 18 holes in the morning can take 3.5 to 4 hours. Th...
A growing number of golf courses have made the decision to offer — or even require — walking rounds rather than golf carts. Once considered a fringe preference of golf purists, walking-only or walking-preferred golf has gone mainstream in a way that's genuinely improving the game for everyone. Here's which courses offer the best walking experiences in America and why walking might be the best thing you can do for your game.
Why Walking Golf Is Better for Your Game
When you walk the course, you experience it at the pace it was designed to be played. You approach your ball, you see it from multiple angles, you feel the terrain underfoot. The rhythm of walking between shots creates a natural interval that relaxes the body and quiets the mind between shots — something riding carts disrupts by getting you to the ball too quickly for mental preparation. Studies of amateur golfers consistently show lower average scores for walkers versus riders, and elite golfers are almost universally walkers on tour.
Walking 18 holes covers roughly 5 miles and burns 1,200–1,500 calories at a moderate pace. Golf is one of the best low-impact exercises available when played on foot, and it makes the post-round celebration feel genuinely earned.
Walking-Only Courses Worth Traveling For
Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon is the most famous walking-only golf destination in America. All five courses are cart-free by design, with caddies available at all times and pull carts as backup. The philosophy of the resort — golf as it was meant to be played — is reinforced at every turn. Walking Bandon's cliff-top fairways with a caddie carrying your bag and pointing out the lines through the sea breezes is genuinely as close to Scottish links golf as you'll find in America.
Streamsong Resort in central Florida offers three courses (Red, Blue, and Black) across a dramatic sandy landscape that looks nothing like any other Florida course. While carts are available, the resort strongly encourages walking and the terrain is absolutely suited to it. The natural landforms — ridges, valleys, and native scrub — are best appreciated on foot. Caddies are available by advance request.
Semi-Private and Municipal Courses That Reward Walking
Many of the best municipal courses in America — Bethpage Black, Harding Park, Torrey Pines — allow walking and are best experienced that way. The slope of Torrey Pines in San Diego, with views of the Pacific from its clifftop fairways, is diminished from the seat of a cart and full only on foot. Many urban municipal courses in Chicago, Boston, and New York were designed in walking's golden era and play to their natural strengths only when walked.
Bringing Walking Culture to Your Home Course
Suggest to your club or public course that they designate certain tee times as walking-only. Many courses have found that walking-only early morning and late afternoon slots actually improve pace of play — walkers ready their club during approach while riders wait for carts. If your course allows walking, bring a stand bag or push cart on your next round and notice how differently the game feels.
Walking is how golf was designed to be played. The cart was a convenience that became a default — but for your game, your health, and your experience of the course, walking is almost always the better choice.
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