Cycling's popularity affecting golfing numbers?

PhilOssophy

MOD EDIT : MOVED THESE OT POSTS FROM HOLLYSTOWN DISCUSSION TO A NEW THREAD, I cut from this post so PhilOssophy was not the thread starter but the most convenient post to start this thread off

fred funk }{

PhilOssophy wrote: »

Is this another sign that people are turning off golf as a pastime? I can see more of this unfortunately as cycling, running, etc are taking over for the time and money precious 30-50 year olds?
Or is there just too many options in the area?

Cycling is very time and cash consuming, more so than Golf.

RoadRunner

fred funk }{ wrote: »

Cycling is very time and cash consuming, more so than Golf.

Cycling is way more "family friendly" than golf. You determine start time and duration/endtime immediately before setting out as it doesn't need to be booked.

Is significantly cheaper than golf, has a better image, is less frustrating and healthier. These are significant variables that all work in the favour of 30-50 age range of which I'm smack bang in the middle of. Not to mention cycling doesn't take away the car for 5-6 hours during the prime of the day. I prefer golf, but life gets easier when I switch out the clubs for the bike.

PhilOssophy

fred funk }{ wrote: »

Cycling is very time and cash consuming, more so than Golf.

How? I bought a bike on the bike to work scheme, 500 quid net. Cheaper than my golf clubs!

The roads are free. I can start at the crack of dawn and be back by 9-10 o'clock, having stopped for coffee, after socialising on a bike and getting great exercise.

And I don't have an annual fee.

I don't see how golf is cheaper?

Don't get me wrong, I lament the decline in golf's popularity. But I think the time poor are finding other ways to amuse themselves!

fred funk }{

PhilOssophy wrote: »

How? I bought a bike on the bike to work scheme, 500 quid net. Cheaper than my golf clubs!

The roads are free. I can start at the crack of dawn and be back by 9-10 o'clock, having stopped for coffee, after socialising on a bike and getting great exercise.

And I don't have an annual fee.

I don't see how golf is cheaper?

Don't get me wrong, I lament the decline in golf's popularity. But I think the time poor are finding other ways to amuse themselves!

I can get a set of clubs for €50 and go play around a field.

Fact is, if you're serious about either sport then cycling is far more expensive. You wouldn't see 5k on a decent bike.

Seve OB

fred funk }{ wrote: »

I can get a set of clubs for €50 and go play around a field.

Fact is, if you're serious about either sport then cycling is far more expensive. You wouldn't see 5k on a decent bike.

that is just daft.
play golf in a field..... daft, that is not golf and basically nobody does it.

i can get a bike for 20 bucks and cycle around the same field

as for expense, if you are serious about golf a half decent set of clubs, drivers bags, buggy etc will have you close to the 5k mark. now a half decent club you will be looking at another 1500 per year.

5k on a bike, yes that is a serious bike and you can spend a hell of a lot more. but way more than the average joe would be spending.

so if your 5k bike is more than the average, maybe you should compare that with a golf course that is more than average. tip along to the kclub and tell me cycling is more expensive than golf

fred funk }{

Seve OB wrote: »

that is just daft.
play golf in a field..... daft, that is not golf and basically nobody does it.

i can get a bike for 20 bucks and cycle around the same field

as for expense, if you are serious about golf a half decent set of clubs, drivers bags, buggy etc will have you close to the 5k mark. now a half decent club you will be looking at another 1500 per year.

5k on a bike, yes that is a serious bike and you can spend a hell of a lot more. but way more than the average joe would be spending.

so if your 5k bike is more than the average, maybe you should compare that with a golf course that is more than average. tip along to the kclub and tell me cycling is more expensive than golf

That's where I started golfing lol.

I was using that as a counter arguement to his €50 bike and stating cycling was cheaper than golf, I disagree.. Nobody who gets into cycling uses a bike worth €50.

My point is if you get into either sport seriously, cycling is more expensive. With a quick google search there's bikes for over 10k. Cheaper than golf me bollix.

Ah_go_on

fred funk }{ wrote: »

That's where I started golfing lol.

I was using that as a counter arguement to his €50 bike and stating cycling was cheaper than golf, I disagree.. Nobody who gets into cycling uses a bike worth €50.

My point is if you get into either sport seriously, cycling is more expensive. With a quick google search there's bikes for over 10k. Cheaper than golf me bollix.

I’m new to golf and was/am a serious cyclist. I can confirm that golf is much much cheaper in comparison. For what I’ve spent to get very well kitted out in golf is a fraction of what it would cost as a biker for similarly spec (mid range) equipment. Doesn’t break as regularly either

spacecoyote

Ah_go_on wrote: »

I’m new to golf and was/am a serious cyclist. I can confirm that golf is much much cheaper in comparison. For what I’ve spent to get very well kitted out in golf is a fraction of what it would cost as a biker for similarly spec (mid range) equipment. Doesn’t break as regularly either

I would have said that once off equipment expense is comparable, but ongoing costs are surely cheaper for cycling?

If you join a club you'll likely be spending 1000+ a year (or potentially a lot more). If you don't join a club, you're probably spending around €30 every time you play. Once you have the gear, other than some ongoing maintenance, it doesn't actually cost you anything to go cycling

PhilOssophy

fred funk }{ wrote: »

That's where I started golfing lol.

I was using that as a counter arguement to his €50 bike and stating cycling was cheaper than golf, I disagree.. Nobody who gets into cycling uses a bike worth €50.

My point is if you get into either sport seriously, cycling is more expensive. With a quick google search there's bikes for over 10k. Cheaper than golf me bollix.

Can you please point out where I said about €50 bike? I never said anything of the sort.....

PhilOssophy

spacecoyote wrote: »

I would have said that once off equipment expense is comparable, but ongoing costs are surely cheaper for cycling?

If you join a club you'll likely be spending 1000+ a year (or potentially a lot more). If you don't join a club, you're probably spending around €30 every time you play. Once you have the gear, other than some ongoing maintenance, it doesn't actually cost you anything to go cycling

That was exactly my point. I absolutely love playing golf but am time poor and have enough other bills at the moment.

Yes that one-off cost with cycling is considerable (although I got a good enough bike for €1k on the BTW scheme, which is comparable to a fairly decent set of clubs), but there isn't a 1k a year membership and 4-5 euro every time you play, and then there's the family needs (kids play sport etc on Saturdays so its easy to be back from a cycle for 10am).

Russman

spacecoyote wrote: »

I would have said that once off equipment expense is comparable, but ongoing costs are surely cheaper for cycling?

If you join a club you'll likely be spending 1000+ a year (or potentially a lot more). If you don't join a club, you're probably spending around €30 every time you play. Once you have the gear, other than some ongoing maintenance, it doesn't actually cost you anything to go cycling

You would think that, but you'd be amazed, its the weirdest thing, no sooner has a cyclist bought an expensive bike, than he's looking to upgrade parts, often at great expense. Some parts of a high end groupset would cost you the price of a decent set of irons.

But anyway, in many ways cycling is the new golf and its sad to see golf clubs closing, albeit there are still probably 10 too many in Dublin.

PhilOssophy

Russman wrote: »

You would think that, but you'd be amazed, its the weirdest thing, no sooner has a cyclist bought an expensive bike, than he's looking to upgrade parts, often at great expense. Some parts of a high end groupset would cost you the price of a decent set of irons.

But anyway, in many ways cycling is the new golf and its sad to see golf clubs closing, albeit there are still probably 10 too many in Dublin.

But they don't have to. A bit like golf, you can spend as much as you want on it really. But you can stick to the middle of the road stuff (excuse the pun) if you want as well.
But you can still spend €500 on a bike, and only have to spend some money on some basic maintenance.

PhilOssophy

Mods - that's a bad choice of name to discuss why a golf club might be closing down! I didn't start this thread at all as it looks above.

slave1

Feel free to suggest a new thread title and I can amend, I will also amend the first post

PhilOssophy

How's about "Cycling's popularity affecting golfing numbers"? or something?

Mantis Toboggan

I don't see how cycling can be seen as any sort of substitute for golf.

Totally different games.

PhilOssophy

Mantis Toboggan wrote: »

I don't see how cycling can be seen as any sort of substitute for golf.

Totally different games.

Mods need to edit the original post. I read somewhere that cycling and running's popularity is having a massive impact on golf clubs and numbers joining golf clubs. This thread morphed out of the discussion of Hollystown closing.

The point of the article was, that people can get 2-3 hrs exercise, socially, for 500 quid of an initial cost and no on-going.

I added it as a discussion point, rather than 1 I have feel strongly about!!! I really don't care!

RoadRunner

You can't golf weekly without

- taking the car from the family,
- long periods of absence,
- purchase of driver,
- fairway woods,
- set of irons,
- wedges,
- putter,
- fitting of clubs (some would say requirement),
- cart,
- rain gear,
- shoes,
- brolly,
- golf glove,
- Lessons (some would say requirement),
- golf balls,
- annual membership costs,
- competition entry,
- frustration.

I'd argue the first two are the hardest for a family.

With cycling you can buy a very high end carbon fibre bike for <1k (I've done this twice).
You need cleats, a few sets of cycle gear if you cycle regularly, helmet gloves. Bike maintenance is not a significant expense.
Event days have a cost of €50ish, and generally require travel, but are the exception rather than the norm.

Regarding top of the range in cycling, yes, it's possible to get a bike for €15k but just as is also possible to be spending in excess of $250k annually on golf gear (bob parsons pre-pxg). Neither of these are an entry requirement for either sport.

Biking is generally considered more social & healthier. We are in a great country for golf, but we are also in a great country for cycling. The dublin/wicklow mountains are stunning and have been the training ground for Stephen Roche, Shay Elliott, Nicolas Roche and others.

There's good reason why the 30-50 age group are taking up cycling.

It's the 0-20 year old age group that going to be the bigger problem moving forwards though! These guys are completely different animals to us. (The idea of not being on snapchat for 5hours at a time will be a shocker!)

LastLagoon

Genuinely don’t understand cyclings popularity ,Tried it a bit , found it insanely boring and lost so much weight that I looked ill.
Also while golf not renowned for its fashion sense there’s nothing that makes you look like more of a gimp than cycling gear

blue note

I don't see what relevance the top of the range stuff is. If you want to spend money on a hobby someone will take it. But I imagine someone with a serious interest in either sport would generally be spending a couple of hundred quid either side of a grand on equipment. The fact that some lads will spend 20 grand on a bike doesn't really matter.

Golf has more unavoidable costs than cycling for sure. If you're serious about it you'll have to pay a membership. This will be a minimum of about 700 per year. But I imagine most serious cyclists will want to do a few weekends away and the like.

I don't think cycling is taking people away from golf really. Golf takes up too much time for men with families now. When I was a child my father used to play every Sunday, have a pint after, go home for dinner and then have a nap on the couch. This would have been fairly typical for men of that time. Meanwhile my mother would cook the Sunday roast while minding 4 kids (6 in summer). Good luck getting the wife to agree to that weekly Sunday these days! Golf just doesn't suit most people's lives now. They need something else to do and cycling is a nice pastime. But I'm not convinced they'd be playing much golf if they weren't cycling.

There is also the health benefit of cycling though. Cycling provides exercise for you. If golf is your sport you really should be doing some exercise as well.

spacecoyote

For me, I just find cycling boring. Have done a few greenways & there are some nice views, but you don't need to cycle to get some of those views. I'd rather take in the views in Killarney walking the golf course than cycling through the hills.

Yes there is a social element & a competitive element, but that's there in golf for me, but with a different & more interesting challenge. For me cycling is just a challenge in terms of fitness & stamina

The cost of golf doesn't break the bank for me, I don't have kids, and have no plans to ever do so, so it's a no-brainer from my perspective

RoadRunner

LastLagoon wrote: »

there’s nothing that makes you look like more of a gimp than cycling gear

What do you mean?

ronnie3585

LastLagoon wrote: »

there’s nothing that makes you look like more of a gimp than cycling gear

Take that back! I look great in my cycling gear:

Mr Mister

I do think there is a significant cross-over of males who have moved from golf into cycling (and maybe a lesser extent running). Having lived in Australia, there was a huge cohort of corporate males who have migrated from the golf course to the roads and the same is happening (has happened) in Ireland. While they are chalk and cheese in terms of the type of activity – a lot of males need a sporting social activity in their lives and both golf and cycling are vying for their precious time and money.

With regards to the cost of each – as mentioned, they can each be relatively affordable to downright obscene, depending on how much money you are willing to spend. It’s the same with any walk of life – restaurants, holidays, cars etc. Some people go to Spain on a holiday and spend a couple of grand, others go to Dubai and spend a fortune.

I’m actually on of the few moving from running into golf – it’s definitely a harder sell at home in terms of cost and time commitment!

loyatemu

I know in my dad's day, most of the men in his office would have been golfers. In my office there are a good few cyclists but I can think of only one regular golfer.

I think a lot of people consider golf expensive and time consuming, even if that's not 100% true. Also the Bike2Work scheme has resulted in a lot of people buying road bikes who have subsequently gone on to get into the sport. You can spend 5K on a bike if you want but you can get a perfectly serviceable road bike for 1K on the B2W, which will only cost you €500 after tax.

Ah_go_on

Majority of cyclists won’t just have a single bike - road bike, mountain bike, cross bike, winter hack etc. Add licence fees, race entries, gear, various helmets gloves glasses, roof rack, van, shoes, parts upgrades, servicing, turbo trainer: you can see where this ends up 😮 I know mountain bikers who have 3 different types of mountain bikes alone! Makes those fancy Pings seem cheap now doesn’t it haha

loyatemu

Ah_go_on wrote: »

Majority of cyclists won’t just have a single bike - road bike, mountain bike, cross bike, winter hack etc. Add licence fees, race entries, gear, various helmets gloves glasses, roof rack, van, shoes, parts upgrades, servicing, turbo trainer: you can see where this ends up &#55357;&#56878; I know mountain bikers who have 3 different types of mountain bikes alone! Makes those fancy Pings seem cheap now doesn’t it haha

that may be true but they mostly started with one B2W-funded bike, which probably cost them ~€40 a month to buy. Golf's problem is attracting people in the first place when it's no longer the default sport for 30+ men.

AlanG

I tried getting into golf in my 30s and there were 2 major problems. Firstly as we are a 1 car household my wife and kids had no car each time I played golf, as the kids got into more activities it was a non runner. This made it difficult to play regular enough to become a reasonable golfer, thus leading to the second problem, its very intimidating being a learner golfer. There are very few sports where poor players play alongside very good players. I can see how this has a lot of positives it is still pretty intimidating to be a beginner in front of, or being put into a group of regular players. With cycling there are a lot more avenues for beginners.
I don't think money is an issue for golfers but time certainly is.

Seve OB

I'm sure I'll get a smack the next time he sees me but the question has to be asked!!! Is that Macker or just his doppleganger

ronnie3585 wrote: »

Take that back! I look great in my cycling gear:

Seve OB

Ah_go_on wrote: »

Majority of cyclists won’t just have a single bike - road bike, mountain bike, cross bike, winter hack etc. Add licence fees, race entries, gear, various helmets gloves glasses, roof rack, van, shoes, parts upgrades, servicing, turbo trainer: you can see where this ends up &#55357;&#56878; I know mountain bikers who have 3 different types of mountain bikes alone! Makes those fancy Pings seem cheap now doesn’t it haha

I'm not going to argue with you but that doesn't mean cycling is more expensive than golf.

So lets flip it. Majority of golfers will have multiple sets of clubs, balls get lost regularily are €50 a dozen, need a bigger car for the clubs to fit in and not just a roof rack for them to hang off, new clubs every year when the new Taylor Made M7 comes out at nearly a grand for driver and fairway woods. Membership fees, GUI Fees, insurance, competition fees, gloves, tees, towels, rain gear, golf shoes, lessons, range credits, new golf bags, travel bags, annual golf trip (maybe a few of them) green fees to play other courses, you too can see where this ends up! makes your fancy carbon frame seem cheap now doesn't it haha

Budawanny

fred funk }{ wrote: »

That's where I started golfing lol.

I was using that as a counter arguement to his €50 bike and stating cycling was cheaper than golf, I disagree.. Nobody who gets into cycling uses a bike worth €50.

My point is if you get into either sport seriously, cycling is more expensive. With a quick google search there's bikes for over 10k. Cheaper than golf me bollix.

bikes that professionals race the tour de france on cost 10,000. Literally.

A quick google shows one single golf club for 4000.

its a pointless argument using the cost of professional equipment for a hobbie comparison.

besides cost comparisons of the two sports isn't very smart anyway. both can be expensive. and both can be cheap. More likely the reason that cycling gained popularlity is the cost of club memberships during the tiger alongside an increased awareness of personal fitness.

Bigus

I’ve participated in both , and find cycling way less expensive than golf , particularly if you want to be a member in Dublin, also you don’t need a fancy car to go cycling in, but for a lot of people this is a prerequisite for keeping up appearances in the golf club , although a bit less so since drink driving has tightened up.

One thing is for certain though , you will not get super fit or even aerobically fit playing golf , but you can, if you do enough cycling in the hills, also older people get less problems with joints and limbs, backs, too cycling vs golf unless you get knocked down, but on the other hand I know more than one irish person first hand who got killed or lost their sight on a golf course after being hit by wayward balls.

Ryder

I fall right into the middle of the 30-50 demographic. Was a reasonably competitive road cyclist and sportive competitor. Taken up golf in the last year

Accessability - No contest, cycling wins. Go anywhere and anytime. No issues with courses being packed. Once you can turn a pedal you can accompany anyone without disrupting (or feeling like you are) their game.

Cost - Again no contest. 1500 to 2000 will get you a decent carbon bike with a good groupset that would see you for 5 years. Consumables cost less than the petrol you use to go golfing. A mid range golf set costs similar but the difference will be in club subs

time - Similar time commitment, and add the inevitable extra cycling training you will do/need mid week. The difference is the time is at your choosing so you can go very early or late and arent as fixed as with golf

so why choose golf....socially its more fun, for all the reasons above I didnt find cycling particularly social because I was heading out solo to maximise training time. Also golf is more enjoyable. I think the 18 holes is killing the game nowadays....4 hours for a round and add in an hour either side - thats 6 straight hours gone......I couldnt justify that more than once every month or two

paulanthony

As someone who has dabbled in both I think I can say cycling is less expensive and less time consuming.

Both are very "gadgety" pastimes where you can definitely spend ridiculous amounts on equipment so I think it's a bit pointless saying there are 20 grand bikes out there, thousand euro drivers, Adare Manor green fees etc. The reality is what is required to practice the sport at a very average level (I'm not talking talent here, I mean the average requirements to play the sport).

Golf - essentially it is:
- a reasonable set of irons/woods/putter which can be assembled and improved over time. Not necessarily a once off cost. Maybe €1,500 on average if you're buying new and buying middle of the road gear;

- club membership: this is where the real difference is, in my opinion, as someone who lives in South Dublin City, my options are generally limited to expensive clubs (many with big joining fees) and 2k a year subs. Other option is to join somewhere way down the road in Kildare/Wicklow etc. If you live in the midlands (for example) you will have much more budget friendly options (due to demand, rather than quality); PS: you could argue that membership isn't necessary and that you could join a society or a really cheap club for a GUI and play opens etc, but I think if you are talking about doing both properly, then you have to factor in the average cost of joining a club;

- misc: competition fees, balls, couple of lessons, petrol, some clothing.


Cycling:
- I bought a €1000 bike on the cycle to work scheme a few years ago (Felt, some carbon, Shimano 105s for those in the know (so a decent middle of the road model)); for the €1000, they threw in pedals and shoes and I had a decent helmet already. So this cost me around €480 total. I bought some cycling clothing in Aldi / online - probably for €150 total. I have had my bike serviced once since and have bought the very odd piece of clothing here and there (and I would generally be susceptible to buying a gadget etc). Joining a club (if you choose to) is generally cheap (like under €100).

I think that shows that cycling is a bit cheaper.

I also find/found cycling easier to find time to do. On summer evenings you can do a quick spin up to Howth and at weekends can start early and decide your own time (ie you can go for a 1/2/3/4/5/6 hour cycle). You can't decide to go for a 2.5 hour game of golf on Sundays. You are also cycling the minute you go out the gate, whereas with golf you are probably standing on the first tee 45 minutes after leaving the house (unless you are very very near).

They're both great sports and I have never really (in the past) viewed them as in competition with each other but as I have gotten a bit older, married, had a child I can 100% see that it would be easier for me to get out for a cycle on a weekend morning than a round of golf (and probably an easier sell as it's healthier too).

spacecoyote

Seve OB wrote: »

I'm sure I'll get a smack the next time he sees me but the question has to be asked!!! Is that Macker or just his doppleganger

I'd watch yourself. Likely to get a broken trolley across the back of your head

GreeBo

Bigus wrote: »

I’ve participated in both , and find cycling way less expensive than golf , particularly if you want to be a member in Dublin, also you don’t need a fancy car to go cycling in, but for a lot of people this is a prerequisite for keeping up appearances in the golf club , although a bit less so since drink driving has tightened up.

One thing is for certain though , you will not get super fit or even aerobically fit playing golf , but you can, if you do enough cycling in the hills, also older people get less problems with joints and limbs, backs, too cycling vs golf unless you get knocked down, but on the other hand I know more than one irish person first hand who got killed or lost their sight on a golf course after being hit by wayward balls.

Ah here...so now golf is expensive because *you* feel you need to drive a nice car to the golf club??

As for fitness, cycling is much more efficient than walking, so you can easily burn more calories playing golf than cycling, it all depends on how you cycle.

Finally you can play as much or as little golf as you want, especially with the addition of 9 hole qualifying comps, you'd be hard pressed to be "into cycling" but not go out for at least a couple of hours.

Ryder wrote: »

I fall right into the middle of the 30-50 demographic. Was a reasonably competitive road cyclist and sportive competitor. Taken up golf in the last year

Accessability - No contest, cycling wins. Go anywhere and anytime. No issues with courses being packed. Once you can turn a pedal you can accompany anyone without disrupting (or feeling like you are) their game.

Cost - Again no contest. 1500 to 2000 will get you a decent carbon bike with a good groupset that would see you for 5 years. Consumables cost less than the petrol you use to go golfing. A mid range golf set costs similar but the difference will be in club subs

time - Similar time commitment, and add the inevitable extra cycling training you will do/need mid week. The difference is the time is at your choosing so you can go very early or late and arent as fixed as with golf

so why choose golf....socially its more fun, for all the reasons above I didnt find cycling particularly social because I was heading out solo to maximise training time. Also golf is more enjoyable. I think the 18 holes is killing the game nowadays....4 hours for a round and add in an hour either side - thats 6 straight hours gone......I couldnt justify that more than once every month or two

but you can play as much or as little golf as you want, you dont have to play an 18 hole strokes comp, you could just play 6 or 9 holes or hit the practice range for half an hour.
Its unfair to imply cycling is better because you can do it whenever you want, you can "golf" whenever you want also, but if you want to enter a comp IN EITHER then you are constrained by times set by others. Golf is arguably "better" since you have hours within which you can enter the comp or often multiple days, I dont think the same is true for a road race for example...

Johnny_Fontane

Interesting discussion.

The time with golf is the real problem but let's be honest here, it's a morning or an afternoon, once every weekend. Nothing more.

I have three young kids under 10. I did a deal with my wife, and we divide the weekend into four quarters. I take one quarter for golf and am there for the other three to manage kids sports etc.

If people can't genuinely get out for one morning /afternoon a weekend, you need to have a chat with your partner

blue note

GreeBo wrote: »

As for fitness, cycling is much more efficient than walking, so you can easily burn more calories playing golf than cycling, it all depends on how you cycle.

Ah here, I'll just provide this link in case someone mistakenly thinks golf can burn calories more efficiently than cycling. The only type of cycling golf can burn more than is the type you do bringing your toddlers for a cycle - that level of exertion. Looking at the figures in the link, I suspect they're including resting calories in the figure. For someone my size I burn about 180 per hour sitting on my backside so would only be burning an extra 180 calories per hour golfing compared to an extra 470 calories in a "moderate" cycle.

Even if the figures are additional calories there's still a huge difference between cycling and golf.

Also, you never get your heart going playing golf. The heart is the most important muscle to exercise and cycling does that. Golf does not.

https://www.nutristrategy.com/caloriesburned.htm

spacecoyote

Johnny_Fontane wrote: »

Interesting discussion.

The time with golf is the real problem but let's be honest here, it's a morning or an afternoon, once every weekend. Nothing more.

I have three young kids under 10. I did a deal with my wife, and we divide the weekend into four quarters. I take one quarter for golf and am there for the other three to manage kids sports etc.

If people can't genuinely get out for one morning /afternoon a weekend, you need to have a chat with your partner

I think if I gave up golf the wife would divorce me

GreeBo

blue note wrote: »

Ah here, I'll just provide this link in case someone mistakenly thinks golf can burn calories more efficiently than cycling. The only type of cycling golf can burn more than is the type you do bringing your toddlers for a cycle - that level of exertion. Looking at the figures in the link, I suspect they're including resting calories in the figure. For someone my size I burn about 180 per hour sitting on my backside so would only be burning an extra 180 calories per hour golfing compared to an extra 470 calories in a "moderate" cycle.

Even if the figures are additional calories there's still a huge difference between cycling and golf.

Firstly I didnt say you can burn calories more efficently playing golf than cycling, so you've started off on the wrong foot altogether!
What I actually said was that cycling is more efficient than walking.

It totally depends on how you cycle, a bike is very efficient, thats why you can cycle further than you can run or walk, the bike is doing lots of the work.

I'm not arguing that golf burns more calories than all cycling, just that, like most sports you can do it at whatever exertion levels you want.
I've been in a peloton doing a sustained 25km/h for an hour that was minimal effort due to flat terrain and drafting.
I've also played 18 holes in under 2 hours and was bollixed afterwards.

blue note wrote: »

Also, you never get your heart going playing golf. The heart is the most important muscle to exercise and cycling does that. Golf does not.

You've clearly never left yourself a downhill, left to right 3 footer to win something!

blue note

GreeBo wrote: »

Firstly I didnt say you can burn calories more efficently playing golf than cycling, so you've started off on the wrong foot altogether!
What I actually said was that cycling is more efficient than walking.

It totally depends on how you cycle, a bike is very efficient, thats why you can cycle further than you can run or walk, the bike is doing lots of the work.

I'm not arguing that golf burns more calories than all cycling, just that, like most sports you can do it at whatever exertion levels you want.
I've been in a peloton doing a sustained 25km/h for an hour that was minimal effort due to flat terrain and drafting.
I've also played 18 holes in under 2 hours and was bollixed afterwards.


You've clearly never left yourself a downhill, left to right 3 footer to win something!

Sorry, help me understand. When you say cycling is more efficient than walking, are you saying that per kilometre you'd burn more calories walking than cycling? If that's what you're saying I don't see how that's relevant. You might walk 10k playing golf in 4 hours. Or you could cycle 10k in a fairly leisurely 30 minute cycle. But so what?

Under what sort of circumstances would you burn more calories playing golf than cycling?

GreeBo

blue note wrote: »

Sorry, help me understand. When you say cycling is more efficient than walking, are you saying that per kilometre you'd burn more calories walking than cycling? If that's what you're saying I don't see how that's relevant. You might walk 10k playing golf in 4 hours. Or you could cycle 10k in a fairly leisurely 30 minute cycle. But so what?

Yes, I'm saying that the bike does or at least can do an awful lot of the work involved in getting from A to B on a bike.

I was responding to this point
"One thing is for certain though , you will not get super fit or even aerobically fit playing golf , but you can, if you do enough cycling in the hills"

On one hand the point is made that cycling is super accessible and that you can just hop on a bike for half an hour, which while true, is certainly not cycling in the hills, so not really a fair point to use against golf.

You can cycle without being fit and you can play golf without being fit, both activities will arguably be performed better and probably enjoyed more with a higher level of fitness.

Under what sort of circumstances would you burn more calories playing golf than cycling?

That's kind of a tautology, you do it in the circumstances where you burn fewer calories cycling than you did playing golf.

I commuted by bike for years, every day I passed hundreds of people also on bikes who were cycling at 10km/h at best, in full suits without so much as a sheen of sweat, I also passed people walking the same routes who were indeed working up a sweat, without even having to swing a club.

The point is that its not black and white and its disingenuous for anyone to say that it is.

/edit
a quick google give a figure of 474 calories burnt per hour playing golf, assuming you carried your clubs and 250+ per hour on the driving range.

I could easily cycle for an hour and not burn anywhere near that level of calories.

PhilOssophy

https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/david-mcwilliams-lurid-gear-and-swanky-bikes-mark-cycling-as-the-new-golf-1.3500071

This wasn't the original article that I read (its 2 years old) which got me thinking about this, but I will find it.

EDIT : This was it. https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/other-sports/the-cycling-boom-how-popular-is-it-and-is-it-expensive-1.3984216

Wildly Boaring

Outsider here, saw this on front page.

Very interesting thread. Awful to hear Hollystown is closing.

Almost 40 so smack in middle.
I came from a different sport entirely at a competitive level and now over last few years trying different sports.

Tried a good bit in the last say 4 years: golf, cycling, running, badminton, gymwork.

It's been stated several times but time would be my no 1. 2 young kids.
For a quick "blast"
25 mins can give me a 5k run.
2hrs do a nice hilly cycle.
1hr and small travel is a gym session
3hrs plus and bit travel for golf.
Badminton I loved did for a full year 2 hours twice a week. But inflexible.

Out with mates / club
2 hrs run
3 hrs + cycle
4 hrs + golf and travel
2 hrs badminton
Gym antisocial

With running and cycling I get get a quick evening spin in and it starts at the door. This is huge.

On the cost
Golf and cycle are comparable but green fees or membership mean far likelier to stick to the bike.

Ultimately I enjoy keeping several forms of exercise going. Golf cannot fit into that life for me due to time and green fees.

Fr Tod Umptious

In the mid 1990s my father used to lament that there were not as many young people out fishing on the local lakes as there were when he was young (1950s/60s)

He put it down to the popularity of golf.

The same seems to be happening with golf now with the popularity of cycling.

Ah_go_on

Wildly Boaring wrote: »

Outsider here, saw this on front page.

Very interesting thread. Awful to hear Hollystown is closing.

Almost 40 so smack in middle.
I came from a different sport entirely at a competitive level and now over last few years trying different sports.

Tried a good bit in the last say 4 years: golf, cycling, running, badminton, gymwork.

It's been stated several times but time would be my no 1. 2 young kids.
For a quick "blast"
25 mins can give me a 5k run.
2hrs do a nice hilly cycle.
1hr and small travel is a gym session
3hrs plus and bit travel for golf.
Badminton I loved did for a full year 2 hours twice a week. But inflexible.

Out with mates / club
2 hrs run
3 hrs + cycle
4 hrs + golf and travel
2 hrs badminton
Gym antisocial

With running and cycling I get get a quick evening spin in and it starts at the door. This is huge.

On the cost
Golf and cycle are comparable but green fees or membership mean far likelier to stick to the bike.

Ultimately I enjoy keeping several forms of exercise going. Golf cannot fit into that life for me due to time and green fees.

Great post.

PhilOssophy

Ah_go_on wrote: »

Great post.

Think he sums up my problem too!

GreeBo

Wildly Boaring wrote: »

Outsider here, saw this on front page.

Very interesting thread. Awful to hear Hollystown is closing.

Almost 40 so smack in middle.
I came from a different sport entirely at a competitive level and now over last few years trying different sports.

Tried a good bit in the last say 4 years: golf, cycling, running, badminton, gymwork.

It's been stated several times but time would be my no 1. 2 young kids.
For a quick "blast"
25 mins can give me a 5k run.
2hrs do a nice hilly cycle.
1hr and small travel is a gym session
3hrs plus and bit travel for golf.
Badminton I loved did for a full year 2 hours twice a week. But inflexible.

Out with mates / club
2 hrs run
3 hrs + cycle
4 hrs + golf and travel
2 hrs badminton
Gym antisocial

With running and cycling I get get a quick evening spin in and it starts at the door. This is huge.

On the cost
Golf and cycle are comparable but green fees or membership mean far likelier to stick to the bike.

Ultimately I enjoy keeping several forms of exercise going. Golf cannot fit into that life for me due to time and green fees.

its a good post but again I'd point out that you dont have to play 4 hours of golf, you could play 9 holes with your mates in the same way you could choose to go for a 2 hour cycle rather than a 4 hour cycle...

Tombo2001

A few views on this one:

(i) There is a greater focus on health in middle age. For me - golf just doesnt cut it. For healthier heart, cycling is way ahead imho.

(ii) Something thats not spoken about at all in all the health columns of the newspapers:

There are a hell of a lot of sports that become challenging as you get older. Specifically challenging on knees, shoulders - arthritis related injuries.

Running, tennis, squash, soccer, gaa and so on and so forth.

There are very few options at this age - cycling and swimming are where its at - if you want to stay fit.

(iii) golf is massively time consuming. cycling is also time consuming, but less so.

paulanthony

GreeBo wrote: »

its a good post but again I'd point out that you dont have to play 4 hours of golf, you could play 9 holes with your mates in the same way you could choose to go for a 2 hour cycle rather than a 4 hour cycle...

...and you could cycle to the end of the road and back and be done in four minutes.

But if you want to play golf properly, you want to play on a Saturday or Sunday morning comp in your local club, probably three times a month (and some a lot more than that). A 7:30 am tee time probably involves getting up at 6:30 leaving home at 7:00, walk up the 18th at 11:30 (all going well) and driving out the gate at close to 12:00. That's best case scenario with a nearby course.

I probably play golf five times a year with friends, so I don't think I could say I am a golfer / I play golf / golf is one of my pastimes.