Chances are, it was not really Mark Twain who said, “Golf is a good walk spoiled.”
Although the phrase is widely attributed to him, there was no record of him ever having said it before a Saturday Evening Post article in 1948, which was 38 years after his death.
The website quoteinvestigator.com indicated that the aphorism was used in 1903 by an unnamed lawn tennis player and in 1904 by the novelist Harry Leon Wilson. In any event, and no matter who said it first, the tart barb toward golf remains a respectful ode to walking.
Walking was and is a focal point in the game and many people still believe each brings out the best in the other. The Walking Golfers Society is a group founded on that very concept.
Rob Rigg, a Toronto, Ontario native who established it, wrote about an insight he gained after he graduated from college: “As I took a step back and began to think less about my game, and more about the experience of walking the course, I began to play better.” Noting that he soon became a single-digit handicap, he added, “What had changed? Simply—enjoying the walk.”
Even the most enthusiastic walking golfers do not begrudge against cart-riders. They understand that some people simply cannot physically walk a course. They also acknowledge that for various reasons, including revenue streams and pace of play, many courses require golfers to ride.
