Nelly Korda is a superstar in women’s golf, and has received praise from some of the most prominent figure in the men’s game.

• Related: ‘I’m annoyed at the LPGA’ – Pros hit out at off-course conditions at season opener

Korda competed in December’s QBE and PNC Championship, which was a PGA/LPGA mixed event. Among those who were impressed with her game was world number 16, Max Homa.

“We talked about it all day,” Homa said. “It was a little bit outrageous. She drove it down the middle on every hole, she almost hit the pin three times, hit it to like two inches on one par 4, then from way too far that next one, she almost hit the pin. And chipped it great, so I don’t know how she does not win every week. It’s a testament to these other ladies that anyone can even sniff beating her because that was wildly impressive.”

Four-time PGA Tour winner Kevin Kisner agreed and sang Korda’s praise.

“I think I called her the Tiger Woods of the LPGA Tour at one point,” he said. “And then through about seven or eight holes I said she’s hit every shot just like she wants to for eight holes. Like does she hit a bad shot? I have no idea, I’ve never seen her hit a bad shot. We were laughing all day.”

In response to all of the praise she’s received, Korda this week suggested that the men should watch more women’s golf.

“They should watch more women’s golf. I think if they watched a lot of players out here, they would come away equally impressed.”

Korda, who is the number 2 ranked player in the world, will be kicking off her season this week in hopes of claiming the number one spot.

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• The Scott Stallings Masters ticket mix-up just got the perfect ending
• ‘Sh*t, let’s go to the bar’ – John Daly takes on podcasters with epic rapid-fire wager

Golfers love a stat.

Apart from keeping score, there are more than a handful of devices available to measure ball speed, plane, stance, putting stroke and on and on.

Even non-players are involved in numbers, with golf bettors using the likes of tour-tips.com and datagolf to crunch the figures and sort out which player’s best attribute suits that week’s course.

So, even though it may seem fairly obvious that walking and pushing a golf cart is more beneficial to your health than riding a cart, the latest study by the Colorado Center for Health and Sports Science adds the oft-sought science to the belief.

The study was carried out by lead researcher Neil Wolkodoff, PhD and backed by Europe’s number 1 golf bag and push cart brand BIG MAX. It also set out to find out how energy expenditure varies in golf based on the mode of transport, as well as recording data on participants’ reported mental focus and their scores across a round of nine holes.

Researches used a VO2 Master metabolic analyzer and a standard Hans-Rudolph mask to test energy expenditure on the course, finding that golfers burned most Kcal per hour using a pushcart, a significant 36% increase on motorized cart use.

Both using a push cart and electric trolley reached the threshold for being recognized as moderate intensity exercise and would have a positive impact on the health of users, while golf using a motorized cart constitutes a health improvement activity.

Wolkodoff commented, “It is clear that if you walk the course, you will experience the same health benefits as other moderate exercises, possibly better. Particularly noting that improvement when using a pushcart, and certainly more than when taking part in recreational or leisure walking.”

“Previous studies I’ve worked on demonstrated that using a pushcart had performance benefits over other types of course transport. The walking modes in this study had a clear improvement in reported mental focus of participants when walking compared to a motor cart.”

The health benefits were pretty much a given, but how does this affect your actual performance? Will walking gain you that vital shot for your weekend $50 scramble?

In reporting mental focus and overall score to par, the studies concluded that pushcart and electric trolley usage came out with very similar results.

For reported mental focus, manual cart use averaged a score of 5.67 while the electric versions scored 6.63, both outscoring an average of 5.01 for the motorised aid. Scores to par fared similarly, with the two manual carts scoring 10.4 and 10.2 above par respectively with the motor over a shot behind over 9 holes at 11.5.

Rick Oldach, CEO of Big Max USA, the company that supplied all the carts and bags for the experiment, was pleased with the end results.

“Neil and the team have done a fantastic job,” he said enthusiastically. “The methodology for testing energy expenditure delivers undisputed evidence for the health benefits of walking the course. The results that particularly please me though are around mental focus and scores. I’ve long suspected that having time to think between shots, to decompress after each shot and to have time to prepare for the next shot is of real benefit, and this study proves that walking improves performance.”

So, not only for your health, but to also beat your buddies for that free round of beers, go manual!

 

Even at 56 years old, former PGA Tour superstar John Daly continues to move the needle in the sport.

• Related: John Daly makes bizarre lifestyle claim during PNC Championship

We’ve most recently seen Daly playing in the PNC Championship with his son, John Daly II (Little John), going head-to-head with Tiger Woods and his son, Charlie. The Daly duo won the event in 2021, which put the golf world on notice to the talent of “Little John”, who is currently a Sophomore at Arkansas University where his old man played college golf.

• Related: John Daly reveals his foolproof hangover cure

The Daly’s are once again in the spotlight, as a commercial from “manscaped” has recently aired.

Thanks to the NCAA changing its NIL rules, college athletes can now be paid for their image and likeness. That has resulted in Daly II being able to follow in his father’s footsteps to sign an endorsement deal with Hooters. Daly II has taken further advantage of the new rules by being in the commercial with his dad.

The commercial is hilarious and starts with the elder Daly looking to use his beard trimmer for some grooming below the belt.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! It’s not for down there.” says Little John.

Daly then responds by slightly modifying his catch phrase, “grip it and rip it”.

“Grip it and trim it, baby!” Daly says right before unleashing a big swing with his driver.

The commercial will be aired during the broadcast of the Farmers Insurance Open Jan. 25-28.

More from the 19th Hole

• Tony Finau shows off dramatic swing change at Tournament of Champions
• The Scott Stallings Masters ticket mix-up just got the perfect ending
• ‘Sh*t, let’s go to the bar’ – John Daly takes on podcasters with epic rapid-fire wager