By LMQC Battle of the Bulge blogger, Alan Sivell, St. Ambrose communications professor, RAGBRAI-er, pizza lover and longtime weight watcher.

I approached the cashier at a public course last week with a $20 and said, “Eighteen.”

“You want a cart, too.” It wasn’t really a question. More a statement of fact.

“No, thanks.”

There was a slight hesitation from the cashier – giving me a chance to reconsider my rash decision – before he punched in the sale and gave me my scorecard.

Clearly, I had bucked today’s convention. I was going to CARRY MY BAG for 18 holes.

After 35 years of purposefully NOT golfing, I’m golfing again. Frankly, I didn’t think walking 18 holes at age 30 was enough exercise. I was running, playing basketball, racquetball and softball. Now, after 2 knee replacements, I find walking 18 holes of manufactured nature is a perfectly fine way to exercise.

I sensed the cashier was about to push an emergency button under the counter to alert the medics: A crazy guy would actually be WALKING the course. Surely in 2 or 3 hours, they’d need to cart his body off the course.

What happened over the past 35 years?? When and why did golf become a motorized game? The only difference I see between cart golfing and video gaming is that one is done outdoors and the other is done in basements.

But with the players zipping up to their ball, striking it and zipping after it again, the only exertion comes from standing up, sitting down, swinging the club and hoisting a cold one.

Don’t tell anyone you play golf for the exercise if you ride in a cart.

And at your annual physical, when your doctor asks what you do to stay active, don’t think he or she is fooled when you say you play golf. They may smile and nod, but the heart rate, cholesterol count and scale reveal whether you walk or ride.

My doctor can tell I walk.