Bag Boy, a golf company that makes golf bags and carts, is urging golfers to get out and walk more. It will host Walk the Course Day at the Crossings Golf Club in Glen Allen, Va. , Sept. 27.

Throughout the day, golfers who walk the Crossings course can use a Bag Boy push cart for free and $5 from every walker's green fee will be donated to the American Heart Association.

I hope this type promotion spreads to area courses. I'd like to see more golfers walking. Recently, our team tested two push carts and we've found they make walking much easier. And we know it's better for you. But many walkers don't like to carry their bags on their backs – for good reason.

“Research has shown that players who regularly carry golf bags are more susceptible to injuries and more likely to suffer from lower back, shoulder and ankle injuries than players who walk the course with a push cart,” said Bag Boy president Craig Ramsbottom, president of The Bag Boy Company. "Golf is historically a walking sport and we're proud to work with The Crossings to encourage golfers to re-discover the health benefits and enjoyment of walking the course."

If you only know of carts as the two-wheelers that you push, they've come a long way. We recently tested a Bag Boy 180 3-Wheel push cart ($169.99).

The Bag Boy is light and easy to push and adjustable for players of different heights. It's also easy to fold down. The third wheel bends back into the base for storage. You can have an accessible drink holder, a bag area big enough for a super size staff bag or a small stand model. There's a place for tees, pencils and scorecards and even a little coverage storage box that our testers found big enough to hold extra tees, cell phones and Sky Caddies all at the same time.

Walking with the Bag Boy was simple. You push and follow. There are electric models you control with a remote control for more than twice the price that you hardly ever have to push, but I found the Bag Boy easy to use, and it folds easily to fit in a trunk. You won't get two of these in one truck easily with two bags, however.

But it beats a pull cart or carrying your bag – and it's fun to walk the course on a nice day.

NOTES

- Nike golf enthusiasts Toyokazu Fujishima and Brendan Todd won on the Japan and Nationwide Tours last week. Fujishima used the company's new Victory Red irons; Todd used the older CCIs.

- Danish shoemaker Ecco's new spring/summer 2009 collection includes the company's new “Ultra Performance” technology using a cushioned three-piece insole and a wrap-around system for comfort. The shoes will range from $170 to $250 MSRP.

- Jean Francois-Lucquin won the Omega European Masters last week using Taylor-Made's new Itsy Bitsy Monza Spider. In Stockholm last month, TaylorMade-adidas staff pro Peter Hanson used it to win at the SAS Masters. Lucquin, who played a center shaft version built for him two days before the tournament began, was one of 10 players who used the Itsy Bitsy Monza Spider putter – a midsize mallet designed to perform much like the Monza Spider, an oversize mallet putter launched early this. In the Omega Masters field, 19 players used a Rossa putter, 10 relied on the new Itsy Bitsy Monza Spider, while five played the standard mallet sized Monza Spider.

- Camilo Villegas captured his first career PGA Tour title at last week's BMW championship with a King Cobra L4V Driver, King Cobra Speed LD Fairway Metals and King Cobra Pro CB Irons. He's the third Cobra player to win this year (J.B. Holmes at the FBR Open and Geoff Ogilvy at the WGC-CA Championship).

Langston Wertz Jr: 704-358-5133