People do some amazing things nowadays.

They compete in marathons, triathlons, Ragnar Relays and race across continents. Sometimes a pair of tough guys will lock themselves in a cage and fight to the finish.

I used to jog, hike, play tennis and scuba dive. Once, when I was a teenager, I rode my bike from Grantsville to the South Willow Loop, hiked to Deseret Peak and rode my bike back to Grantsville. It was a long but productive day for improving fitness.

No pain, no gain, they say.

What they forgot to say is that exercise involves less pain these days than ever before.

I’ve been going to the gym more often, but what I like to do is take my earphones and walk on the treadmill while watching CNN, AMC or ESPN. Television watching doesn’t seem like a big waste of time when you’re also exercising. And my heart rate does increase when I crank up the speed of the machine. I used to jog at the gym, but walking seems to be less strenuous on joints. The only downside is that I need to watch a feature film in order to burn many calories.

I participated in another painless form of exercise Friday morning where I actually consumed more calories than I burned: golf.

Jeff Barrus, Jake Gordon, Colin Watson and I teed it up at Oquirrh Hills Golf Course about 9 a.m. in superb weather conditions with no wind and temperatures in the 65-70 range.

I hadn’t eaten anything that morning. Fortunately, on hole No. 11 — we played the back nine — we were able to break out a big box of pastries and bottles of orange juice for each participant. That was just the sort of jolt I needed to turn into Tiger Woods.

Golfing would be good exercise if you walked the course, but when you ride in a cart with a drink at arm’s length in the cupholder and a chocolate cake donut in one hand, the health benefits are minimal.

Golf with a cart is not a great physical test, but the game itself can certainly test your sanity as you go through a wide range of emotions while on the course. Sinking a long putt is almost euphoric because it rarely happens. Chipping 10 inches from the hole is also a pleasure.

On the other hand, missing the putt from 10 inches is not fun and driving the ball 10 feet off the tee can be frustrating. Hitting a tree and ending up farther away from hole than where you started can also be mentally debilitating.

Sugar can’t take away those frustrations.

Gordon was on fire Friday, belting his drives about 50 yards farther than the rest of us while putting and chipping superbly for a 38. I don’t ever remember playing golf with anybody who ever shot below 40 for nine holes. Then again, I’ve golfed a lot with guys wearing cowboys boots.

Barrus made some good shots as well and logged a 48. I had a 50. In reality, both of us were probably three or four strokes higher than the scorecard read if extra tee shots and other “foot wedges” were added. Apparently, journalistic honesty doesn’t always translate into golf terms.

Colin is just learning the sport, so we lost track of his tally.

We were slightly drained after 2.5 hours of golfing and eating pastries, but some people can run a marathon in that time.Golf is a fantastic sport and addictive when you try to master its nuances, but its exercise value? Debatable.

Mark Watson: mwatson@tooeletranscript.com