The Grassy Area in front of the Tennis Courts

While walking to class I realized a girl walk along the grass instead of following the path. This is when I realized that there was a slowly forming trail in the grass. Our paths were going to converge at the same place and I wanted to see if she really saved time by walking in the grass. She only beat me by a few seconds when she reached the point and that made me wonder why people even bother to divert from the set path if it doesn't always make a difference.