The Growth Of Golf Carts

What most people call a "golf cart" is actually a golf car. Historically, a golf cart is a trolley on wheels containing clubs that a golfer drags along while he walks the course. The motorized "golf car," which once had three wheels and a tiller, carried two players around a golf course, but most of the people who use them have long referred to them as golf carts.

Electronic carts for people with disabilities were in use as early as the 1930s and 1940s. "Golf cars" evolved from electronic buggies introduced by the Marketeer Company during the World War II era of gasoline rationing. Initially marketed as a vehicle for women to use during their grocery shopping, the electronic golf cart by Marketeer debuted in Redlands, California in 1951.

Within three years, Marketeer faced competition from manufacturers LEKTRO and E-Z. By the early 1960s, golf carts were also being turned out by Club Car, Cushman, Harley-Davidson, and Taylor-Dunn. In 1979, the Yamaha Golf Cart made its debut. Following the turn of the millennium, CT&T, a South Korean manufacturer, began to sell a golf cart model. The original electronic designs were overtaken by carts fueled by gas in the 1960s and 1970s. More recently, ecologically minded golfers have returned to electronic vehicles.

Golf carts have also developed into a broad range of sizes and styles over the years. As courses have spread to various climates and terrains across the globe, conveyances have evolved to handle them. Golf carts have also become the vehicle of choice at many nurseries and retail gardening outlets, filmmaking companies, and large storage facilities.

Especially well suited to isolated communities on islands and retirement living, golf carts can be found in those environments. The Villages in central Florida, which started as a mobile home park in the 1970s, now boasts dozens of country club and nine-hole executive golf courses. The golf cart trails total about 100 miles there. Peachtree City, Georgia, with 80 miles of trails, calls itself the "land of a thousand golf carts." Regular automobiles are restricted in places like North Captiva Island, Florida, and Hamilton Island, Australia, which depend on golf carts instead. Visitors to Belize often rent golf carts to get around that Caribbean vacation spot.

Today, most golf carts cost between $3,000 and $15,000 apiece, have a steering wheel instead of a tiller, and four tires. The price varies depending on whether they're purchased in bulk by a country club or acquired by a single owner. Other factors that influence the price tag include size (that is, the number of players the car will hold), and modifications such as cooler trays, windshields, bigger motors, or ball cleaners. Super luxury golf carts may consist of modified automobiles such as a customized Cadillac Escalade, California Roadster, or Rolls Royce Phantom.

The minimum age for a golf cart operator in Florida is 14. Most states set an age limit of 15, but in Rhode Island, Vermont, Alabama, Kentucky, California, and Kansas, golf carts may be driven by 13-year-olds.

The Palm Desert Golf Cart Parade features carts fancifully covered with tissue paper every October. About 15,000 people gather in Palm Desert, California, to enjoy the procession of golf carts with dance clubs, marching bands, and other entertainment.