A golf cart or golf buggy (officially referred to as a golf car according to ANSI standard z130.1, since "carts" are not self-propelled)[1] is a small vehicle designed originally to carry two golfers and their golf clubs around a golf course with less effort than the traditional method of walking.
Golf cars come in a wide range of formats and are more generally used to convey small numbers of passengers short distances at speeds less than 15 mph (24 km/h) per ANSI Standard z130.1 as originally manufactured. They are generally around 4 feet (1.2 m) wide × 8 feet (2.4 m) long × 6 feet (1.8 m) high and weigh 900 pounds (410 kg) to 1,000 pounds (450 kg). Most are powered by 4-stroke engines.
The price of a golf car can range anywhere from $3,000 - $15,000 per car, depending on several factors. These factors may include whether or not a fleet of cars is being purchased for a golf course or a country club, for example, and whether or not the cars are new or used. Other factors may include options such as equipment requirements, and how many people the car is meant to transport. With the rise in popularity of golf carts, many golf clubs or country clubs offer storage and energy options to golf cart owners. This has led to the modification of golf carts to suit use at the particular golf course. Typical modification includes windshields, ball cleaners, cooler trays, upgraded motor or speed controller (to increase speed and/or torque), and lift kits.
Originally golf cars were electrically powered, but in time gasoline-powered variants started to occur. Electric golf cars were the first mass-produced electric vehicles for private consumer use. This variety is now used in many communities where their lack of pollutants, lack of noise, and safety for pedestrians and other cars (due to slow speeds) are beneficial. When purpose-built for general transportation these are called Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs), but with various operating limitations such as top speed and heavy regulation on which type of streets these types of cars are permitted to be used. These may resemble the golf cars shown above, although some are now being made with all–weather car–like bodies.
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History
Electric golf carts have been used since at least 1951. Merle Williams of Long Beach, California was an early innovator of the electric golf cart.[citation needed] He started with knowledge gained from production of electric cars due to World War II gasoline rationing. In 1951 his Marketeer Company began production of an electric golf car in Redlands, California. Two additional companies began production of electric golf carts in 1954: LEKTRO and E-Z-GO. Cushman began production in 1955, Club Car in 1958, Taylor-Dunn in 1961, Harley-Davidson in 1963 and CT&T in 2002. The latest addition to this line is Garia, which was founded in 2005. In 1971 the gasoline powered golfcart began production and soon after became a huge hit in a small town called The Villages, Florida.
Golf Buggies in the UK
Golf carts came over to Europe from the USA and were used by golf courses for hire where the club pro and the club had an opportunity to offer a service much enjoyed by golfers that had visited courses in the USA. Most golf courses across the UK can now ofer golfers a cart or buggy for hire, however, it is nothing like in the USA. There are still clubs that refuse to allow them for reasons of safety or limitimg damage caused to the course. Many golf clubs in the UK will close the course to buggies through the winter which does not thelp golfers or the clubs income. To counteract this clubs put in Cart Paths that open the course out throughout the year. Over in the UK there is a need for the buggy to protect a golfer against the weather, unfortunately not the sunshine as experienced in Florida, but the wind and the rain, all weather covers can be provided for this that fit over the buggy and protect the occupant from the bad weather.
Sales in the UK are increasing as more and more individuals take on personal ownership and even share buying a buggy with a friend, there are rules allowing disabled golfers to use a buggy at a golf course if they can not play with out one. See Disability Rights
Golf cart communities
Peachtree City, Georgia has many miles of golf cart paths that link the city together. Golf cart travel is used by a great majority of the community, especially among high school students. McIntosh High School even has a student golf cart parking lot on campus.
On Santa Catalina Island, California, the use of motor vehicles on the island is mostly restricted. This is due to the fact that, by law, there is a limit on the number of registered cars allowed onto the island. Therefore, most residents and visitors move around the main city of Avalon via golf cart.
The upper-class community of Bald Head Island, North Carolina does not allow motor vehicles on the island (except for trams running to and from the ferry port and island-owned maintenance vehicles), so residents use modified electric golf carts instead.
The Villages, Florida, a retirement community of over 70,000 people, has an extensive golf cart trail system (estimated at around 100 miles (160 km)) and also allow golf carts on many streets. It is the most popular form of transportation in this community.
On Hamilton Island, Queensland, Australia, where mainland vehicles are prohibited, golf carts are the main form of transport.
On the tropical islands of Belize golf carts are a major form of road transport and can be rented by tourists.[2]
The residential community of Discovery Bay, Hong Kong does not allow the used of private vehicles apart from a fleet of 520 Golf Carts (excluding the ones operating exclusively in the Golf or the Marina Clubs). The remainder of the 20,000 residents rely on a mixture of shuttle buses and hire cars to travel around the township.
Injuries
Along with the rising popularity of golf carts, the number of golf cart-related injuries has increased significantly over the last decade. A study conducted by researchers in the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at the Nationwide Children's Hospital found that the number of golf cart-related injuries rose 132% during the 17-year study period. According to the study, published in the July, 2008 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, there were an estimated 148,000 golf cart-related injuries between 1990 and 2006, ranging from an estimated 5,770 cases in 1990 to approximately 13,411 cases in 2006. More than 30% of golf cart-related injuries involved children under the age of 16.[3]
See also
- Electric vehicle
- Electric car
- Neighborhood electric vehicle - some of these are modifications of electric golf carts
References
- ^ ANSI z130.1
- ^ "Golf Carts on the Belize Islands". Why Go Belize. http://www.belizelogue.com/golf-carts-on-the-belize-islands.html. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
- ^ Newswise: First National Study to Examine Golf Cart-Related Injuries Retrieved on June 11, 2008.
External links
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