Golf Carts

Golf carts have evolved into more than just a quick way to get from one tee to the next. There are many different types of golf carts, from utility and rough-terrain to hospitality and family transportation. Today's golf carts can be luxury vehicles or off-roading wonders. Before purchasing a golf cart, make sure you know what features are available. You don't want to spend a lot of money on a standard cart only to find out later that for a little extra you could have had the best golf cart on the course. (article continued below)

Photo Credit: John Baldwin

Standard Golf Carts:

The classic golf cart is gasoline or electric powered and comes in countless varieties. You can get a two-seater with dual golf club racks or a four-seater with an extra club holder that can carry four people and their golf bags. Avoid the four-seaters that don't have club bags. What's the point of riding in a golf cart if your golf bags don't fit? Another thing to look for are golf carts with shade canopies and club covers. Both will help golfers and their clubs stay out of the hot sun or rain.

Luxury Golf Carts:

If you are looking to impress all, look into luxury golf carts. Beyond basic upgrades, there are entire lines of luxury vehicles and vintage carts. For example, Club Car has a GM licensed '57 Chevy model, a Sports Class model and two luxury models to choose from (clubcar.com). Luxury amenities include custom pin striping, custom upholstered seating, carpeting, over-head stereo, air-conditioning and more. Golf cart manufacturers will even custom build a cart just for you.

Group and Family Golf Carts:

Whether hauling your family around a vacation area, business partners through a tour or customers to their cars, golf carts have been adapted to do the job. You can find seating for up to 11 people in the extended carts. For example, E-Z-GO's Shuttle 957 has room for 11 occupants and its 48-volt electric engine can travel up to 12 miles per hour (ezgo.com). Shuttle golf carts -- usually available in six-, eight- and 10-seats -- can easily accommodate any group outing.

Hospitality Golf Carts:

Modified golf carts make it easy to get food and drinks where they are most needed: on the course. There are many sizes and styles of hospitality golf carts, ranging from a smell beverage unit, holding several hundred drinks, to a mobile caf�, which includes coffee, food warmer, humidor and refrigeration system. Your guests and patrons will never be left hungry or thirsty.

Utility Work Golf Carts:

Whether greens keeping, landscaping or farming, modified golf carts are up to the challenge. With high payloads and strong towing capacities, utility golf carts can make your job much easier. For example, Yamaha's U-MAX Medium Duty I produces 11.4 horsepower with its 357 cc, 4-stroke gas engine. It can hold 800 pounds of payload and tow 1,300 pounds. Most utility golf carts have durable cargo beads for hauling and rear receiver hitches for towing. Those carts can do much more than carry golf clubs.

If you are looking for a rough-terrain vehicle, golf carts could be the right find. With speeds up to 25 miles per hour, large cargo beds, front-wheel suspension, mud tires, rear receiver hitches, gun racks and roll-over protection systems, off-road equipped golf carts can handle tough trails. For example, Club Car's XRT1500 has a 614 cc, 20 horsepower engine can carry up to 1,450 pounds. Those golf carts are more like all terrain vehicles than the carts you find on the fairway.

From putting greens to backwoods trails, the wide variety of golf carts can handle just about anything. If you are looking for a personal vehicle you won't have difficulty finding a golf cart that fits your needs. The difficult task will be selecting just one.