Golf Cars Through The Decades
Individuals and companies routinely refer to motorized vehicles used on golf courses as golf carts
, but they are really golf cars. A cart is the container for clubs that a player drags on foot; when it has a gas or electric motor, it should properly be termed a golf car.
Miniature electric-powered vehicles were first developed for disabled Americans in the 1930s. Companies also offered them as an option for women when they went grocery shopping. Marketeer Company, a Redlands, California manufacturer, first suggested an electronic car for golf course driving in 1951.
Marketeer Company had originally developed electric cars as an alternative to gasoline power during the rationing of the Second World War. The firm installed a 36-volt battery in its 1950s golf car models. This power source had originally moved the wing flaps on B-17 bomber airplanes. In that era, drivers steered golf cars with a tiller and rode atop three tires. That design predominated until the 1970s.
By that time, golf cars that ran on gasoline and had four wheels had come into common use. With the advent of green values, golf car owners have increasingly preferred electronic models again, bringing the cycle back to where it began. Today, however, golf cars come in a far broader range of designs and engine sizes, and get chosen for many more locales than fairways and greens.
Most golf cars retail between $3,000 and $15,000. A country club or other corporate customer who buys in bulk can get them discounted. Other factors that govern the cost include size (most golf cars hold between two and six riders), and extras like cooler trays, windshields, bigger motors, or ball cleaners.
In the past, golf car owners who could afford to customize their own vehicle altered them to resemble Rolls Royce Phantoms, Hummers, Jeeps, and Cadillac Escalades. Now companies cater specifically to golf car drivers with luxury tastes. Top-of-the-line products may feature hydraulic brakes -- discs and drums -- on all four wheels, sports car drive trains and suspension, interior lighting, or a heated windshield.
Since the 1970s, golf car designers and builders have extended their markets beyond greens and fairways. The vehicles have become popular for transporting people and gear on movie sets, in storage warehouses, and at retail gardening centers. Adaptations to the basic design have included pneumatic-assisted tilting dump beds, and refreshment vehicles with shelves and refrigeration units.
Golf cars have also become a prime mode of transportation in retirement and island communities, whether or not they include a golf course. The Villages, a pioneering retirement community in central Florida, advertises more than 100 miles of golf car trails that serve its 70,000 residents. The island towns of Bald Head Island, North Carolina, and Santa Catalina Island, California, restrict automobile traffic in favor of slower-moving, leisurely golf cars.
by: Sama
Summer Celebration With Superb Golf Trolley Accessories What Good Does Golf Course San Jose Bring How One Can Cure A Golf Slice. Club Sets Purchasing Tips To Get Golf Beginers 6 Must-have Cool Golf Items In 2012 Continuing To Better Your Personal Best In Golf Residential Plots Available For Sale In Golf Country, Yamuna Expressway, Greater Noida The Right Outfits For Enjoying Golf! Training Aids For Golf Enhance Swing, Improve Score Golf Simulator Beginners Best Friend Avail Affordable Golf Packages Best Golf Courses In Toronto Begin Your Golfing Career With An Excellent Golf Club Set