Golf Carts - Rant Incoming

[darthweasel]

Up front, I will say I am heavily prejudiced against golf carts. I enjoy the walk, feel like I play better when I walk, and have never had a problem outpacing the carters. With that said, for health reasons I have had to start using one as the choice is cart golf or no golf. There are some bright sides...whereas when I walk, with nobody in front of me it typically took  55 to 65 minutes per nine, I was 53 minutes on the front until I ran into a group on ten. I have a very convenient place for my speaker and water.

 

With that said, there are certain things that really irritate me about cart golf.

First off...keep the cart in the designated areas. So tired of seeing people parking on the fringe of the green. Even the lowest goat track typically has a sign "keep carts 30' from greens" (or it might be 30 yards, I don't know...I don't get that close so it is a distinction without a difference to me. When I get close to the green I park at the next tee box and head back to my ball with the appropriate clubs). Don't drive through that "environmentally sensitive area" to get to your errant shot.

Second, parking the cart in front of the green when they went over the back...or off to the left when the next hole is off to the right...seriously,

Third, and this is obviously anecdotal...cart drivers with radios tend to play them really loudly. I love my music but work hard to ensure I cannot hear it more than a couple steps from the cart. I am not trying to help people 3 holes over who don't care for same type of music I am "enjoy" my music.

Fourth, these aren't bumper cars or ATVs.  You aren't cool when you are jamming the brakes trying to slide sideways, puddle jumping over tree routes and basically treating it like your own dune buggy. Two separate carts have been wrecked in the last couple months by people trying cross the creek not at the designated location. Idiots.

Fifth, those signs on par 3s that say "keep carts on path from tee to green on this hole"? They don't have exceptions because you had a crap swing and shoved it 50 yards into the fairway off to the right. Part of taking your medicine is following the established rules and walking over there, not driving over because you have a cart. Oh, on that 180 yard par 3 you chunked it 80 yards? Sign is still there, walk to your ball, don't drive the cart there.

 

Side note: Having a cart doesn't give you the right to drive into the adjacent fairway your errant ball went into when a group is teeing off, stand there obliviously trying to choose a club, and shanking one back.

 

There is more but that is probably whiny enough. Carts have a place in the game letting people such as the retirees I often golf with continue to golf. Physically decrepit people like myself as well. Done right, they can speed play and make it enjoyable for people who don't want to walk. Long or hilly courses that are a tough walk become more playable. And for some people (my wife for example) they are an intrinsic part of the game. I just want people to have some basic consideration. Keep the cart in the designated areas, don't drive it abusively, don't use it as an excuse to be rude to your fellow golfers, put some thought into the most appropriate place to leave it for pace of play purposes... 

 

Rant over.

 

For now.

 

 

[ShaftFarmer]

Sounds more like an etiquette issue more than a golf cart issue

[Carl3]

24 minutes ago, darthweasel said:

So tired of seeing people parking on the fringe of the green.

LOL. When I served on a state board and their code committee I found out that there is a federal disability law that went into effect a few years ago that permits people to drive their cart onto the tee box as well as onto the green itself!

So be careful if you try to get in the way of someone trying to exercise their federally-protected civil liberties. 😁

[Sandy Divot]

We have guys that drive carts where they want. Sings mean nothing. Most of the offenders are members. It used to get me upset, but the staff wouldn't do anything, so I don't worry about is anymore.

[phillyk]

Carts should definitely be 30ft from all greens and tee boxes, or better yet stay on the path when you are close.  The other big thing that bugs me, as a worker, is letting kids drive.  I've seen more accidents occur from kids driving than adults.  The only 2 accidents last month occurred because a kid was driving when they were not supposed to.  The first bullet point at our shop in the cart agreement is that you must be 21 to rent/drive the cart. 

One kid T-boned a cart right in front of the pro shop while the dad was on the passenger side.  We all say, yeah that'll never happen if I let my kid drive, but that dad was saying the same thing prior to the accident.  A wide open fairway, no trees, whatever, but go near anything at all, and the adult should be driving.

[Club Rat]

Cost for using a cart is becoming ridiculous.
Some courses are charging $30 per player ...

I own my own cart, pay an annual trail fee (Too much IMO)
I always have other Members ride with me (Club still obtains Cart Fee from Riders)
And the most ridiculous new club cart fee - Club charges Members an Annual Rate $900  (unlimited family rate)
while they charge Private Cart Owners an annual Trail Fee - $1200 !!!  😡 WTF ...

Rant Over

[Double Mocha Man]

A few years ago, in a scramble tournament (maybe I don't need to say anymore) a couple driving up the cartpath to the clubhouse after the 18th hole drove through the wooden fence and went over the cliff.   A forested cliffside saved them.  But now that small mountainside has been cleared of trees to allow sunshine to reach the green below.  They both survived (alcohol helps here) and they ended up owning a busted up power cart.  If they do it again they're tumbling down a cliffside of 100-150 feet.  Not survivable this time.

[ChetlovesMer]

1 hour ago, darthweasel said:

First off...keep the cart in the designated areas. So tired of seeing people parking on the fringe of the green.

Maybe I've just been lucky, but I haven't really seen this. (One exception shown below) Having written that, I haven't played very much THIS year. Maybe with the COVID thing a lot of newer golfers are out there who don't know what the etiquette is? 

 

1 hour ago, Carl3 said:

there is a federal disability law that went into effect a few years ago that permits people to drive their cart onto the tee box as well as onto the green itself!

At the courses I've seen the folks who get do this get the special carts with a handicap flag on it.

There's one gentleman who often plays a course near my parents house who does take his handicap marked cart just about everywhere. He doesn't take it into the bunkers. He actually doesn't take it onto the green, but I kind of wish he would. When he gets out of his cart he uses a cane. (I shit you not, a CANE!) and walks across the green. I think I'd much rather putt across cart tracks then try to guess where the ball is going to end up after it hits one of the one inch diameter holes his cane has punched in the green. I think if I played that course often I'd buy him a special cane with a flat plate on the bottom of it to use when ever he walks across the green. Or at least one of these doom-a-hoosiers. 

[ShaftFarmer]

1 hour ago, Club Rat said:

Cost for using a cart is becoming ridiculous.
Some courses are charging $30 per player ...

I own my own cart, pay an annual trail fee (Too much IMO)
I always have other Members ride with me (Club still obtains Cart Fee from Riders)
And the most ridiculous new club cart fee - Club charges Members an Annual Rate $900  (unlimited family rate)
while they charge Private Cart Owners an annual Trail Fee - $1200 !!!  😡 WTF ...

Rant Over

So $1200 per year just to use your own golf cart at the course? That's insane!

[mclaren4life]

Agreed on it being the people driving as opposed to carts. Most of the places I play have GPS carts and if you go any place you aren’t supposed to they slow down to a turtle crawl and tell you to return to the appropriate place. As for kids driving, I let my son drive all the time. He’s 15 so not a huge deal. I started him out just going between the tee shot and hole and I’d drive to the next hole. After a while i turned it all over to him. The whole 21 to drive doesn’t really mean much. I’ve seen adults driving much worse than he does and you add alcohol to that and it gets even worse. 

[mcanadiens]

11 minutes ago, mclaren4life said:

Most of the places I play have GPS carts and if you go any place you aren’t supposed to they slow down to a turtle crawl and tell you to return to the appropriate place.

I remember the first time I encountered one of those. My buddy went way left on one hole and crapped himself when the cart slowed down.

We had a newbie with us who was struggling and it wasn't long before the cart started nagging us about our pace.

Fun day.

[Bonvivant]

1 hour ago, ShaftFarmer said:

So $1200 per year just to use your own golf cart at the course? That's insane!

Golf carts increase wear on the course and increase revenue for the club. Having someone bring their own cart means that they lose the revenue, but still have to clean up the mess. If the club normally charges 20 for a cart, thats 60 fees worth. Not bad if you ride 100 times a year and own your own cart. 

[iacas]

4 minutes ago, Bonvivant said:

Golf carts increase wear on the course and increase revenue for the club. Having someone bring their own cart means that they lose the revenue, but still have to clean up the mess. If the club normally charges 20 for a cart, thats 60 fees worth. Not bad if you ride 100 times a year and own your own cart. 

I think the unlimited cart fee was $900 though.

[Club Rat]

23 minutes ago, Bonvivant said:

Having someone bring their own cart means that they lose the revenue,

NO, they charge private owners an annual fee, plus get a daily cart fee from other members who ride in my personal cart.
I have to maintain my cart, batteries, tires, brakes, shocks etc.
The club gets a free ride and revenue from private owners at our expense and charge us more than the members annual fee.

 

[Bonvivant]

1 minute ago, Club Rat said:

NO, they charge private owners an annual fee, plus get a daily cart fee from other members who ride in my personal cart.
I have to maintain my cart, batteries, tires, brakes, shocks etc.
The club gets a free ride and revenue from private owners at our expense and charge us more than the members annual fee.

 

Does the member fee include carts?

25 minutes ago, iacas said:

I think the unlimited cart fee was $900 though.

Oh, then sure, a bit silly. Still, carts harm golf courses, mostly over time, but sometimes immediately. 

[iacas]

22 minutes ago, Bonvivant said:

Oh, then sure, a bit silly. Still, carts harm golf courses, mostly over time, but sometimes immediately. 

That's not a bit silly. That's flat out insane.

• $900 - No other expense to you, but unlimited use of our carts. For your whole family.
• $1200 - All the expense of maintaining your own cart (and run it: gas or electricity), PLUS $300 on top of that, to use your own cart.

That's how I read it.

Oh, and you can't even invite your buddies to ride in your cart… because they have to pay, so they may as well get their own cart.

Stupidest thing I've heard this week @Club Rat.

[FlyingAce]

My club charges me $120/mth to use my own golf cart and the fee applies during winter when there is snow, or even during covid shutdown earlier this year when the club was closed. They also charge a cart fee ($18) to anyone who rides with me in MY private cart that I have already paid to use on the course!

Everyone drives their cart up to the fringe of the greens, even the headpro and staff so you cannot fault members for doing the same. 

This course is in a residential community (but a separate business entity) and there are no gates to prevent anyone from driving on the course. What annoys the crap out of me are parents who allow their underage kids to drive carts (rule is 16 with a license plus insurance) but I have seen kids so young that they had to stand up inorder to hit the pedal and be able to see above the steering wheel....young kids driving their friends around, driving on the fairway against golf traffic when people are playing, or groups of 5 teenagers with 1 set of clubs in a 2 seater cart (kids hanging on like monkeys) sneaking on to play...The club knows about all these issues but they are not doing anything about it...

Edited August 21, 2020 by FlyingAce

[StuM]

It is true that carts can cause hare but I think the real problem is inconsiderate drivers of those carts.  I think some people believe "90 Degrees" and "Cart Path Only" apply to everyone except themselves.  The other day I saw  person (intentionally not saying "Golfer") move the rope to drive into an area.  He got out of the cart, pulled two stakes to lower the rope then drove 20 yards into the fairway to the ball.  Then drove back to the path leaving the rope on the ground.  And to be clear, there was no handicap flag on the cart.

That is the only time I saw that happen but have seen ropes on the ground on many occasions on many courses over the years so it must be more common that I would have thought.