Golf cart essentials: What to consider before making a purchase
So, you’re in the market for a new golf cart to shuttle you and your mates around your local course? Good for you!
But you ought to know that even if you’ve been playing for years and have already used carts throughout your golfing life, buying your own opens up a whole new range of factors that need to be considered if you’re to make the correct choice.
In this article we are going to dig into the very things that will help you to end up with the cart of your dreams (if such a thing exists) without sacrificing too much in terms of cost, efficiency, and reliability.
Check how it’s powered
Most golf carts will be powered by electricity rather than some kind of internal combustion engine (that is, most normal carts and not some novelty models).
However, not all batteries that power these carts are created equally, and when you’re in the market for a new buggy, you should do a bit of homework on this matter before letting your emotions get the better of you and jumping straight into the first one you set eyes on! Without getting into too much detail in this post, different batteries will have differing ranges and lifespans depending on how they’re constructed.
This post compared lithium iron phosphate with lithium ion batteries and gives a great deep dive into all the main differences and what you ought to know. Once you’ve found a form of battery that meets your requirements best, you can move on to other decisions, such as how large or small you need it to be.
Consider the cart’s size
Are you the introverted type who prefers to play solo most of the time, or are you a social butterfly who uses every opportunity to play with your friends and generate a larger social network? The answer to this question will decide the size of the cart that suits your style best. There is no point in spending more for a multi-seater if you only ever plan on driving yourself or one other person around.
On the other hand, you might save money by purchasing a smaller buggy, but if you plan on transporting lots of people around, you will burn the motor out faster and cause all sorts of damage by overloading it.
Research warranty and service plans
Any cart you invest in should be bought from a reputable dealership that offers a comprehensive warranty as standard. Although you can add more coverage as you desire, it must come with a base-level warranty that will cover the main components in case they break in the first few years.
You can discuss this with the dealership sales folks, who can give you the full low-down on what to look out for, but the point is that you should never drive away without at least having basic coverage.
Ask yourself if it needs to be brand new
As a final aside, you might want to ask yourself if you actually need a brand-new model and whether a second-hand option might be more cost-effective. Obviously, a second-hand model won’t come with all the after-market bells and whistles that a new one generally comes with, but you could save a considerable amount of money, which is great if you only go golfing every other weekend.
People are shocked when they discover how much actually goes into choosing a cart that works for them. However, by using this post as a starting point, you should end up in one that ticks all of your boxes and allows you to focus on improving your game rather than having to lug your kit around the course.
