Golf Carts - Origin Story

Golf Carts - Origin Story

There are various ways to influence people to get on the golf course, for many beginners the offering of driving a golf cart can be enticing enough to get a new player to try. Whim wanted to look for the origins of the golf cart and understand it’s lineage. The research provided a look into how golf carts have grown into prominence and revealed some of the freakiest iterations that popped up along the way.

 

Early versions included rickshaws that were pulled by caddy, Lyman Beecher of North Carolina is viewed a pioneer, who invented an early prototype because he was having trouble walking the hills at his golf course. More refined, yet early iterations of golf carts were originally marketed to housewives, as many items of 1940s were. The carts could be used to tote groceries to and from the grocery store. During the 1950s we saw a boom in which golf courses realized that they could make money renting the carts to their members who couldn’t afford to own. The industry grew faster in the 1970s when golf carts began to be used in small communities and retirement commons. The design hasn’t changed much since this period yet in recent years. We have seen the ushering in of the customized era, in which personalities and flamboyance are on display.

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