Personal golf carts or scooters not allowed ?

[Mario Good Times]

my Course just received a couple Finn scooters and I tried them out and liked them. So I decided I might as well buy one for myself. Lucky the GM over heard me and told me shall I purchase one I could not take it to the course as they do not allow personal electric carts on the course. Does anyone know why that is? I was thinking with the covid thing going on we and all other courses are short on carts so I would be helping them out on that. The Finn scooters are small and speeds up play.

[soregongolfer]

Are they allowing personal gas carts? My initial thought was money. Courses are struggling all over and renting you a cart is better than charging a trail fee.

[Mario Good Times]

No personal gas or electric carts. Only one person per cart these days so they are running out of carts every weekend ..

[ATLswinga]

My course charges an annual path fee if you have you’re own cart. They told me it is to help them cover their insurance premium, as they have more liability if customers use personal carts. I can see it being a liability issue for your course.

[Carolina Golfer 2]

Liability insurance only covers course owned carts. If you were to injure yourself or someone else in your cart or scooter, they could be sued.

In addition they can't control the speed limit on your personal cart or scooter like they can their own fleet.

[caniac6]

To make money.

[david.c.w]

It is mostly money. Margins on cart rentals is something like 700%. Total yearly lease cost divided by total yearly cart uses comes out to something like $4/round. I bet the cart fee is more than $4.

[Cwing]

Most hit it already:

1) Liability

2) Revenue. In my opinion carts are way over priced. How is I can rent a cart for $16 and ride solo yet when a second person is joining the rate goes to $32 ($16 p/person). That stated, the price they charge must include liability, fuel, cart repairs and maintenance, cart path maintenance and upkeep. I’m sure they also account for some level of course damage / maintenance as well as a result of cart use.

3) Parking would also be an issue with those trailers

[Mario Good Times]

I understand that. But you would hope golf is changing and this will only help pace of play. I hope courses loosen up the regulations and adopt to change

[Mario Good Times]

No trailer needed with the scooters they fit in the back of a pick up truck

[Carolina Golfer 2]

Wrong, if that was the case, courses could charge a trail or usage fee. Some courses such as ours don't have a cart fee or a walking only feel. It's just a greens fee, cart included.

[davep043]

Improved pace of play can't make up for revenue lost. Pace of play won't pay the attorney fees for a negligence lawsuit for a golfer-owned "vehicle". Another factor, the course likely cannot reduce their cart fleet no matter how many people bring their personal vehicles, they need a minimum number to handle events and outings. A major part of cart cost to the club is purchase or lease cost, and that doesn't get reduced when you use your personal vehicle. And the last is that cart rental profits go into the bottom line of the club. Reduce rentals, you have to make up the money elsewhere, so maybe greens fees increase for every player.

I think most courses are trying to adapt to change, but golf courses in general have been under financial strain for a number of years, lots of courses going under, or being sold for housing. They're really unlikely to be looking to adapt to changes which reduce their revenue in these difficult times.

[Carolina Golfer 2]

All great points, and while this doesn't apply directly to personal carts/scooters. Having the single cart riders not only costs the courses more in operations--gas, maintenance, cleaning, labor, etc. It take a much harder toll on the course as well, having 16 tire tracks all over each fairway as opposed to 8. Multiply that by 5 tee times per hour and that's a lot of traffic on the course during the most stressful time of year, which I know you're well aware of our 20 plus days now of 90 degrees or more, and no end in site.

[Mario Good Times]

Pace of play will increase revenue. More people playing rounds in a day more people will play golf if takes less time. That’s the big picture. I’m not talking about bringing my own cart, I’m talking about bringing my own Finn scooter. So as a 4 some most likely will still have 2 carts rented. I’ll just have my own scooter.

[davep043]

I agree, the COVID stuff puts a different slant on a lot of issues, but we all hope it won't last forever. On the other hand, there ARE many clubs with long-standing policies banning personal vehicle use on the course. Should they temporarily lift that prohibition? Wouldn't they then have to define a new (temporary) policy outlining what is allowed, restrictions on speed, proof of insurance requirements, trail fee, etc? What happens when the restrictions end, policies go back to normal, and the OP is stuck with a $3500 piece of equipment he's not allowed to use? I think the manager did the right thing.

And reading the original post, it sounds like "The club bought these cool things to rent, I'll buy my own and cut the club out of the rental fee".

[Imp]

You can't blame the club for trying to, you know... protect the club. Liability and lawyering is a bitch. Until such time the next shift happens like when they went from caddies to carts.... you never know if the next one might be "no carts, bring your own".

For those saying it's a money issue, I disagree. There is no money lost to the club on courses that have a cart fee separate from walking. They simply lost on the opportunity to upsell the customer when the customer can refuse a non-mandatory fee.

That said, pace of play is better when you have 4 individual players going to their own balls instead of driving to one side, looking for a ball, hitting, and then the other (2 person cart). Sure, WE all know you drop them off, but most other public? Ha. Good luck. (Seen the post on coolers allowed?) ;)

--kC

 

 

[Carolina Golfer 2]

The part about the customer having a $3500 scooter and not being able to use it is very valid. As a course account, I would have been able to get a personal use one for a little more than $2K. After checking with our legal department even I wouldn't have been able to ride it as an employee, unless it was purchased directly by the course. Legal! They take all the fun out of things...ha

[smashdn]

Local club let's you store your own cart on premises. Gas carts store at one rate, electric another as you are using the club's electricity.

[dokex]

Baltimore CC does not let their members use their personally owned pull carts; they must rent one from the club. Go figure.

[az2au]

That's been the case at every private club I've belonged to as well.

[Schley]

When I get back to the states I'll be bringing my golf cart back with me.

[Mario Good Times]

Now that’s awesome !!!!

[alphabits12]

Our course makes you purchase your pushcart through them and then charges you a “trail” fee once a year. It’s very frustrating..Anything to make money

[Hawkeye77]

No matter what the rule or the justification for it folks always believe fervently their personal convenience or desires should govern.

Course wants to make money, limit liability exposure, whatever the reason - just need to roll with it. Doesn't mean you can't try and influence the course to change its policies, but you aren't being "wronged" in any sense.

[BNGL]

the same two reasons that govern every decision that clubs make; money and liability.

[Greenie]

And why is that Carolina? To make more money or maybe not to lose any when a walker comes through your door?

Being a walker most of the time I see more courses going to just a greens fee, cart included. I look at that as just another way to make more money by charging a walker the same rate even though they are not using a cart.

I'd say most courses charge around $14 for a cart. Try charging a $14 trail fee so you don't lose any money on a walker and see how that goes down.

[blitzgolf]

Probably liability. Don't see why they couldn't charge a storage/ usage fee like some courses do with member personal powercaddys

[Carolina Golfer 2]

It's wrong in our case. Oi courses are not walkable for 95% of players. So we don't offer a walking rate.

Sure there is a factor of cart maintence and cost into our greens fee. Just like there are operating costs for all areas factored in.

The reason for not allowing outside motorized carts is plain and simple liability. We have no way of controlling the speed on them like we do ours. The potential of them out injuring themselves or another player are what makes the policy.

 

[KopplaMoto]

how long to play 9 holes on a golf scooter?

[Max Wedge]

The golf course in which I am a member has Finn Cycles every year for a week for people to rent, like they are pushing them. Great idea! I ran into a fella on the course who had his own e bike with a Divnick bag carrier. I was impressed enough to buy my own! I showed up to the course with it. They allowed me to finish my round with it, then banned it from the course! I was so disappointed. I explained to them that THEY gave me the incentive to buy it. Their reasoning is liability and if they let me drive it on the course they would have to let every Tom, Dick and Harry ride their own golf carts and people bringing them in by the trailer full.