"Why Do People Buy Golf Carts?" Tidbits with Tony

Greetings folks!  I must apologize, because It’s been awhile since our last blog.  We’ve been busy working on our new Owensboro, KY location.  Owensboro is an exciting addition to the Carts Gone Wild family!  It’s always been our dream to open more locations.  We fully plan to maintain our “every customer is family” values.  We got our first chance to work in Owensboro 2 weeks ago.  We had a trade show booth at the Owensboro Convention Center during the annual Boat and RV show.  Good attendance overall and a very nice show.  We sold some carts, but more importantly we met tons of great people who were excited to see us coming to Owensboro.  This probably sounds funny, but Owensboro is a big city for us Haubstadt folks.  The nice thing it that Owensboro still has a small-town feel to it.  We will fit perfect in this community.  Please come check out our new location at 3900 West Parrish Ave, Owensboro adjacent to Owensboro RV.  We have a newly renovated 9000sq ft showroom to showcase our products!  Come check it out!

I hope everyone is hyped up for spring and carting weather.  Prime time is right around the corner.  I can’t wait to see the trees bloom and the birds a chirping!  Winter is tough for me to swallow!  I tell everyone that I’m allergic to cold weather.  LOL.  This week’s blog is about a question that I get all the time.  This always comes from those who don’t own a cart.  “WHY DO PEOPLE BUY GOLF CARTS?”  I hear it again and again.  This is easy to answer for any golf cart owner.  Carting is a pleasant alternative of transportation.  I refer to golf carts as personal transportation vehicles, because few carts today are truly used for golf.  The term golf cart does them NO injustice!  Riding carts is about the experience, memories, dreams, etc.  For example, let’s talk about Grandparents.  It’s about those Grandkids asking to go for a ride.  For a parent it might mean loading up the kids at Halloween to go trick or treating.  Carting might involve loading up a cooler and some fishing poles to go fishing.  I know some little kids who walk around babbling “golf cart, golf cart, golf cart.”  So funny to see this happen.  I see it in our showroom all the time.  Here’s something to remember regarding this question “Why do people buy golf carts?”  You’re not buying a golf cart.  You’re purchasing the experience and memories!  Same for owning a boat, camper, bicycle, etc.  It’s all about those special experiences in life.  You won’t get that driving a passenger vehicle.  I don’t believe that those who complain about carts on the street have any clue or appreciation for this experience.      

I often drive around our small town of Haubstadt and I’m amazed at how the times have changed.  There are literally carts everywhere.  Families riding around enjoying the community while visiting with each other.  Carts parked at the ball fields, restaurants, grocery store, bars, etc.  The streets are especially busy during the holidays or when festivals take place.  The people riding carts are much more apt to enjoy the community to the fullest.  I’ve lost count of the number of carts riding the streets in Haubstadt.  It’s no longer dependent on good weather.  I see them riding year around.  Many of our customers come back later for a cab or enclosure.  Heck, for many folks it’s become their #1 means of transportation.    

We often visit Kuttawa, Kentucky on the weekends.  Kuttawa is a small town located on the north end of Lake Barkley.  This town thrives on tourism.  We absolutely LOVE Kuttawa.  It reminds me of Mayberry from the Andy Griffith Show.  It’s one of those towns where everyone at the local hardware store knows you by first name and tourism keeps it flourishing.  I say small town, because it’s probably a mile-long stretch filled with historic homes & tourism stops.  If you blink when driving through Kuttawa, then you probably missed the town!  There are boat docks, city parks, boat ramps, and restaurants all within this small stretch.  Perhaps the best part of town is that EVERYONE is in a good mood.  The golf cart to population ratio is nearly 1 to 1 in Kuttawa.  Golf carts are parked everywhere!  It’s becoming a competition to see who can have the coolest ride.  The first thing we do when we arrive is hop on the golf cart and go for a ride.  It’s rare to ride around and not pass several carts.  You can even visit the local Dollar General and see carts parked out front.  For those people asking, “why do people buy golf carts?”  Well as the comedian says, “there’s your sign!”  Spend a weekend riding a cart around and you will full appreciation for the experience and enjoyment it brings.  There’s simply no comparison to riding in a vehicle.  I love seeing our customers making those memories.  This is why we do what we do here at Carts Gone Wild.  We don’t sell products.  We sell memories. 

Of course, there are many reasons for people to buy golf carts.  Many elderly folks need an alternative safer means of transportation.  They no longer feel safe driving a large passenger vehicle.  Many of our elderly customers drive to the grocery store or simply use it around the yard.  We have tons of customers who just ride back and forth to the mailbox or around their property doing yardwork.  The other reasons for owning a cart are quite extensive including camping, racing, vacationing, resorts, subdivisions, etc.

Probably the coolest usage of carts I’ve seen in my entire lifetime was at the Villages in Sumpter County, Florida.  I wish that every cart owner could visit this place.  This is a subdivision for people over the age of 55.  There are 120K residents and there are 20 new residents PER DAY moving into the villages.  There are an average of 250 new homes sold PER MONTH!  There were 2.5 million rounds of golf played in The Villages last year alone!  The number of miles driven by golf carts during these rounds of golf are estimated at 6.3 million miles.  Mind boggling.  The footprint covers 33,000 acres.  The Villages employs 12,000 people.  This is a city, not really a subdivision.  There are villages within the Villages meaning that they are separated into smaller communities.  Each community is set up with certain items like a shopping districts, malls, outdoor movie theatres, bars, fitness centers, restaurants, golf courses, etc.  Additionally, you can join about any sport under the sun.  They have teams for every sport from cards, swimming, baseball, pickleball, track, polo and shuffleboard.  If you can think of it, they have it.  It’s estimated that there are approx. 60,000 golf carts in The Villages.  There are over 100 miles of golf cart paths in The Villages. Yes, it’s true.  This is not a typo.  I highly recommend everyone to experience this place one time in their life.  Who knows, I might retire there some day.  Sounds like fun to me!             

Many people don’t know this, but there’s tons of carts used in industrial applications.  Especially municipalities like local schools or universities.  Everything from 2 to 8 passenger limos.  Food delivery, police or security, flat beds, tool carts, assembly line tuggers, dump beds, compact ambulances, etc.  The list goes on and on.  We recently visited a local oil refinery.  They have roughly 30 on site full-size pick-up trucks.  These trucks are used on site to run around the refinery.  They are looking to reduce cost and more importantly improve safety.  Imagine the cost of these vehicles, gas, insurance, and the liability that goes along with them.  Replacing these with smaller transportation cuts cost by more than 50% and drastically improves safety risk.  Imagine what his can do to the bottom line of any business.  The cart uses out there are mind boggling.  The cost savings are even more amazing.

I hope that I’ve helped answer the question” Why do people buy golf carts?” My belief is that we don’t sell golf carts.  We manufacture experiences, laughter, smiles, and memories.  This is our “WHY.”  We love what we do and love coming to work every day at Carts Gone Wild.  I will agree that there’s lots of different uses for carts, but it’s not about the uses.  You can’t put a price on memories.

Thanks, and I truly appreciate everyone reading this blog.