Golf carts are some of the most practical and environmentally friendly vehicles around. These small versatile vehicles have a long history. Although originally used for the recreational activity of golfing, today, these vehicles are used for a number of reasons. There are even entire cities built around golf cart ownership. These help citizens of these communities drastically reduce their carbon footprint. Let's take a look at the history of golf carts.

Golf Carts Defined

Golf carts are actually not carts at all, although they were in the past. By definition, a cart is a hand-pulled vehicle or an animal-pulled vehicle. In the early days, golf carts were pulled by caddies on the golf course to help golfers who were elderly or unable to walk the course for some reason. The technical definition today would be golf "cars" since these vehicles are self-propelled rather than hand-pulled.

Early History

Golf carts are a very popular amenity on golf courses today, but that wasn't always the case. In the early days, motorized golf carts were loud and obnoxious, so much so that many golf courses banned the use of them. According to Auger & Auger, only about 40% of golf courses had carts in 1955. As the design of golf carts improved and became less noisy, the vehicles became more popular. By 1967, 92% of courses had golf carts.

According to Greenfree365, golf carts were first invented in 1932 by Lyman Beecher. This was the hand-pulled cart used by caddies to transport elderly or disabled golfers. Beecher himself had arthritis but didn't want that to stop him from enjoying his favorite sport. FairwayIQ found that the motorized cart was invented by John Keener later and the popularity of these vehicles soared in the 1950s. Soon every golfer wanted a cart.

Golf Carts Today

Golf carts today aren't just limited to the golf courses. Golf carts are useful vehicles to have around for many purposes. There are even whole cities that are built around golf cart use. Some cities pride themselves in being entirely golf cart accessible with cart trails leading from all neighborhoods to all commercial areas and even to schools.

This basic history of golf carts illustrates how much these vehicles have changed over the years. If you're interested in purchasing a golf cart for yourself, please contact Limitless Carts today, or stop by to see our inventory.