Golf Carts — An Amazingly Diversified Niche Industry
Golfers out for a Sunday afternoon game just take them for granted on the golf course, and never think about their origin. I am talking about golf carts, those miniature vehicles dotting each golf course. Even so, golf cart production is a multi-million dollar industry and different systems abound. Golf carts are manufactured as miniature cars, and golf-cart corporations provide leasing and financing choices just as the huge car corporations do.
Golf originates from a medieval game played on the coast of Scotland in the 15th century. Golfers would hit a pebble instead of a manufactured ball around the sand dunes employing a stick or wide club. As time passed, stones were exchanged for man-made balls, the earliest of which were thin leather bags stuffed with feathers. The gutta-percha ball wasn’t invented until 1848 and might be hit the maximum distance of 225 yards. In 1899 rubber balls were invented that may reach distances of 430 yards if hit by a professional. Golf sticks evolved into carefully weighted golf clubs, and in the 1880’s the use of golf club bags became fashionable. The caddie, a...