Let’s face it — deep down, we’re all race car drivers. Or at least, we want to be.
Give us a lower-horsepower machine without the rules and regulations of the state and federal authorities to govern us, stir in a little liquid courage and you’ve got the recipe for a lot of torn up golf carts! That being said, there’s a time and a place for it — and it’s not on the golf course.
Here are 20 things you should absolutely, never ever do while driving a golf cart:
20. Slow Down Through the Turns
You wouldn’t take a corner at full-speed with your street car, right? Then why the hell would you do it with an ill-handling golf cart?
19. If You Don’t Know the Gas From the Brake, Don’t Drive
Without getting too political, there are plenty of people out there who think the elderly shouldn’t be allowed to drive after a certain age. Obviously, the older you get, the more you forget things. Things like the brake pedal being on the left and the gas being on the right:
18. Don’t Let Someone Without a License Drive
Generally speaking, driving is easy — but there are a select few out there who avoid the task all together. Those people should never be allowed to drive a golf cart. Despite the fact that golf carts have significantly less power, are smaller and slower than an automobile, they still require a certain skill set drive. Don’t believe me? Watch what happens when this lady without a license cuts loose:
17. Just Because you CAN do a Wheelie Doesn’t Mean You Should
From the first time you put a kid on a bike, they’re generally obsessed with trying to “pop a wheelie” — boys, especially. Add some horsepower to a generally light-weight machine and you’ve just got to know we’re going to try it. Just because you can, however, doesn’t mean you should:
16. Don’t Forget About the Cart in Front of You
Texting and driving causes a lot of accidents — most them, however, are fenderbenders. That can happen at the golf course, too (yet another reason not to bring your phone to the course). Always, always, always be watching for the cart in front of you:
15. Don’t Leave Things on the Seat that May Fall, Wedge Gas Pedal
Golf carts don’t know who are driving them. They can’t tell the difference between a human being with a brain and faculties and, say, a fallen cooler or misplaced golf club. If something on the seat is heavy enough to engage the gas pedal, the cart WILL take off and eliminate anything in it’s path — like this one!
14. Don’t Back Up Down Hills
I feel like this shouldn’t need an explanation, but some people still try it. If you were wondering why you shouldn’t do it, here’s a fine example:
13. Don’t Try to “Drift” the Cart
Ohh, a fan of “Fast and Furious,” are you? Maybe you haven’t noticed, but none of the high performance vehicles you saw in those movies look anything like the golf cart you rented — so stop trying to drive it like it is. For all of us, please:
12. Don’t Show Off Without Knowing Where Trees Are
Sounds a little specific? You’re right — it is. But you know you’ve tried to show off your golf cart driving skills only to have it end in an accident. Kind of like this kid:
11. Don’t Over Drive the Corner
Normally, this is a racing term — racecar drivers don’t want to carry too much speed into a turn and miss their breaking points. You wouldn’t normally think it’s an issue with golf carts, but low and behold — there are folks who struggle with this:
10. Don’t Leave the Parking Brake Off
You know that little square pedal attached to the top of the giant brake pedal? Yeah, make sure that bad boy is fully activated before you leave your cart – especially if you’re on a hill near water. Unless, of course, you don’t mind something like this happening to you:
9. Don’t Turn Too Sharply
BMW’s are meant to turn sharply — golf carts, are not. A quick YouTube search will yield plenty of evidence that this is the case:
8. Don’t Back Up at High Speeds
Again, driving a golf cart may be the closest you ever come to being Evil Knievel (or hell, even Stanton Barrett) but that doesn’t mean your EZ-GO can handle any elaborate maneuvers. Like, say, reverse 180’s:
7. Don’t Drive it Like a NASCAR
You’re not Kyle Busch,your local golf course is not Daytona International Speedway and your golf cart is not a $500,000 stock car:
6. Don’t Let Johnny Knoxville Drive
I’m not sure the opportunity will ever arise to have “Jackass” star Johnny Knoxville drive your golf cart, but if it does DO NOT let him drive it. I don’t really need to explain this one, do I?
(watch on mute, audio may be NSFW)
5. Don’t Drive Fast When You Don’t Know the Course
Speed of play is a big deal nowadays — but that doesn’t mean you ought to sacrifice safety for the sake of keeping pace. What happens if you’re flying around the course then come across an unexpected bump? I’ll tell you what — this:
4. Hold on Tight at All Times
What was it Samuel L. Jackson said to do in the first “Jurassic Park?” “Hold on to your butts?” Well, that’s great advice when you’re riding in a golf cart with your buddy. You never know what they’re going to do — or when they’re going to turn fast:
3. Don’t Ride Outside the Cart
This should be pretty obvious, but unfortunately, we still have to warn people. It’s kind of like “Caution: Hot” on your hot coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts. You wouldn’t think we’d need to pass along this information, but we do:
2. Know Where Bunkers Are, Don’t Drive Through Them
What’s another word to describe a bunker? Hazard. Good! Now, bunker’s aren’t just a hazard to your golf ball — they’re also hazardous to your golf cart, so know where you are in relation to bunkers at all time. If you’re not, you could end up like this guy?
1. Don’t Drink and Drive
It’s probably the golden rule of driving but, apparently, it doesn’t go without saying — people need to be reminded all the time not to drink and drive. The rule of the road with your real car should also be heeded on the golf course: