Sun City’s three-cart rule was hurriedly put in place, ignoring golfer input, supposedly to protect grass at tee boxes and greens adjacent to the golf cart paths. I believe it was based on unproven and theoretical, not actual, Sun City course conditions.
The rule requires groups of four and five golfers to share three carts. It is evident to most golfers that carts with two riders cause more wear on playable areas due to driving back and forth to each occupant’s ball location. Maintenance vehicles and lack of rain or irrigation are among the major contributors of wear of dormant grass.
The rule also impacts golf revenue due to increased slow play of groups sharing carts and golfers playing in smaller groups to comply with the rule while avoiding sharing carts. This results in fewer paying golfers per day.
The rule is universally disliked by our golfing community for many reasons. Cart owners do not want the inconvenience or risk of sharing their cart with strangers, smokers or those who might have flu, COVID, etc.
Cart owners should have the right to operate their own carts. Those renting carts can continue to share carts based on rental availability.
Enforcing the current rule of using cart paths only in conjunction with the 90-degree cart rule when driving onto the course in addition to removing dormant grass and widening cart paths at tee boxes with concrete or decomposed granite to allow carts to pass or drive into shaded areas in the summer is a more realistic and fair solution. Widening cart paths has been done successfully at some Sun City courses.
It’s time for golfers to speak up or support speakers at the April member-board exchange and voice their dislike of this rule, and for the board to listen to their opinions and not just management and the golf advisory committee.
If there has been negligible improvement of the courses due to the three-cart limitation, it should be overturned and more creative solutions considered.
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