The Evolution of Golf Carts
Golf Carts are no longer simple vehicles meant solely for the course. They have evolved into much more versatile, stylish rides. With all the golf cart customization available in today’s market you could compare an average golf cart to a Jeep Wrangler. The possibilities are endless, from exterior upgrades like custom paint jobs, wraps, lift kits, and rims to performance boosts like improved brakes and suspensions. Most people don’t even consider those when starting with their golf cart customization. If you are like most, the first things that come to mind tend to be custom seats, stereo systems, built-in coolers, and of course, the number of cup holders. This is the beauty of purchasing your own golf cart. It’s a blank canvas ready to fit your personality and create something one-of-a-kind.
Making Golf Carts Street Legal
Many of what is considered golf cart customization are necessary for making them street-legal. If that is your goal (or required where you wish to drive around) you will need seatbelts, headlights, turn signals, etc. There will be a clear list of necessities where you are located but you should also consider some quality-of-life upgrades. High-impact windshields, roll-away alarms, security systems, upgraded or additional batteries to handle all the LED lights you want to add! This will make golf cart ownership more enjoyable overall and help prevent some of the more common issues that occur…. Like forgetting to set the parking brake or letting the battery drain to zero because you let the speakers play a bit too long.
Balancing Features and Functionality
There is what seems like an unlimited number of accessories available and so many possibilities based on the specific use case for your golf cart. What I want to convey is there should be a healthy balance of features and function when it comes to golf cart customizations. For every cool upgrade you plan to make think of any component of the cart that could be negatively impacted as a result before moving on to the next. Following this structure will prevent you from overdoing anything to sour the experience because, after all, your modded golf cart is all about your enjoyment! Try to avoid building your cart for the purpose of “keeping up with the Joneses”, the process of creating your perfect golf cart should be in the enjoyable category of the experience as well.
My Personal Favorites
I live in a small town where golf carts are beginning to outnumber the number of cars you see on the road. I have seen everything from the fresh off the lot purchase to the dream cart. I wouldn’t call myself an expert but I have seen tons of golf cart customization.
Underglow
This is my absolute favorite. This is accomplished with LED lights mounted on the bottom of the cart. In a lot of cases, these can be paired with an app on the phone and controlled with Bluetooth. Be careful, some colors are not allowed on the road to avoid confusion with emergency vehicles.
Lift Kits
I don’t mean something where you would need a ladder to get in but a quality 3–6-inch lift kit provides a nice look for a golf cart. I am not sure how functional this is for a vehicle meant to drive on paved roads and short grass, but it does add ground clearance. When this is not overdone, I think it adds a great touch.
Rims
It seems that there are an infinite number of custom rims for golf carts. These capture a range of personalities from the classy, polished look to the tough and rugged type. Bonus points when they match the paint job. Triple bonus points if they spin.
Speaker System
I am a sucker for good music. Good music played at a moderately high volume with a crisp, high-quality audio system while cruising down the road on a summer night? Heaven. You can count me in for that any day of the week. Nowadays some golf carts come with stock speaker systems which will get the job done but sinking a little bit of cash into after-market systems makes all the sense in the world if you are anything like me.
Conclusion
I hope you find the message in this blog is to really focus on making it your own. With so many options for golf cart customization, there is nothing that can’t be accomplished with a little imagination (and some extra cash of course). With the increase in popularity, many dealers are now connected with aftermarket accessory companies and can include these customizations in your deal. In a perfect world, you can get everything you want in your golf cart before you take delivery. Think there is anything important here that we missed? Connect with us and let us know what we should add to this guide. Remember, golf carts are all about fun, and more importantly, all about you!
