What buggies do you have

[Deleted member 15344]

We have recently updated our buggy policy and now we no longer have the big two seater buggies for rent, we have purchased some single seaters to use and any new buggy user will not be able to bring on one of the big ones

The smaller ones are better for the course but it’s of course not gone down too well with the ones on the waiting list who we’re going to share

So what sort do you have at your place

 

[Imurg]

We're not a particularly buggy friendly course, especially the front 9.
Back 9 is mainly up and down slopes but the front is side to side as well as up and down and buggy can tip fairly easily.
Some of the Elders have single seater ride-ons but you don't see many.
The Pro has one to get him up and down tomthe practice ground for lessons but I don't think we have any for hire.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Doubles only. Not sure I've ever seen a single buggy for hire.

 

[Robster59]

Our hire buggies are double although some members own their own single seaters.

 

[TreeSeeker]

My club barely has any, you only really see one out on the course at any time, golf is about walking the course!! (in fairness, our course is not well suited to a buggy, and its quite short so less need for sure)

I'm a fan of the single buggies, there is one member who has one and you'll see him out using it, much more sensible size and as phil said good for the course.

 

[jim8flog]

We have two seater buggies for hire and many of us have our own single seater buggies.

When it comes to course damage it is much more about who is driving it then the type of buggies.

We tried single seater buggies several years ago but they are much more prone to breaking down.

As long term user of a single seat buggy you will need to factor in battery replacement and allow for a new set of batteries every 12 to 18 months. The better gel batteries cost 200 - 250 each and you need a pair.

If you go cheap on the ones you buy ie, the Chinese ones rather than the Grasshopper or Paterson Products ones for example expect a lot more breaking down of the buggies and more cost of replacement parts.

Make sure you have good insurance cover for Public Liability, inexperienced single seat buggy users are much more likely to have a personal accident in one. I have seen several people tip over using one.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

I think we have one double buggy for course marshalling and on course emergencies.

We have a handful of members who have their own single seaters, but in nearly 20yrs I can’t recall ever seeing a two seater being used by players.

The course isn’t really very buggy friendly as there are a few quite steep inclines in the fairways and our paths are quite rough and narrow, and so we might advise/dissuade visitors from using them. That said we have plans for future work developing our paths all round the course - maybe to make them buggy friendly.

 

[TreeSeeker]

.As long term user of a single seat buggy you will need to factor in battery replacement and allow for a new set of batteries every 12 to 18 months. The better gel batteries cost 200 - 250 each and you need a pair.

If you go cheap on the ones you buy ie, the Chinese ones rather than the Grasshopper or Paterson Products ones for example expect a lot more breaking down of the buggies and more cost of replacement parts.

Interesting on the batteries and breakdown points. I would expect the battery load to be easier to manage, and a replacement to be due after maybe 6/7 years, 12 months implies some other issues.

Breakdowns similar not sure why it would be any different from a double.

 

[jim8flog]

Interesting on the batteries and breakdown points. I would expect the battery load to be easier to manage, and a replacement to be due after maybe 6/7 years, 12 months implies some other issues.

Breakdowns similar not sure why it would be any different from a double.

20 plus years of using a single seater buggy and 4 different buggies and observations on other long term users in that time says otherwise. It is not that batteries fail completely it is just that they slowly but surely degrade to the point that they will no longer last the duration of a round. E.G the last set of batteries I have just replaced have gone from 63 AH to 35 AH.

Single seat buggies have no suspension and are subject to a lot more 'bashing about' than the larger double seat buggies. Our club stopped buying electric ones though and went to petrol only and this may have been a maintenance issue.


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Every battery has a finite number of cycles that it can go through before it loses its active mass, and in turn, its capacity. Vehicles with high usage, such as busses, taxis and trucks, will often put a battery through this finite number of cycles over a much shorter amount of time, causing a battery to show the above symptoms after only a couple of years. This is not a manufacturing fault.
When a battery is subject to a deep discharge, and/or a rapid rate of recharge, the above process is accelerated. A battery that is deep discharged regularly, or is often discharged blow 50% (12.1v) in the case of leisure batteries, will rapidly lose its active mass, and capacity. An example of this is the use of a leisure battery for running window cleaning water pumps. The loss of active mass, and therefore capacity due to over/excessive cycling is not a manufacturing fault.

 

[Slab]

All two seaters (apart from a few 6 & 8 seaters that staff use for ferrying folks around)
There's about 50-60 two seaters, so with the space they take up for parking/charging etc I doubt they'd ever change to singles

 

[Bdill93]

All of our Hire buggies are 2 seaters. I cant imagine 1 seaters being great post- Covid!

A few members have 1 seater buggy things - one of which has had a brilliant customised job done on it to look like a frog..

 

[TreeSeeker]

Yeah, definitely something funny there, unless you are out playing everyday... I would be unimpressd with anything less than 500 rounds, and it should do alot more.

A 63ah should be nearer 70ah and limited, so after your 5-6 years of normal use maybe you'd be expecting low 50's for capacity. 35 after a year, or even 2, its either based on 1960's tech, or its being degraded another way.

 

[jim8flog]

Yeah, definitely something funny there, unless you are out playing everyday... I would be unimpressd with anything less than 500 rounds, and it should do alot more.

A 63ah should be nearer 70ah and limited, so after your 5-6 years of normal use maybe you'd be expecting low 50's for capacity. 35 after a year, or even 2, its either based on 1960's tech, or its being degraded another way.

I play 3 times a week on a very hilly course and I would expect that the batteries are taken close to the full discharge level particularly when the grass is wet. These batteries are one of the best makes you can buy (Sonnenschein) and as said most of us regular buggy users get roughly the same life out of the batteries. The only batteries that I have used that have given an exceptional life are MK and they are probably the most expensive on the market.