Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Fleet Electrification topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
River Oaks adds 80 lithium-electric golf carts with GPS to reduce course wear and cut operating costs
Summary
River Oaks Golf Course has taken delivery of 80 lithium-electric golf carts from Intermountain Golf Carts of Sandy City, which officials said are lighter, more efficient, charge faster and include GPS features to protect turf and improve player services.
A River Oaks representative announced the golf course has taken delivery of 80 new electric lithium golf carts purchased from Intermountain Golf Carts of Sandy City.
The carts are 300 to 500 pounds lighter than the previous models, which the River Oaks representative said will reduce damage to turf and course features. "Here at River Oaks, we're proud to have 80 new electric lithium carts," the representative said.
The new batteries allow the carts to operate for an entire day without recharging, the representative added, noting that the older lead-acid batteries required recharging after about 18 to 27 holes and that the course had previously experienced frequent battery failures. "We'd have half of the fleet die per day," the representative said, describing the operational strain under the old system.
Intermountain Golf Carts, the vendor identified in the announcement, said it was pleased to supply River Oaks. An Intermountain representative said the lithium batteries charge in about half the time of traditional lead-acid batteries and are "about 25, 30% more efficient," which the vendor said will lower the city's power draw for the fleet. "They charge in half the time as the old traditional lead acid batteries," the Intermountain representative said.
The speakers also said the lithium systems require less routine maintenance than the older models; the vendor noted the older lead-acid batteries required adding water, while the new systems do not.
River Oaks also purchased GPS systems for the fleet. The course representative said the GPS will protect the course by enabling cart-path-only enforcement after rain, keeping carts off greens, native areas and areas the course is repairing, and by automatically stopping carts that enter restricted areas. The system also includes player-facing features such as a digital scorecard, distance-to-green information, pace-of-play monitoring and the ability to order food or receive messages from the pro shop.
Officials invited golfers to try the new carts at River Oaks Golf Course.
No formal vote or budget details were discussed during the announcement; funding sources and purchase price were not specified in the remarks.
