Sadly, this line item is a significant income line for many clubs. I always feel that it is beating up the course for the sake of a few dollars, but in this economic environment, I know the rules will not be relaxed.
The one thing I wish someone would do is commission a study on exactly how much it COSTS to have a barn full of carts. The equation would have to include every dime spent on:
- washing
moving
maintaining
repairing
insuring\fueling or charging the evil beasts
Don't forget the the cost of:
- building and maintaining a cart barn
the carts themselves
wall-to-wall cart paths their maintenance
And every single dime spent by the golf course maintenance staff in repairing the damage they do to golf courses, including the time spent making sure the people who drive them aren't misbehaving.
At least a couple of people i have talked to in the business think the bottom line might not be as big people think, in wihch case it could be covered by a reasonable increase in dues or green fees.
Of course, IMHO, the real reason we won't see this is that the cart industry is big business, and no one is going to fund the study. Even if someone did, too damned many of my golfing bretheren simply can't or won't walk--especially now that we have so many cartball courses that are virtually unwalkable by even fit golfers.
K