GREEN VALLEY, Ariz. (KGUN) — Maybe you’re worried about every new bump up in gas prices but there’s one place around here where a lot of drivers can breeze by the gas stations without a care—the golf cart culture in Green Valley.
In Green Valley, golf carts are for much more than golf. Green Valley makes it easy to get carts away from the fairway and make them a routine way to get around town. There are wide lanes dedicated to carts and bikes and people dedicated to making the most of them.
“I feel proud that I am beating the system.”
Lou Kifer ditched her car for a cart nine years ago and never looked back.
But what happens if she needs to go somewhere outside Green Valley and it’s just too far for a golf cart?
“Either change my mind, or there's times when friends want to go to that area where I want to go, and they'll be happy to take me. I've had cars available to me for people who want to keep them running on the road while they're away for the months of the time they're gone, and like the other day, I rented a car.”
Golf carts for the road have car-like safety features like turn signals, seat belts and brake lights.
At the Green Valley store for Golf Cars of Arizona, Colin Robinson says modern carts go about 25 miles per hour.. They’re good for 35 or 40 miles on a charge. They cost between $9000 and $13,000.
And while car drivers sweat dollars per gallon, people with electric golf carts can breeze down the road for pennies per mile.
Robinson says, “They move to Green Valley, they have two cars. They sell one car, and they pick up a golf car, and they guess, okay, I'm going to use this for my commuting car. I can go visit friends, I can go to the clubhouse, I can go to Walmart. I can do shopping in it. And again, I'm getting 35 to 40 miles on the charge. Saves me money on gas, and it's convenient and also fun to drive.”
Robinson says so far sales have not jumped along with the gas prices but he’s betting more people are parking the car, and taking the golf car.
Lou Kifer says even if gas goes down, she’s keeping the cart.
“I can't imagine buying a car ever.”
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
