This summer has seen an interesting piece of golf news from Hawaii, and it has nothing to do with the professional action out on the PGA tour. The Los Angeles Times reports that a pair of golf associations on the Kohala Coast in Hawaii are now offering visitors an alternative to the standard golf cart experience.
This summer, Kohala Coast golfers are much more likely to cruise the golf course greens on a new device called a GolfBoard. These single-passenger, stand-up vehicles resemble giant skateboards with huge wheels and a stand for your golf bag. Golfers can maneuver the vehicles like a surfboard, which were in fact designed by professional surfer Laird Hamilton.
So far local golf clubs have a fleet of 24 GolfBoards, which feature enough battery power to cruise the links at 10 mph. Josh Silliman, the director of golf at Mauna Kea Resort says he hopes the new devices will help attract more young golfers, while also encouraging patrons to come back to the course multiple times. If there’s one downside to the strange new boards, it’s their single-passenger occupancy. Those who enjoy the camaraderie of a shared golf cart experience may want to opt for a more traditional golfing experience.
So far patrons seem to be enjoying the new vehicles, but it’s too early to tell whether this strange piece of golf news will turn out to be a catching trend or a flash in the pan fad. Golfers are generally considered to be a more conservative bunch, so it might be hard to lure golfers out of their traditional golf cart seats.
What do you think about the GolfBoard? If you’d be interested in trying out the latest piece of golf equipment then next time you happen to play golf on the Kohala Coast in Hawaii, let us know in the comments!
