Club Car Whitepaper Details Growing Concern Over $8 Million-Plus Golf Course Vandalism Issue

Damage caused by vandals to golf courses and their golf car fleets is an $8 million to $10 million problem that course owners, operators, club professionals and superintendents are struggling to solve, according to a whitepaper published by Club Car.

The whitepaper (Golf Car Vandalism: No Joyride) was developed following research to identify owners’ and operators’ chief operational concerns. Among the survey findings were statistics that underlined the critical nature of the vandalism problem:
— 72 percent of courses reported vandalism or golfers playing extra holes without paying a green fee.
— 27 percent said they had retrieved a vandalized golf car from a lake or creek.
— 48 percent reported unauthorized use of golf cars.
— 42 percent reported golf cars being driven in restricted areas.
— 21 percent reported theft of golf cars.

Mike Read, director of marketing for Club Car’s golf category, called the statistics “shocking” and noted that “these are all issues that directly affect operating expenses.”

According to the whitepaper, which was developed based on interviews with owners, operators, superintendents and golf professionals, nearly every golf facility encounters some form of vandalism at one time or another. But it is vandalism to golf cars that causes the most serious and costly damage at a golf course.

Joel Willis, an insurance executive interviewed for the whitepaper, said golf course vandalism is a growing problem across the country.

“Vehicle and equipment replacement costs, plus lost revenues, if the course has to shut down for repairs or prepare temporary greens, make these kinds of incidents an owner’s worst nightmare,” said Willis, program director of Clubsurance, a division of The Commonwealth Insurance Group, which provides property and casualty coverage to golf courses.

Partially in response to the vandalism problem, Club Car earlier this year introduced its GPS-based Guardian SVC system, which allows courses to define restricted areas and limit vehicle access. The system is expected to be a major deterrent to joyriding vandals. “If you can stop the source of their fun, odds are you’ll come close to eliminating the damage,” Read said.

Club Car worked with GPS Industries (GPSI), a Sarasota, Fla.-based global media and technology firm, to develop the Guardian software. GPSI will provide assessments, installations and training to Club Car customers.

Club Car, a business of Ingersoll-Rand Company Limited, a diversified industrial firm, Honors the Game in its service to customers and support of the golf industry. Club Car is the exclusive premier partner of the National Golf Course Owners Association in the U.S. and NGCOA Canada’s exclusive Golf Car Supplier and Platinum Partner. Club Car is also a sponsor of the European Golf Course Owners Association, a Silver Partner of the GCSAA and a Corporate Advantage Partner of the Club Managers Association of America. It is the Official Supplier of Golf Cars and Utility Vehicles to the 2010 Ryder Cup, the Official Golf Car and Golf Utility Vehicle and an Official Sponsor of the PGA European Tour, the official supplier of golf cars and utility vehicles to PGA Tournament Players Clubs, and leading sponsor of the PGA Professional National Championship, The First Tee and the Executive Women’s Golf Association.