2016 PGA Show: Golf Car Enclosures

Posted on February 5, 2016 by Marc Cesare

One of the booths I stopped at was Superior Enclosures. Relatively new to the market, the company has lined up their manufacturing and are ready to roll out their product in 2016.

The enclosure is attached to the roof using an aluminum strip.

The top fastener of the enclosure

The bottom fastener of the enclosure.

The product is designed to be easier to use compared to enclosures that require rolling up and/or zipping up the sides. The Superior Enclosures work by sliding a curtain back and forth. In the closed position the enclosure is held closed by a strong magnetic strip that runs vertically along the front edge of the enclosure curtain. In the open position the enclosure curtain is held in position by button type fastener at the top and a tie-down type fastener on the bottom. Conveniently, the enclosure can be opened, closed and fastened while the person is seated in the golf car rather than stepping out of the vehicle and getting wet in the process. Another advantage is that the vertical curtain design allows water to drain down onto the ground rather than being rolled up into the enclosure. The fabric is also mold resistant. I tried out the enclosure and found the door curtains slid into place easily, the magnet held it in place strongly and you could open and fasten the curtains while staying seated.

The Encompass Golf Cart Enclosure takes a different approach, using a semi-rigid door made of fabric laid over an aluminum frame. The doors open and close like a typical door but also have a clear vinyl window that can be zippered open or closed. The clear rear panel can be rolled up. The doors can easily be removed in under a minute.

Encompass Golf Cart Enclosure

Also on display is the company’s golf car cooler product.

2016 PGA Show: Garia Showcases Models for the US Market

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Marc Cesare

Luxury golf car manufacturer Garia showcased three vehicles at the PGA Show that will be a focus of marketing efforts this year in the US including a golf car, utility vehicle and a people mover.

Garia’s utility vehicle now available in the US.

Garia’s utility vehicle is already in production and ready for the US market, after being a great success in the Europe according to Garia representatives. What is somewhat surprising, given the price differential between their golf cars and typical golf cars, is the relatively low price of approximately $15,000 for the base utility model compared to what is currently on the market.The base model comes with a cab but no doors, no bed sides and no powerlift. The floor model on display included all of these plus a small Webasto diesel powered heater and is priced around $18,000.

The doors feature a sliding window and a unique latching system that can hold the door open flat against the vehicle.

The Garia Utility's dash features a storage area, cupholders and a knobs for adjusting side mirrors.

The Garia Utility’s dash features a storage area, cupholders and inside knobs for adjusting side mirrors.

The underseat battery pack features a single-point watering system.

Adjustable seats in the Garia Utility.

An overhead stereo system with bluetooth connectivity is available for this model.

The utility vehicle features a 48-volt system with a 3Kw AC motor powered by six Trojan T875 batteries. A lithium battery option is available for a $5,000 premium. The vehicle features a galvanized steel frame, front disc and rear drum brakes, a 350 amp Curtis controller and a 620 kg. payload capacity. While the Garia Utility will still be more expensive than similar models on the market, management believes the quality, durability and ride of the vehicle compared to the extra cost will win over customers looking at the long-term ownership experience.

The Garia Golf Car.

Another vehicle being showcased is the Garia Golf Car which will be ready for the US market in March of this year. Some final changes are being made to the roof design which is now wider. The model is also designed so dealers can easily convert the vehicle from a two seater to a four seater. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Garia Golf Car is the marketing approach being used in the US. While priced too expensively to be a replacement for existing fleet golf cars, this model is being pitched as a fleet add-on where a course would purchase three or four for their fleet and charge extra for a luxury experience. According to Garia management some 15-20 resorts have already taken this route. This seems to be a really smart approach by Garia. Not only does it open up part of a market in which they would have a hard time competing through a traditional approach, but it is a market in which they likely will have limited competition. A course offering a select number of luxury golf cars will have a harder time selling that concept with a Club Car, E-Z-GO or Yamaha with extra bling compared to a Garia which from it’s inception has been designed and marketed to be a luxury golf car.

The new six-seater people mover from Garia.

Garia was also showcasing a six seat people mover that will be ready in June. A large order for custom vehicles for a collection of resort hotels in the Middle East gave rise to this model. While the custom version uses an aluminum chassis, the cost is prohibitive for the stock version, given the amount of aluminum needed to provide the needed stiffness for the long wheelbase. Instead a steel chassis will be used. Other changes to the floor

The six seater from Garia features a lot of legroom for occupants in the first and second rows.

The aluminum footrest for second row passengers is visible with the front seat raised.

The back two seats will be slightly narrower in the stock version to accommodate roof supports.

model pictured here is a roof and slightly narrower rear-facing seats. The base cost is expected to be approximately $16,200.

2016 PGA Show: Club Car Pushes Visage Mobile Information System

Posted on February 2, 2016 by Marc Cesare

Visage screen with food and beverage menu.

Visage screen with overview of hole.

Similar to Yamaha, Club Car did not introduce any new vehicles at the PGA Show but was touting their fleet management solution, the Visage Mobile Golf Information System. Club Car representatives claim they currently control 90% market share for these type of systems. At this point, Club Car’s Visage with a golfer facing video component is more advanced than Yamaha’s Yamatrack. The on vehicle screen allows the Visage to be used to provide a host of services to golfers and revenue opportunities to fleet managers.

Golfers can get precise yardages, hole flyovers, easy access to food and beverage options and email their scorecard to themselves. For fleet managers, merchandise and other marketing offers can be made to golfers during their many hours on the course. In addition, there are all the fleet management tools such as keeping track of vehicles, their operating performance, maintenance schedules and using geo-fencing to protect areas of the golf course. The enhanced golfer experience can also allow managers to charge higher golf car rental fees.

According to Club Car representatives, the Visage system is most in demand at resorts but they are also making inroads into private courses, where members are looking to improve their golfing experience. The system is currently being used on approximately 50,000 vehicles. Learn more: Visagegolf.com

PGA Show 2016: Yamaha Pushes Yamatrack Fleet Management Solution

Posted on February 2, 2016 by Marc Cesare

At the 2016 PGA Show Yamaha was pushing their Yamatrack fleet management system. Yamaha partnered with iGolf to develop a wireless system to provide real-time tracking, live diagnostics and golf car control for fleet managers. The system includes a GPS device that plugs into the golf car’s control unit and communicates with an enterprise level platform. Fleet operators use iGolf DNA, a web-based application to control the fleet and access vehicle information via computer, smart phone or tablet.

The iGolf DNA application includes the Yamatrack Asset Tracker that provides real-time tracking and maintenance alerts. Some the information available through the app includes:

Pace of play analysis
Fleet rotation
Amp hour totals
Battery power level
Car location history

A course’s golf car fleet can also be controlled through the app to restrict golf cars to cart paths only, lock-down a fleet, set speed and brake parameters, create geo-fencing for certain areas, set geo-fencing limitations on a car by car basis and shutdown cars. In the future, the system will include a video screen of some type at the vehicle.

While Yamaha did not introduce any new vehicles at the show, they did dress up their Personal Transportation Vehicle (PTV) with some LED lighting in the front and fancier trim around the wheels.

The redesigned front of the Yamaha gas PTV.

Fancier fender flares added to the Yamaha PTV.

2016 PGA Show: Flow-Rite Battery Steward

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Marc Cesare

Continuing the focus on battery maintenance at the PGA Show, the Flow-Rite booth featured their Battery Steward product, which combines a mobile app with scannable labels to help operators manage battery maintenance. While Flow-Rite has been using the technology in the industrial space where the batteries for forklifts are very expensive and so can be the maintenance mistakes, they are just starting to introduce the technology to the golf car market.

A partial screenshot from Flow-Rite’s Battery Steward app.

The company’s website describes four easy steps for using the Battery Steward.

Use your mobile device and identifying labels to create easy-to-follow battery care task lists.
Check off batteries by scanning the Battery Steward identifying label that has been attached to your battery.
Record and analyze important battery maintenance data through the online portal.
Identify neglected, misused, or abused batteries.

The company generates revenue by selling the scannable labels. While the product is clearly aimed at the fleet owner, I wonder if a dealer might be able to use the technology to manage a “fleet” of disparate customer vehicles. Learn more: Batterysteward.com

2016 PGA Show: Battery Watering Technologies i-Lite Sensor

Posted on February 1, 2016 by Marc Cesare

Last week I attended the PGA Show down in Orlando, FL, so this week I’ll be posting about some brand new and relatively new developments from the show that relate to the small, task-oriented vehicle markets. I’m going to kick it off with a relatively new product from Battery Watering Technologies, their i-Lite Sensor. The i-Lite Sensor uses an LED light to provide a visual indication when it is time to water the batteries. According to company, if the indication is ignored, the sensor is so smart, it can tell the operator how long the battery went without water.

The LED indicator and wiring is shown sitting on top of the battery. The indicator can be wired into the dash or other area of the vehicle for easy viewing. Green means the electrolyte level is sufficient and red indicates water is needed.

A battery from US Battery using the i-Lite Sensor showing the black valve that is inserted into the battery and connected to the watering system.

Currently, the product is only available for US Battery products but the company is developing a variant for other brands as well. Some variance with the height of the lead plates in Trojan batteries is an issue. Although, the product may work with some of the Trojan batteries, they cannot guaranty that it will work with all.

The sensor takes a reading from one cell and uses it as a proxy for the whole battery bank. According to US Battery, this method has been effective in the industrial battery market for forklifts. This approach assumes all the batteries in the pack are the same brand and type and were installed at the same time as a complete set.

The sensor is trying to address an ongoing problem with electric STOV vehicles – getting owners and operators to properly take care of their batteries. I consistently hear from dealers, battery manufacturers and watering technology companies that owners/operators are not properly taking care of batteries. This leads to a shortened battery life, an expensive consequence which makes customers angry, can reflect poorly on the battery brand and probably doesn’t endear the dealer to the customer. What is fascinating is how this problem persists despite decades of golf cars using essentially the same battery technology. The i-Lite sensor and single-point watering systems are both steps in the evolution of simplifying the whole process of battery maintenance. In effect they are an attempt to put a layer of user-friendly technology between the operator and the battery pack to improve battery performance.

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