golfcommunity
CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA: A PLACE FOR FUN, SUN, AND GOLF CARTS
BY KATRINA ROBINSON
CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, is a beach-lover’s dream. The region includes Charleston proper, Isle of Palms, Folly Beach, Sullivan’s Island, North Charleston, Daniel Island, and Mount Pleasant. And in the beach communities of Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s Island, Daniel Island, and Folly Beach, golf cart lovers are able to play with their favorite toys: their golf carts. The most golf-cart-friendly roads are available in the beach areas and lower Peninsula neighborhoods, and in recent years, golf cart enthusiasts have created a golf cart lifestyle in the Charleston area. College students in downtown Charleston have even jumped on the golf cart bandwagon, using carts to travel to and from class. Traveling via golf cart is a slower, more green mode of transportation, and slower traffic as well as new infrastructure that diverts automobile traffic to roads with faster speed limits support traveling on a golf cart. Matthew Conway, owner of Coastal Cruising Carts, LLC, saw golf carts in Charleston “evolve from a recreation into a true mode of transportation” during his time growing up on 42 www.GolfCarting.com
Sullivan’s Island, living in downtown Charleston for college, and currently residing in Mount Pleasant. He is a proud member of the golf cart community, driving his children to daycare in one of his LSVs pretty much every day, and using an LSV to make any trips that are within a five-mile radius to his home: to the grocery store, a friend’s house, one of the many delicious restaurants in Mount Pleasant, or a local playground. Conway reports that Coastal Cruising Carts sells and rents both golf carts and LSVs, focusing on electric models and aiming to reduce their trailer delivery carbon footprint via carbon offset programs. Matt Allen, owner of IOP Cart Rentals and Repairs on Isle of Palms, is another golf cart lover in the area. He has lived on Isle of Palms for almost 23 years, and most of the work he does with his cart rental and repair business is done on IOP as well as Sullivan’s Island. He reports, “There are enough golf carts out here to keep me working on just these two barrier islands.” However, he does get repair calls for Daniel Island, Mount
