Rare Force

The golf cart that thinks it’s a supercar. By Will Hersey

When it comes to accumulating gear and accessories, golf is a game with few, if any, rivals. There is always something a golfer urgently needs next – or, more accurately, thinks they do. From rain gloves and gap wedges to GPS watches and putting machines, the want list only seems to get longer. At the summit of that list – in a category all its own – we can now add the Garia Supersport. Finally, here might be the golfing gadget that can’t be upstaged; the accessory from which there is nowhere to go next.

It’s a golf cart like no other. In fact, run your finger down the feature list and you’d think you were buying a supercar. There’s a rear spoiler, hand-stitched seats and steering wheel, aluminium rims and handmade body panels that curve and billow as if forged by a wind tunnel and almost resemble a McLaren. Who’d have thought aerodynamics were important when travelling from the third green to the fourth tee?

From a distance, the grille brings Aston Martin to mind, though, closer up, the dimple pattern mimics the design of a golf ball. Inside, the steering wheel and carbon-fibre panelling continue the impression you’re about to do a track day not a golf day.

This is all largely for fun, of course, though with a top speed of 70kmh (43mph), the Supersport is actually street legal in the EU (and in the US, where the speed is capped at 25mph). The lithium battery pack promises an 80km (50-mile) range – enough to hit the range, the chipping area, the bar and grill and, possibly, home again.

It’s the product of Danish firm Garia, whose mission since founding in 2005 is to bring auto luxury to the humble golf cart, with a side glance on urban mobility too. The touchscreen display switches between golf mode for keeping scores and checking yardages, to street mode, where you can toggle between controls such as satnav, speed and range.

It’s on course, though, where the Supersport shines, with the kind of details to get any golfer misty-eyed with possibilities. The ‘lounge’ seats with armrests – and seatbelts – bring a level of comfort and finish your golf game probably doesn’t deserve. The built-in fridge is in itself a little piece of golfing nirvana: there’ll be no warm beers or melted Mars bars in this ride. The neat array of ball and tee holders prevents balls from rolling around the tray, as can happen in a typical cart. Of course, after trying this, you’ll never want to darken the doors of a typical cart again.

The built-in Wi-Fi and speakers are a further nod to golf as it should be – the impact of music and chilled refreshments to a round in good company really can’t be understated. And for those evenings when you try to fit in more holes than daylight allows, the LED head- and tail-lights will see you back to the clubhouse (or, indeed, your own home) without any trouble.

If the ultimate measure of a golfing accessory is making a day on the course more enjoyable, then the Garia Supersport surely can’t fail. (garia.com)