The team at Golf Carting Magazine loves the month of January as it represents a brand-new year and a brand-new PGA Show in Orlando, Florida. Personally, I love golf, so being surrounded by golf carts and golf equipment is my Platonic ideal of paradise.
I drove in from SW Florida early Tuesday morning enjoying a perfect Florida day. I met my team from Charleston, SC later that afternoon and we quickly got busy.
Our first stop was to visit the good folks of Golf Cart King at their rented house (mansion) in the Reunion Resort community in Kissimmee, FL on Tuesday evening. Golf Kart King and MODZ -their golf cart accessory company – have been loyal advertisers in Golf Carting Magazine and have been with us from just about the beginning.
We wanted to meet with the company President, Aaron Gouldie and his team, and see what new products and innovations they were showcasing. And man-oh-man, we were not disappointed.
We pulled up to the house and were greeted by a crowd of people admiring a pair of shiny new golf carts displayed on the ultra-wide driveway.
Meet Atlas, Golf Cart King’s new electric golf cart that, immediately invoked a sense of sleek elegance and luxurious style. Showcased was a white two-seater and black two-seater both stylishly equipped for the golf course.
The attention to detail was impressive. The wheels were sleek and modern. The dash looked like something out of a BMW. The LED headlights were as modern as anything you’d see on a luxury sedan.
All in all, the Atlas Carts were extremely impressive. It was good to spend time with the Atlas team and ask a lot of questions and learn more about their new EV. Stay tuned for a full feature article on Atlas Carts in an upcoming edition.
Mark Messick, the CO-CEO of Atlas Carts had this to say, “To all our industry friends and future partners who made the special trip to see what Atlas was all about, we want to say: Thank You!
Together we’re going to build the greatest golf cart brand ever imagined; and our presence at the 2023 PGA Show was just the first step of building that brand. And for those future partners out there, who desire to grow their business and always put customers first, we want to partner with you!!”
To learn more and inquire about becoming a partner, visit us at atlascarts.com
The following morning my partner, Christian Amico, and I decided to hit the floor and peek behind the curtain of the largest congregation of golf cart-related companies in the world.
Entering the exhibition hall at the PGA Show is always a little overwhelming at first. You don’t really know where to start or even “how” to start. If you start in the middle, you look to your left and to your right and as far as you can see there are exhibits. Small exhibits, large exhibits, and massive exhibits.
There is an electric hum of pure energy and bright lights and a loud, echoing, roar of thousands of people talking rapidly, excitedly.
We did as we always do and started visiting exhibits randomly and with no plan or strategy. Our first stop was to Vivid EV -a newer EV manufacturer.
Vivid delivers an aesthetically pleasing cart showcased in electric-bright colors of blue and neon green. Sleek and streamlined and with a grill like a BMW, Vivid is making a great-looking, lithium-powered cart that is sure to turn heads.
Next, we stopped by Vantage carts, and I really enjoyed looking over their single rider, the SR-1. Loaded with features and built for the golf course, I’d love to get these beauties at my home club. They look like they would be a lot of fun to drive, and the technology is extensive.
Christian and I spent a lot of time visiting with friends and sponsors and we stopped by Trojan Battery and Yamaha Carts, Nivel, ECOXGEAR, who had a stunning and jam-packed booth, EVTitan and Evolution carts, to name a few. It’s rewarding to see real faces instead of thumbnail headshots in emails.
“The 2023 PGA Show was incredible, cementing ECOXGEAR’s growing reputation as the go-to leader in golf car audio,” said Martin Balgach, National Sales Director for Sound Extreme by ECOXGEAR. “We had a chance to meet with many of our valued dealers and industry partners, and to demo the innovative products we’ll be releasing in 2023, including LED kits, whips, head units, amps, and wired speakers. Our show vehicle, Orange Crush, turned heads and stole the show. We’re really excited for what’s to come in 2023!”
We also met with our good friends at Navitas, makers of industry-leading golf cart controllers and golf cart systems. We spoke with the Navitas sales director, J. Todd Dussault and he told us, “For Navitas, the 2023 PGA Show was a multipurpose event; a three-day show turned into a three-week event. With Covid affecting our travel over the last two years we had to do something BIG! Currently our Tech Team is located all over North America, so we took this opportunity to bring them all into one place for face-to-face training and team building. Our big focus while attending the PGA show was to support Navitas OEM’s, distributors and dealers.
He went on to say, “The awaited sneak peek look at our all new aluminum chassis, which will be built in North America, was a huge success! We then wrapped up our visit with the opening of our new chassis distribution warehouse in Augusta, GA. We had an open house for nearby dealers to visit the warehouse and get some tips on the final assembly of the Navitas chassis product. All our events were a huge success, Dealer feedback was over the moon. Especially when it came to the new aluminum chassis. Here’s to a Great 2023, continued unprecedented growth.”
We were able to speak to Alina Niederer, the Marketing Director for Nivel Parts & Manufacturing. She had a lot to say. “At the PGA Show, we officially unveiled our new golf cart, the MadJax XSeries. This exciting new launch has been in the works for over a year, and it was incredible to see it all come together at the PGA Show. We had a ton of interest in the MadJax XSeries and our booth was busy from the time the show opened each day until closing.”
She went on to tell us, “The MadJax XSeries golf cart is targeted at recreational and secondary transportation users, and will be sold via our dealer partners across the United States. We have designed everything with dealers in mind – we know customers want custom carts, and we allow dealers to select their color, seating, tire & wheel, lift, battery, roof and more. We created a dealer platform which allows for easy online ordering, warranty registration, and parts & owner’s manuals. We offer dealer financing, have in-stock replacement parts & accessories, and offer a 3-year limited warranty on the cart.”
“Given Nivel and MadJax’s long history of being an industry leader in aftermarket golf cart parts and accessories, it was a natural evolution for us to begin offering a full golf cart solution. We are exciting to offer consumers a stylish, comfortable golf cart loaded with our best parts & accessories. The MadJax XSeries is the first of many exciting golf carts we are planning to launch over the next several years.”
“Since the PGA Show was based in Orlando, many of the employees from our Jacksonville headquarters were able to attend. I’m grateful that our employees were able to see the buzz and excitement around MadJax XSeries firsthand”
It seemed we were there for only a short while but in fact, hours went by. It was time to leave and attend “meetings” with friends at the lobby bar.
What struck me about the 2023 installment of the PGA Show was the sheer quantity of electric cart brands. They were everywhere. Some household names, and other well-known brands, and then a whole new tier of cart brands -good-looking carts too -they were all over the place.
I don’t know if this a good thing or a bad thing. As a dealer, it means that there are a lot of options for the showroom and I’m sure the vast competition will help pricing. But are there too many cart brands? Maybe. Maybe not.
One thing is clear. This country’s appetite for everything electric carts is unquenchable, or so it seems.
