BORN TO RIDE

Golf carts have changed the very game of golf 

- JEFF WILLIAMS

We take golf carts for granted. They’ve become a familiar accessory, allowing more golfers to enjoy the game and allowing golf to be played on lands once off limits to a traditional golf course. We pull up to the bag drop on a weekend, hop into a cart, toss a bag filled with cigars into the front console and enjoy a pleasant ride around the links, sipping a cool beverage that sits handy in the cupholder between our shots.

But then Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus, of all people, created some serious cart buzz.

Nicklaus was on a podcast with Nick Faldo in March, talking about a story he shared with Woods. Nicklaus told Woods he could ask the PGA Tour for permission to use a golf cart under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Woods’ ability to play has been severely limited by injuries to his right leg suffered in a catastrophic car crash in 2021, and walking nearly 20 miles over a four-round tournament is just too much for his injury-riddled body. “I can hit a lot of shots but the difficulty for me is going to be the walking going forward,” Tiger has said. The use of a cart might allow him to play a few more events.

But Woods isn’t interested. Said Nicklaus of Woods’ response: “I’m not going to do that. When I get to the senior tour, I will.”

That perked up a bunch of ears. Golf fans savored the possibility of watching Tiger join the Champions Tour, playing alongside the other 50-year-olds, chugging along in a cart and rejuvenating the Tour. At the Masters in April, Woods—47 years old and three years away from his Champions Tour eligibility— validated his intention. “I’ve got three more years [before] I get the little buggy and be out there with Fred [Couples],” Woods said, “But until then, no buggy.”