To meet increased demand, the exclusive Portal Golf and Country Club at Tarporley in Cheshire now runs a fleet of over 60 Club Car golf cars. Demand has been boosted by an £80,000 investment to construct new paths allowing golf cars to be used all year round at the Championship Course. Supplied by Golf Car UK, of Abingdon in Oxfordshire, the vehicles in use at Portal also include two special 19th hole refreshment vehicles and three CarryAll XRT greenkeeping vehicles.
Michael Taylor, Chairman of Arderne PLC, owners of Portal, said: “One aspect we have found is that increasing the size of the golf car fleet attracts more interest and more golf cars are hired as a result. Golf cars offer an excellent source of revenue for the club. The work we have done on the paths has ensured that we have optimised the return on investment and has allowed us to offer an enhanced service to our members.”
“The return on investment on golf cars is already 60%,” said Michael Taylor, “similar to that from the food we serve at Portal – and has increased significantly over the last three years as the size of the fleet has increased. The new paths should help to increase this yield even further.”
To ensure customer security, Portal has installed a vehicle recognition system at the entrance to the complex that records the registration number and time of arrival and exit of a vehicle and transmits this to the Pro Shop. For members who are pre-booked, the system can be programmed with a welcome message. It is also used to signal the arrival of a guest at the course so that they can be met by Pro Shop personnel with their golf car and any other requirements
Club Car, Inc., is a leading manufacturer of golf, transportation and utility vehicles. Based at Augusta, Georgia in the USA, Club Car is part of world-wide Ingersoll-Rand.