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An Augusta golf cart company is using solar power at the historic Ryder Cup for the first time to charge its carts.
Since 1997, Club Car has been providing carts for the biennial tournament between U.S. and European golf teams. In this year’s tourney, being held just outside Rome through Oct. 1, much of the fleet is being charged by a bank of solar panels.
It’s the first time the Ryder Cup has used solar-powered charging points, which ties into the tournament’s sustainability policy and a commitment by the European Tour Group to be carbon-neutral by 2040, said Ryder Cup operations director Paul Dunstan.
“It’s a very complex site – much like a small town – with a large number of grandstands, hospitality facilities and event infrastructure. The best way to navigate the site quickly and efficiently is to use the vehicles Club Car provides,” he said.
Club Car is an official cart supplier for the PGA, the DP World Tour and the St. Andrews Links Trust. The company shipped 550 carts overseas to use in the Ryder Cup.
The fleet consists of six red and six blue team cars, driven by captains Luke Donald and Zach Johnson and their vice-captains, “plus hundreds more golf, turf and utility cars to assist with almost every area of the Ryder Cup from media and broadcasting to security and medical transportation,” Club Car said in a release.