Golf Cart City

Regular golf carts have no turn signals, no radio, no protection from the elements other than a thin roof and rain flaps. Press the pedal down, and they can maybe accelerate to 15 miles per hour.

Still, grip the steering wheel. Feel the wind and the sun, the cart picking up speed on a smoothly paved pathway, your parent beside you, your friends in the back seat. If you’re a teen, commanding that cart feels like freedom.

“You had that little sense of adventure,” says Caroline Lawson, 17. “It’s just that little sense of, ‘Whee!’”

Lawson’s experience is par for the course in Peachtree City, Georgia.

If there’s one thing that defines the city, it’s golf carts. It has roughly 13,000 households and some 11,000 registered carts. Its logo? A peach and a golf cart.

Communities filled with golf carts tend to have older populations that flock to golf courses. But Peachtree City is different. It’s largely built around families, and carts figure prominently in the childhoods of many young residents.

Regular golf carts lack many features. They have no turn signals, no radio, and no protection from the elements other than a thin roof and rain flaps. They don’t go very fast even if you press the pedal down. They can maybe accelerate to 15 miles per hour.

Still if you are a teen behind the wheel, driving the cart can feel like freedom. You can feel the wind and the sun as the cart picks up speed on a smoothly paved pathway. Your parent rides beside you, and your friends are in the back seat.

“You had that little sense of adventure,” says Caroline Lawson, 17. “It’s just that little sense of, ‘Whee!’”

Lawson’s experience is par for the course in Peachtree City, Georgia.

Golf carts define the city. There are about 13,000 households and 11,000 registered carts. The city logo is a peach and a golf cart.

Communities filled with golf carts tend to have older populations that move to golf courses. But Peachtree City is different. It’s largely built around families. Golf carts are a large part of the childhoods of many of the young residents.

Once children turn 12, they’re allowed to drive a cart with a licensed parent, grandparent, or guardian in the front seat. At 15, once they have their driver’s permit, they can go off on their own.

More than 100 miles of paths weave through the city, linking subdivisions and shopping centers. Just about everything is in reach by cart: restaurants, lakes, Walmart and Home Depot, the trendy boba spot filled with teens. The high school even has a parking lot just for students’ golf carts.

The ever-expanding spread of Atlanta and its suburbs is heavily reliant on cars, fused together by a tangle of freeways that swell to 15 lanes in some places yet still get so clogged that traffic can hardly move. Many residents know the congestion well from their commutes and find that Peachtree City offers a rare reprieve from car culture: a contained community where they can run errands or go a weekend without needing anything more than a golf cart.

Once children turn 12, they’re allowed to drive a cart with a licensed parent, grandparent, or guardian in the front seat. At 15, if they have their driver’s permit, they can drive on their own.

The city has more than 100 miles of paths throughout the city. They link subdivisions and shopping centers. Just about everything is reachable by cart including restaurants, lakes, Walmart, Home Depot, and a trendy boba spot filled with teens. The high school has a golf cart parking lot
for students.

Atlanta and its large, spread-out suburbs rely heavily on cars to get around. The freeways in some places have 15 lanes. Even with all of the lanes, traffic can get so congested that drivers can hardly move. Tired from the congestion of their commute, many residents of Peachtree City enjoy a break from being inside the car. They enjoy a contained community where they can run errands or go a weekend using only a golf cart.

“I think that I drive my golf cart more than my car,” says Amy Smith, who has a deluxe model to accommodate her husband, three children, and large dog.

The carts provide more than convenience. Many believe that the paths—which are dominated by carts but can also be used for cycling, running, and dog walking—forge human connections, drawing people out of their homes and nurturing conversations between neighbors.

“If someone pulls over in a golf cart, the next 10 people are going to stop,” making sure they’re not lost or broken down, says Mayor Kim Learnard.

“I think that I drive my golf cart more than my car,” says Amy Smith, who has a deluxe model to accommodate her husband, three children, and large dog.

The carts provide more than convenience. The paths can also be used for cycling, running, and dog walking. Many people believe that residents can be more connected with the community by spending time outside of their homes and having conversations with neighbors.

“If someone pulls over in a golf cart, the next 10 people are going to stop,” making sure they’re not lost or broken down, says Mayor Kim Learnard.

The paths weren’t part of the city’s original design; they grew organically over the years and evolved into being core to the city’s identity.

The carts do have a drawback, however.

“[Teenagers] come flying down these paths, especially around the corners,” says resident Melissa Powell.

That can lead to accidents. Sometimes the consequences have been serious, including at least one instance in which, lawyers say, a 15-year-old sustained a severe brain injury. The Peachtree City Police Department said in 2017 that teenagers were responsible for 67 percent of golf cart-related collisions in the last quarter of 2016, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The local police can’t enforce speed limits because carts don’t have speedometers, Learnard says. Still, residents note that the police are as much of a presence on Peachtree City’s paths as they are on the roads. (A nationwide study released in 2021 by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia found that the number of golf cart-related injuries among minors has steadily increased in recent years, though most are not serious.)

Peachtree City resident Kym Bushmire has used encounters with young people driving recklessly as teachable moments for her four children.

The paths weren’t part of the city’s original design. They happened organically over the years and evolved into being core to the city’s identity.

The carts do have a drawback, however.

“[Teenagers] come flying down these paths, especially around the corners,” says resident Melissa Powell.

That can lead to accidents. Sometimes the consequences have been serious, including an instance in which a 15-year-old sustained a severe brain injury. The Peachtree City Police Department said in 2017 that teenagers were responsible for 67 percent of golf cart-related collisions in the last quarter of 2016, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The local police can’t enforce speed limits because carts don’t have speedometers, Learnard says. Still, the police are as much of a presence on Peachtree City’s paths as they are on the roads. (A nationwide study released in 2021 by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia found that the number of golf cart-related injuries among minors has steadily increased in recent years. Most of the injuries are not serious.)

Peachtree City resident Kym Bushmire has used encounters with young people driving recklessly as teachable moments for her four children.

“Don’t be that driver!” she’s told them. “You see how awful that was?”

Her daughter Rebekah, 17, and her friends often drive carts together.

“It definitely helps us mature a lot faster,” Caroline, who’s one of Rebekah’s friends, says of the carts and the accompanying sense of freedom. Plus, she adds, the carts help them ease into maneuvering cars: “You already have the feel of the steering wheel, the gas pedal.”

“I was less nervous to get in the driver’s seat,” Rebekah notes.

One recent afternoon, Rebekah, Caroline, and another friend drove a golf cart behind houses, through woods, alongside a lake, and into a tunnel, emerging in a packed commercial district.

As she cruised through the parking lot, Caroline noted that she doesn’t spend as much time traveling by golf cart as she once did. She loves riding the paths, no question. But she has her driver’s license now and a car. She’s ready to go places a golf cart can’t take her.

“Don’t be that driver!” she’s told them. “You see how awful that was?”

Her daughter Rebekah, 17, and her friends often drive carts together.

“It definitely helps us mature a lot faster,” Caroline, who’s one of Rebekah’s friends, says of the carts and the accompanying sense of freedom. Plus, she adds, the carts help them ease into driving cars: “You already have the feel of the steering wheel, the gas pedal.”

“I was less nervous to get in the driver’s seat,” Rebekah notes.

One recent afternoon, Rebekah, Caroline, and another friend drove a golf cart behind houses, through woods, alongside a lake, and into a tunnel. They came into a packed commercial district.

As she cruised through the parking lot, Caroline realized that she doesn’t spend as much time traveling by golf cart as she once did. She still loves riding the paths. But she has her driver’s license now and a car. She’s ready to go places a golf cart can’t take her.