When Bud Smartson pulls into the parking lot at the local golf course, one can’t help but notice the neon-colored golf cart riding on what appears to be a homemade trailer behind  the beige 1981 Chrysler Cordoba with blue smoke pouring out of the exhaust. As the car wheels come to a sudden stop, the Cordoba continues to sway back and forth while the driver’s door flies open and Bud crawls out and saunters back to unload his cart.

With the ramp lowered, Bud carefully backs his 1996 Club Cart off the rickety ramp and with his custom cart horn blurting out the tune of Wild Thing to alert the other golfers of his arrival, Bud quickly drives off toward the first tee for his daily round of golf.

This is “cart golf.” And Bud’s been dragging his own golf cart to the course for the past decade, ever since his cousin, Dr. Earl, a local veterinarian, wrote Bud a medical exemption necessary to allow him the right to use his own cart on area courses. (We’re not quite sure what the medical condition is … although worms haven’t been ruled out.)

For Bud, his golf cart is every bit a part of his game as his clubs. In fact, the two are synonymous. His clubs have been a permanent fixture on his cart for the past five years. And just as every imaginable golf-related gadget is stuffed into the pockets of his bag, every imaginable accessory adorns his custom-built cart.

Back in ’97 Bud came across a good buy on a slightly used gas-powered Club Cart. Being an insurance claims adjuster, Bud was called out to assess the damage of a golf cart that somehow found its way into a pond protecting the 6th green at the country club. With gentle persuasion from the golf superintendent at the course, Bud totaled the cart, and then bought it back from the insurance company. Calling in a favor from one of the local small engine repair shops, Bud had a 16-hp Kawasaki Conversion kit added to the engine, and with just a little tweaking here and there had the cart running at nearly 35 mph.

This made for a fast round of golf.

However, Bud soon learned that it was tough to keep everything on the cart from flying off at high speeds. So it only made sense to add a lift kit and suspension. He opted for the 9-inch Baja Long Travel kit … because the rough does get pretty deep at the local course. With some high performance shocks, the Club Cart was starting to come around and cornered like a dream.

As time went on, Bud continued to improve the cart. Before long he had it equipped with an all-season weather enclosure, bronze-tinted windshield (to eliminate glare) custom dash, custom front grille with brush guards (when there’s a need to explore the parts of the course that’s not-so-well maintained while looking for wayward shots), and nerf bars.

And then there are the necessities. His cart is fully equipped with cooler, barbeque grill and all the condiments, spare clothes, sun screen, bug spray and even fishing pole and tackle (there are some pretty nice fish in the creek that runs through the course … and when play is slow …).

During the summer of ’02, when Bud’s wife noticed that his cart cooler was stocked full of adult beverages, she insisted that it must be totally restocked with juices and soft drinks. That’s about when Bud had a second “secret” cooler installed (under the passenger side split leather seats) for his own private beverage container.

Finally, Bud decided to give his cart a unique look with a neon paint scheme and about as much billet stuff that he could find. With all the bling, there was only enough room for Bud and his clubs … so don’t expect to get a free ride.

During the past decade, Bud has invested way more into his cart than into the past three automobiles he’s used to pull his cart to the course. Three years ago his 1978 Chevy Citation died while en route to the golf course. Bud merely coasted to the shoulder of the road, unloaded his cart, and continued the last three miles to the course in his cart (he actually made better time). After the round, he drove his golf cart to a used car dealership and traded his Citation in for the Cordoba.

Last year Bud logged 289 rounds at the local course. (Ironically, the course was only open 288 days … but the snow really wasn’t that deep on day 289.) Bud has actually come to appreciate acclimate weather days when few golfers are on the course. He can make great time and usually shoots his best rounds (but then, of course, he doesn’t actually stop to play any of the holes going into the wind).

Each night when Bud returns home from the golf course (notice I didn’t say “every night” … because there has been a few instances when Bud’s pulled up at a nice spot on the course, rolled out his sleeping bag, grilled some freshly caught fish, cracked open that “secret” cooler and spends the night under the stars) he pulls his vehicle with the trailer permanently attached to the rear bumper up in front of his house and drives his cart into the garage. (The value of his cart is creeping up close to the value of his home so it naturally claims a carpeted area in the garage while his wife’s car is delegated to the outside car port.)

Although there are others at the course with their own private golf carts, none can hold a candle to Bud Smartson, who defines the word “cart golf.”