“This one is capable on paper of a lot more than the other ones have been, but it’s if it will actually stay on the track.”
That was Jacob Steen, the son of golf-cart builder Robby Steen, on the family’s latest creation—a high-octane, heavily modified golf cart designed to break the golf-cart land speed record originally set by Robby back in 2014. If this all sounds very Florida to you, you’re close. It’s South Carolina.
The Fort Mill native set the Guinness Book of Records mark eight years ago, cruising to a maximum velocity of 118.76 mph. Not too shabby, but now he’s looking to smash that mark with a cart capable of hitting speeds in excess of 150 mph. What could possibly go wrong? Well, a lot apparently. The new cart is outfitted with a roll cage, explosion shield, racing harnesses, and an array of other safety features should it break free from earth’s gravitational pull and careen into space.
Steen, who has built electric golf cart motors as part of the family business for 46 years, has been working on his latest creation for the past six. He says he’s spent countless nights and weekends working on the cart with his two sons and now it’s almost ready for its fateful run. Just don’t expect him to hit the links afterwards.
“I build ‘em,” he says. “But I can’t play golf.”
