South Carolina is seeking a 36-month lease for 79 vehicles at Cheraw State Park, including 72 lithium golf carts and seven gasoline utility carts. The official Cheraw golf cart lease notice lists a September 24 bid deadline, while the complete solicitation adds 72 GPS fleet-management systems and an October 1 planned award date.
That award date matches the golf course's scheduled reopening. South Carolina State Parks says the course has been closed for renovation since March 1 and is scheduled to reopen October 1. The procurement document gives an estimated contract start of October 12 and allows delivery within 30 days after the contractor receives a purchase order.
Golf Cart Search compared the two state records on September 14. They show that the newly leased fleet may arrive after the scheduled reopening, depending on when the purchase order is issued and how quickly the selected vendor delivers. The public documents do not say whether another fleet would cover any interval between reopening and delivery.
What is included in the Cheraw golf cart lease?
The 35-page invitation for bid divides the fleet into four groups:
| Equipment | Quantity | Powertrain or system requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Main golf fleet | 72 | Electric carts with lithium batteries |
| Smaller utility carts | 5 | Gas, with at least 800 pounds of vehicle load capacity |
| Larger utility carts | 2 | Gas, with at least 1,200 pounds of vehicle load capacity |
| Fleet-management units | 72 | PACE 10EX equivalent or better |
All vehicles must be new when the lease begins. The price must include maintenance, delivery, installation, taxes and other applicable fees. The state plans to select one vendor and says the award will go to the lowest responsible and responsive bidder.
The solicitation does not name a golf cart manufacturer, set a budget or list an expected monthly payment. A bid submission is not an order, and the October 1 date is the state's scheduled award posting rather than evidence that a contract has already been issued.
Will the new carts be ready when the course reopens?
The solicitation does not promise delivery by the October 1 reopening date. The state lists October 12 as an estimated contract start, but says the actual contract will begin on the date stated in the award. It also gives the contractor as many as 30 days after receiving a purchase order to deliver.
The park's October 1 reopening notice and the procurement schedule therefore leave a possible timing gap. Delivery could happen sooner than the contractual limit, and the park could use other carts temporarily. Neither point is confirmed in the online records.
| Date | Scheduled milestone |
|---|---|
| March 1 | Golf course closed for renovation |
| September 17 | Non-mandatory pre-bid conference |
| September 18 at noon | Vendor questions due |
| September 24 at 2 p.m. Eastern | Electronic bids due |
| October 1 | Course reopening and award posting |
| October 12 | Estimated contract start |
| Within 30 days after the purchase order | Fleet delivery deadline |
What specifications does Cheraw require?
Each course cart must carry a lithium battery system capable of a full day, which the document defines as 36 holes when properly charged. The lessor would replace batteries that fail that standard during the lease. Each cart must also include a charger, top, fold-down windshield, golf-bag rain cover, charge meter, USB ports and towing hardware for course breakdowns.
The state requires a maximum programmed speed of 12 mph and governor braking when the accelerator is released. That limit is a course-fleet setting, not a change to South Carolina's public-road golf cart rules.
Four of the five smaller utility vehicles must be hunter green or an equivalent color, while one must be ivory or equivalent. Each needs at least a 500-pound bed capacity. The two larger utility carts need a minimum 400-pound power-dump bed capacity and a 4x4 configuration for heavy hauling, slopes, towing and off-course access.
What will the 72 GPS systems track?
The fleet-management specification calls for continuous cart location, vehicle history, geofencing, cart-status reporting and two-way messaging. It also requests a weather-resistant, 10-inch-class outdoor touchscreen, although the general cart section sets a broader minimum of eight inches.
The system must let course staff create restricted zones and slow or stop carts when they enter them. It also needs to broadcast messages, send emergency notifications and export fleet data without relying on park-provided Wi-Fi. The solicitation uses PACE 10EX as the benchmark but allows an equivalent or better system.
The size and GPS requirement put the request near other recent public fleet procurements. St. Johns County approved 81 vehicles and 80 PACE units in September, while Jacksonville's pending Bent Creek proposal calls for at least 72 carts but does not yet identify a vendor or price.
Cheraw's price, selected models and vendor will remain unknown until the state posts an award or another public procurement record. Those details will determine whether the final package matches the requested quantities and delivery schedule.
Primary reporting source
South Carolina procurement: solicitation 5400030081
