Got Your Back - Ultimate Golf Seating Revolutionizing The Golf Cart Seat Industry
Edition: November/December 2011
Three years ago, Dave and Dan Vahala did something nobody had imagined could be done with a golf cart — outfit it with luxury, automotive-style seating to give cart buyers an option far above and beyond anything the industry had seen, creating a revolutionary new category of golf cart seating bent on offering style, comfort, ergonomics and quality to the max.
Now, the Vahalas’ still young company, appropriately called Ultimate Golf Seating, has continued to up the ante with the introduction of its’ latest cart seats, The Supreme and The Supreme Sport. As high-backed, automotive-style seats, both can be installed on just about any golf cart and provide forward and back tilt options, fold-down armrests, adjustable headrest, lumbar support adjustment and high quality foam cushioning made of superior resiliency polyurethane similar to high end mattresses.
To protect from the weather, both are covered in high-quality, marine-grade vinyl. The coverings also withstand UV rays and are easily cleaned with the company’s Ultimate Stain Shield protection coating. In addition, The Supreme Series adds an extra bit of comfort to the cart ride with a special spring system. MSRP for the seats is $1,595.
The Supreme Series follows the company’s initial offering, the Luxury Bucket and Luxury Bench seats, that rocked the golf cart industry in 2008 because they looked like the type of seats you would find in a luxury car. The Luxury Bucket style offers a center-locking console in which to store personal items, while the Luxury Bench seat offers a center fold-down armrest. Both feature adjustable headrests and lumbar support. These seats are currently priced at $1,395.
Ultimate Golf Seating then went on to offer two other designs, the Premier Bench Seat and the Elite Bench Seat. Both are high-quality, mid-line seats designed to be a step between standard cart seating and our higher end Luxury and Supreme seating. These also meet the needs for fleet use and are currently priced at $855 and $799 respectively. All seats can also be custom embroidered, for example, with a customer’s favorite club or team.
Comfort, style, ergonomics and quality are the four guiding principals of the Ultimate Golf Seating product, says Dave, who is the company CEO. “Our seats offer a great alternative to standard seating in two important ways,” he says. “How they feel on your back and how they look on your golf cart. These seats are crafted to be posture correct and back supportive, coupled with comfort unmatched in previous golf cart seating.”
And yes, the seats have been selling, despite the skepticism which initially greeted the two brothers. “Nobody thought people would pay so much for just a golf cart seat,” said Dave. “But people do indeed want these seats. I felt confident there was a market for high-end custom golf cart seats. The seats are designed to capture a niche of customers who desire superior quality and detail.”
In fact, it was Dave’s own experience of playing golf with some lower back pain that got him and his younger brother Dan on to the idea in the first place.
Dave and Dan were out enjoying a round of golf one day and by the time they wrapped up the 18th hole, Dave realized he was really ready to sit in something other than a golf cart. The brothers manage Vahala Foam, a company based in Elkhart, Ind., that is a fabricator of high-quality foam material used mainly in seating for RVs, boats and custom vans. That
expertise suddenly connected with the idea of a better golf cart seat and they asked the question that innovative entrepreneurs always ask: “Why not?” That is, why not put a couple of luxury, automotive style seats in a golf cart?
Yes, think about it: plush, high back seats with marine grade vinyl for outdoor use that can be individually adjusted, with features such as lumbar support and fold-up arm rests in the latest automotive styles. They could see the golf cart industry was booming, with carts being used in all kinds of ways besides catching up with your ball. They could also see that accessorizing golf carts was becoming popular with people who owned their own carts.
So, in 2008, armed and confident with the results of their market research and focus groups, Dave and Dan launched their Luxury Line and started making sales. “Consumers across the United States bought them and their reviews were very positive,” says Dave.
“We knew from our research and from our experience with the RV and marine industries that there was a market for these kind of seats, provided we met people’s needs and desires,“ said Dave. “We focused on those four things: style, comfort, ergonomics and quality. And those are what we’ve become known for.”
Dave had an answer for critics who didn’t think buyers would spend so much for golf cart seats. “It’s like when we all wore canvas gym shoes and they came out with suede shoes. I remember my dad saying, ‘Nobody’s going to pay $50 for a pair of those!’ Nowadays high school athletes pay $150 for a quality pair of athletic shoes. It’s about the style, the comfort, the ergonomics with your feet, and the quality that’s made to last. It’s the same with us.”
Dave noted that the current market for golf carts, despite a slow economy, remains huge and looks to get even bigger as retiring baby boomers and others find golf carts useful in all kinds of ways. About 200,000 golf carts are presently sold and resold every year and the aforementioned aftermarket for cart accessories has also grown substantially as more communities and individuals are turning to golf carts as a vital mode of transportation. People take golf carts to neighborhood activities and to shop at local stores. Kids even use them to get to school.
“For example, there are huge retirement communities located across the United States where the golf cart is the principal mode of transportation,” said Dave. “People use them to go to the grocery store and really trick them out too. They add a paint job, some chrome, all kinds of stuff. Some people might pay $8.000 for a golf cart and then spend that much to personalize it.”
“Then think about how long you might spend sitting in a golf cart, whether driving it around town or on a golf course. You might spend four or five hours in it. If you’re going to watch TV for that long, you’d want something good to sit in.”
What also clearly helped was Dave and Dan’s expertise with seating materials for their Vahala Foam business. “We come from that background of working with high-quality seating materials and providing superior customer service,” says Dave. “We knew the kind of style and rugged quality RV’ers and boaters wanted, and it was a very natural progression into the golf cart arena. What we’ve done is bring materials and a concept no one in the golf cart industry had ever thought of into play.”
The company sells nationwide through golf cart dealers and “they have reacted very favorably. We’ve received a lot of positive feedback,” says Dave. “We really appreciate what they have to say about our product, and we take their feedback very seriously. We take customer service and support very seriously. That is part of our quality emphasis as well.”
Now, with the introduction of the Supreme and Supreme Sport Series, Ultimate Golf Seating is ready to grow the niche it has established even further. One indication of the company’s success is that several firms have started to copy its product. “However, we created this niche. We own the category. People know that we’re the real McCoy.”
Additional information about Ultimate Golf Seating is available online at www.ultimategolfseating.com or by calling toll free at (888) 989-9887.
