The driving range
Great rides for golfers

By Jay Akasie

It is always desirable to arrive at any golfing engagement in high style. And fortunately, there are some splendid automobiles on the market today. On the surface, they might seem as different from one another as night and day, yet nonetheless all have one thing in common—the ability to get us, our playing partners and all our clubs to the course in the utmost comfort.

First up is the Chevrolet SSR,
a radical design statement if
there ever was one.
We confess it is a bit retrogressive—resembling a late 1940s pickup truck—with a
healthy dash of muscle car. Indeed, when the hardtop comes down it is transformed into a
two-seat roadster with a monstrous 300-hp V8 that begs
to be punched every time the
light turns green. Now that is indulgence! The back of the SSR
is essentially an enclosed truck
bed, so there is more room for golf bags than any sportscar trunk in existence.

Then there is transportation for the rugged individualist—which is a strange way to describe a sport utility wagon. A wagon is supposed to move groups and the Subaru Outback does that just fine. But many Subaru owners enjoy driving their vehicles alone, whether up into the mountains, to the golf course, or onto the beach. Not only is the Outback exceptionally durable, it possesses every bit of the luxury and power claimed by wagons which cost twice as much. Especially suited to the golfing lifestyle is the L.L. Bean edition, with an elegant cabin and plenty of room for several bags of clubs,
as well as cargo options for easily accommodating a sporting lifestyle.

There are those who would not be caught dead downing a beer at a municipal course—refined souls who are much more at home swilling Pimm’s cups in the clubhouse at Royal Troon. Here we recommend the Range Rover, that quintessentially British people—and cargo—mover. It is a stately vehicle, inside and out, but can handle just about any back road, steep incline and indiscreet weather thrown its way. At highway speeds the Rover lowers itself one inch to improve aerodynamics. It’s not enough to notice with the naked eye, but then again, understatement and sophistication have always gone hand-in-hand for Range Rover owners.

Golfer friendly vehicles come in virtually every size, shape and price range—the Outback for the self-reliant, the SSR for the slightly more daring, or the Range Rover for the downright decadent. With any one of them waiting in the lot after an uncooperative round, the ride home is ample consolation.