Appalachian Golf Cars

Written By: Marlene Osteen | Issue: August - 2022

Sunscreen, fire pits, Yeti coolers, RV’s and ebikes.Name a thing that people use for recreation, and it’s asafe bet that sales boomed during the Pandemic.Golf cars are no exception. Covid turbocharged the busi-ness, fueled by consumers tired of staying in. Desperate forstimulation they turned to thrills closer to home – like golf carsand low speed vehicles. It accelerated a sharp rise in sales toyounger families who don’t play golf and are just using the golfcar as a lifestyle vehicle.The upsurge in golf car sales has been good news for the Hickockfamily, owners of Sapphire’s Appalachian Golf Cars, dealersof Club Car, a leading golf car manufacturer based in Augusta,Georgia. According to Club Car’s vice president of marketing,consumer sales have roughly doubled since the pandemic.Appalachian Golf Cars had been in business since 1993 whenthe Hickocks bought the dealership in 2017 upon their retire-ment – leaving their home in San Diego.Clark Hickock had spent the years till then working in corpo-rate America, traveling and buying and selling companies – hewas a CEO when he retired. And Mary Lou had worked formany years in public schools as a speech therapist. Their sonJason and his wife joined the business during the pandemic in2020, moving from Austin where Jason, a former U.S. ArmyRanger, had worked in automotive management and Amber wasemployed at an HVAC outfit. Today Jason works alongside hisdad as co-owner and General Sales Manager and Amber usesher degree in finance to help in the office.The Hickocks and their team are well known for providingsuperior service to customers in 11 counties in Western NorthCarolina. And they’re proud to be associated with Club Car,the best golf car manufacturer in the industry – recognized asleaders in efficiency and long-lasting value. The full-servicedealership offers both new and reconditioned golf car sales,along with rentals, parts, and accessories. They maintain afull-service repair shop that combines excellent workmanshipwith exceptional customer service and are the only mobilemechanics in the area.Today they are the go-to golf car sales and service organizationfor most of the clubs on the mountains. One of North Carolina’stop-ranked dealers for Club Cars, they are distinguished for theunique buying experience they offer that pays close attention toindividual needs. The company’s commitment to their customeris exemplified in their motto: “We are here to make yourexperience the very best it can be.”For more information, visit appalachiangolfcars.com.

by Marlene Osteen / photo by Susan Renfro