Magazine - E-Z-GO Golf Car Package for Prestigious Troon Costa Navarino Resort.

By Peter Driver in Golf on 2nd Jul 2010 9:00

Automotive Solutions, E-Z-GO’s distributor for Greece and Cyprus, has delivered a significant package of golf cars, people shuttles and utility vehicles to the prestigious Costa Navarino resort in the Messinia region of the southwest Peloponnese. E-Z-GO is a Textron Inc.

The resort includes the Dunes course, designed by two-time Masters champion and winning Ryder Cup captain, Bernhard Langer in conjunction with European Golf Design. Managed by Troon Golf, the course was completed in May 2009 and given a full 12 months to mature prior to its official opening on May 20, 2010.

Forty of the very latest E-Z-GO RXV golf cars have been delivered to the course along with a four-seater and a six seater Shuttle for transporting guests to and from the adjacent Westin hotel as well as an E-Z-GO MPT utility vehicle with ball cage and ball picker for the practice range and a Refresher unit for providing drinks around the course.

For the two hotels at the resort Automotive Solutions have supplied a selection of vehicles for housekeeping and maintenance duties. These include 15 four-seater Shuttles with rear folding seats and 10 six-seater Shuttles for guest transportation together with 10 flatbed vehicles vehicles with a variety of specialised bodies for bar and amenity use including food transfer. Also nine TXT four-seater Shuttles have been converted, with hot boxes fitted, for room service duties.

Three MPT utility vehicles are also being used by the maintenance department at the resort; one fitted with an electric lift, one with a lockable toolbox and one with a standard cargo bed. All hotel vehicles are fitted with onboard chargers and battery filling systems for quick charging and easy maintenance.

To win the business, Automotive Solutions loaned an RXV golf car to the course construction for a two-year extended test drive in a head to head with other golf car manufacturers.

“We won the business for two reasons,” said Dimitris Kapetanakis of Automotive Solutions. “First is the technical superiority of the RXV technology; the hilly terrain is ideal for the RXV as the regenerative braking system returns power to the batteries, giving them a much longer range than competitor vehicles. The second factor is the level of after sales service that we are providing to the customer.”

The Costa Navarino development is one of the largest projects in Europe which, when completed, will feature five luxury hotels and five golf courses. Nearby Kalamata airport is being expanded to handle the expected increase in traffic and new roads are being constructed to make the resort more accessible from Athens.

The third hotel is scheduled to open next year together with the second golf course. Automotive Solutions will also be providing the vehicles for these projects.

About E-Z-GO
E-Z-GO, a Textron Inc. company, is a leading manufacturer of golf cars and utility vehicles. E-Z-GO is the preferred golf car fleet provider for many of the world’s most revered golf courses, clubs and resorts. E-Z-GO is also the golf car of choice of nine of the nation’s 10 largest course-management companies. E-Z-GO boasts the largest sales and service network in the industry, with more factory branch locations and independent distributors than any other manufacturer.

More than a maker of golf cars, E-Z-GO is also a leading provider of turf and utility vehicles for a variety of applications and industries. Products under the E-Z-GO flagship include Shuttle personnel carriers, MPT turf-maintenance vehicles, and ST personal utility vehicles. E-Z-GO also produces the Cushman line of heavy-duty burden carriers. Founded in 1954 in Augusta, GA., E-Z-GO became part of Textron Inc. in 1960.

About Textron Inc
Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron in known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft Company, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, and Textron Systems. More information is available at www.textron.com

Read more articles in Golf, by Peter Driver or from July 2010.