HIS short game has always been his strength, but now Brian Taylor’s drive is “smooth” after taking delivery of a brand-new $10,000 Yamaha golf cart he won in a chip-off competition.
To recap, Brian won the golf cart in a 50m chip-off against 13 other club golfers at the Handiskins national final at Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast.
The Pacific Dunes Golf Club member used his trusty 60° wedge and watched as his ball finished 46cm from the cup, which none of the other competitors could match and the Yamaha golf cart was his.
And last month Brian took possession of the brightly coloured golf cart when Yamaha boss Wayne Trefoni handed over the cart keys to Brian at his home course.
Brian was unsure what he would do with the golf cart but now he has made up his mind thanks to a little persuasion from his family.
“I haven’t made up my mind what I will do with it,” he told me minutes after winning the golf cart at Royal Pines in May. “I will have to talk my wife into letting me keep it.
“She is very much for walking the course for the exercise, but when she found out about my win she was thrilled,” Brian added.
“When I told her one of my golfing mates wanted to buy it from me, she said: ‘Of course we’re keeping it – we’d be crazy not to’.”
And that was that!
Brian’s son Duncan too gave the decision to keep the cart the thumbs up.
“Duncan, who is doing a mechatronics engineering degree, researched everything about Yamaha golf carts and said we must keep the cart because of Yamaha’s durability, reliability and features such as independent suspension and steel chassis,” Brian said.
“Wayne Trefoni (from Yamaha) personally delivered the cart to me and went out of his way to ensure that my preference for colour, upgrades and other things were taken into account. He was more than helpful.”
Brian still possesses a deadly short game while “the rest of my game is a work in progress”.
“My chip shots are currently about the only part of my game that really works for me,” he said. “My handicap is steady at 17 and the cart is smooth and a pleasure to drive.”
Chief writer David Newbery has been living, breathing and writing and editing golf for more than 30 years. His extensive knowledge of the game comes from covering golf around the world. Hired by Inside Golf in 2009, David previously worked as the editor of The Golfer for 25 years and before that worked for numerous daily newspapers in Australia and overseas. The Brisbane-based journalist describes his golf game as “a work in progress”, but has had the privilege of playing golf with some of the game’s best players including nine-time major winner Gary Player. David enjoys travelling, reading, music, photography and spending time with family and friends – on and off the golf course. 
