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No matter what you use your golf cart or ATV for — hunting, fishing, working on the farm, heading to and from the community pool or neighborhood park, shopping the Farmer’s Market, or tooling across the sand near the coast — you’re bound to spend a lot of time outdoors this summer!
Our home state may be beautiful, but the South Carolina summer heat (and humidity) can lead to serious injury or worse if you don’t follow basic safety precautions.
Today, we’ll look at four important ways to stay safe throughout the hot summer, no matter where in South Carolina your golf cart or ATV takes you!
1. Sunscreen First — And Second, And Third.
We cannot stress this enough. Even on cloudy days, you could end up with sun damage that leads to painful sunburns or even long-term skin damage associated with skin cancer.
Make sure that each time you leave the house, you’re wearing broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 (we recommend 30 SPF), and that you fully reapply every two hours. Are you heading to the pool or playing in the ocean today? Reapply once per hour. Even “waterproof” sunscreen washes away faster when you’re in the water.
For children under 5 (or anyone who is prone to sunburn), you may want to invest in a rash guard swimsuit. Rash guard styles provide extra UV protection. This will also cut down on the the amount of time you spend chasing down your energetic little ones and convincing them to stand still for another sunscreen application.
2. Drink Water. Lots and lots of water.
We mentioned this in our last post on improving your summer golf game, but the advice holds true no matter what you’re up to in the great outdoors. Dehydration can happen fast, and in the kind of humidity South Carolina often sees, you may not even realize you’re dehydrated until you start to feel dizzy or even nauseous.
Try to drink about eight ounces of water per hour — and more if you’re doing a lot of hard work in direct heat.
To keep your water cool, pick up a customized cooler made just for your E-Z-Go, Bad Boy, or Cushman golf cart that keeps drinks chilled and refreshing, even on boiling hot days.
3. Stay Inside During the Heat of the Day.
The hottest hours of the day are from late morning to early afternoon. If you don’t have to be outdoors during that time, make a point to stay inside from about 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Schedule early golf games, go fishing at dawn, spend time in the garden as the sun is setting. Maybe you can make an exception if you’re on a South Carolina beach vacation, but then again, there’s nothing quite like an evening by the water as the sun sets.
If you find yourself outdoors during the heat of the day, try to limit your time outside to a half hour or less. At least keep yourself under or near shade. A customized enclosure for your golf cart can help you make sure your required shade goes with you, allowing you to stay outside a little longer without feeling the sun beating down on your back.
If you’re taking a four-legged friend with you, make sure they also have plenty of access to shady, cool areas and lots of clean drinking water. Remember that pups can suffer from heat stroke, too!
4. Use the Buddy System
Take a friend out for your early morning golf game. Even if they don’t golf, it’s a great excuse to catch up on conversation!
If you’re headed to the pasture for a few hours of hard work, keep in contact with friends or family. Better yet, work alongside someone else and get the chores done faster. The same rules apply when going to one of South Carolina’s ATV-friendly state parks. Take a buddy with you!
The symptoms of heat-related illnesses like heat exhaustion or heat stroke are often things you won’t notice in yourself, but would pick up on in someone else. On summer’s hottest days, spend time outdoors with a friend or family member so you can help each other follow our first three rules and and also provide assistance if anything should happen.
Follow these four rules, and you’ll have a safer South Carolina summer, no matter how high the temperature climbs!
Visit Go With Garrett’s Golf Cars and Specialty Vehicles
Looking for customizations to help beat the summer heat, like coolers, enclosures, cooling fans, and more? Go With Garrett’s Golf Cars and Specialty Vehicles is here to help! We have three locations, ensuring that no matter what part of our great state you live in, you’re just a few minutes away from buying new or preowned golf carts and ATVs that are perfect for your family and lifestyle!
Reach us by phone at (864) 862 7709 for Greenville, (803) 407 2687 for Columbia, (843) 881 8894 for Charleston, or contact us online at any time!
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