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Golf carts have definitely replaced the caddies, especially here in North Texas, and therefore everyone should be aware that they can be considered equipment for a player in the Rules of Golf.
It gets a little confusing, however, since most players share a golf cart when playing.
The rules book says that in such circumstances the cart and everything in it are considered the equipment of the player whose ball is involved, except when the cart is being moved by one of the other players.
For example, I drive up to my ball and you are just sitting in the cart. If I catch the tree in front of me and the ball bounces back and hits the cart, I am penalized two strokes and would play the ball where it lies. In match play, I would lose the hole. In a better-ball competition, my partner would not be affected.
However, if you were a fellow competitor in stroke play or an opponent in match play driving the cart to your ball and this happened, I would not be penalized. In stroke play, I would have to play the ball where it came to rest. In match play, I would have the extra option of replaying the shot. If you were my partner in a better-ball competition and I hit the cart, then I would be penalized two strokes.
All other golf carts on the golf course are considered outside agencies and there is no penalty involved. In such cases, you play the ball from where it came to rest. If it stayed in the cart as one of my partner's shots did during the Aruba International Pro-Am, then a free drop is allowed. Unless, of course, you had already taken too many strokes as was the case here. I simply picked his ball up.
When a golf cart runs over a ball at rest, the ruling depends who was in the driver's seat. In stroke play, I would incur a penalty of one stroke if I was doing the driving. If a fellow competitor was driving, neither of us would be penalized. However, if we were opponents in a match play, you would be penalized unless we were searching for the ball. Even in a search, I would be penalized if I was driving. That's why I park the cart and walk when I look for my ball in the rough.
When the golf cart runs over the ball, it must be replaced on the spot. If the lie is altered, as usually is the case, then the ball must be placed in the nearest, most similar lie, no closer to the hole and within one-club length of the original lie.
Remember, this means that you can not benefit from the fact that the original lie was altered. If the ball was in tall grass in the rough, then that is where it must be placed. If you had sidehill lie, you can not place it on a level lie, even if there is one within the one-club length.
If you can not determine the actual spot from where it was moved, the ball should be dropped as near as possible to where you estimate it originally lay, no closer to the hole.
So drive golf carts carefully, or let someone else do the driving, or walk!