gmorrison is correct. When putting new batteries in a cart charge them fully before even driving it. Batteries do come somewhat charged, but not fully charged. After you have charged them completely, drive the cart for 10 to 15 minutes and charge fully again. Do this 10 - 15 times to "condition" the batteries (kind of like a break-in period). This is something that most people are not aware of and it does take somewhat of a toll on your new batteries. If you follow this procedure and do faithful maintenance (check water level regularly, use distilled water only, maintain pack charge of 50% or more at all times, and keep clean tight connections) you should get many years of good service out of your batteries. Plug your cart in to charge even after using it for as little as 15 minutes. Keeping as full of charge as possible keeps the sulfation build-up on the plates to a minimum. Sulfation is what eventually will destroy a battery. Check out these documents from Trojan battery. They are very good at explaining how to get the most out of your investment.
http://www.trojanbattery.com/Tech-Su...intenance.aspx