The remote electric golf cart is one of the most popular new technologies golfers are using on the course. In this video, Dan Parker takes a look at three of the best models to have been released and asks whether these are the future of golf club transportation. Stick around to the end of the video to check out a very special wildcard entry to the group.
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00:00 Stood in front of me here are three of the best examples of remote electric trolleys that you can get on the market right now.
00:07 In this video I'm going to be talking about the features and benefits of each to help you work out which is right for your game.
00:13 Now stick around until the end because I've got a really cool, really unique remote electric trolley that I want to tell you all about.
00:20 Right, let's get started.
00:22 [Music]
00:36 So let's get stuck in. Here they are.
00:38 From your left to right we've got the Motorcaddy M7 GPS.
00:42 In the middle of me here is the Powercaddy RX1 GPS and on your right is the Stuart Vertex remote.
00:50 These are three of the best examples, I think, of remote electric trolleys that are on the market right now.
00:55 It's an ever-growing category and an ever-popular category as well.
00:58 You've probably seen a few more of these dotted around on golf courses recently.
01:01 Should we chat about the basics? Let's get the features out of the way so you can work out how these stack up against each other.
01:08 We'll start with price. The Motorcaddy £1499. That's in pounds.
01:13 The Powercaddy £1449.99. Very similar prices there.
01:18 And the Stuart starts at £1249. You can spec that up a little bit with a different finish and a bigger battery as well if you want.
01:27 So those are your prices to get us started.
01:29 Weight, again, very similar.
01:31 Motorcaddy £14.4kg, Powercaddy £14kg and the Stuart £14.1kg.
01:39 That's without the battery. Add the battery and they're all about the same weight. It's another 2kg.
01:44 So very similar weight. You're going to have to accept that with these products, they are a little bit heavier than other trolleys.
01:50 There's two motors in there, but they're all roughly the same.
01:54 Let's talk diameter now when they're all folded up because this is an important bit to talk about when you're storing it, I guess.
02:00 So the Motorcaddy £650. This is in millimetres by 470 by 420, so fairly cuby.
02:07 The Powercaddy £805 and we'll come onto that later. It's a little bit longer by 425 by 345.
02:13 And the Stuart, very compact as well, 540 by 600 by 320.
02:19 So the Motorcaddy and the Stuart are a little bit more compact. We're going to come onto that in more detail later.
02:23 The Motorcaddy and the Powercaddy you can use in manual mode as a standard trolley as you'd get on these dials.
02:29 Here, the Stuart is remote only, something to bear in mind.
02:33 Inverted wheels, you can invert the wheels on the Powercaddy and the Motorcaddy for storage.
02:38 Again, we'll come onto that a little bit later.
02:40 And it's worth saying as well that there is a non-GPS model available in the Powercaddy.
02:46 Right, everyone on the same page? Those are all your features. Those are your basics, them stacking up next to each other.
02:52 Now, I think we need to chat about how these things fold up because it's a really important part of how you interact with the trolley.
02:58 So let's fold them up. OK, here they are then all folded up.
03:01 And as you can see, all three of them are pretty compact considering their size.
03:04 So don't worry too much if you are struggling for space.
03:07 One thing that's going to stand out straight away is the length of the Powercaddy.
03:10 You can see how much that adds when the front wheel doesn't fold under like this one.
03:14 So something to bear in mind.
03:16 What it does have though alongside the Motorcaddy is those inverted wheels.
03:19 And you can see that does save quite a lot of space actually when you're storing it.
03:23 So I do like that.
03:24 The Stuart doesn't have it so it is a little bit wider when folded up but a lot lower as you can see.
03:29 Now, talk about the Stuart and thank you Stuart, a grab handle.
03:33 Look at that. Nice and easy. I know which bit I'm trying to grab and it's not going to come off on me.
03:37 Now, the Motorcaddy and the Powercaddy don't really have that.
03:40 The Powercaddy's got this bit here which you can hold it from but it's a moving part.
03:45 I'm not sure, is that a handle? Am I supposed to be using it like that?
03:49 A little bit disconcerting.
03:50 And the Powercaddy, I'm not really sure to be honest.
03:53 That moves, you can hold it from the wheel.
03:56 I end up sometimes holding it like a child or something.
03:59 It's a little bit weird and you will get a bit muddy and dirty with it.
04:02 So a little design fault for me there that there isn't a handle integrated into these two
04:06 and something to bear in mind and something hopefully I think will get put onto them in the future.
04:11 So that's how they look.
04:13 I'm going to show some footage of me now actually unfolding and folding these back up.
04:16 We'll start with the Motorcaddy.
04:18 My biggest qualm with this is the anti-tip rear wheel which you have to have
04:25 otherwise the remote functionality won't work.
04:27 It will tip over and go over itself.
04:29 It's totally separate from it.
04:31 On the Powercaddy and the Stuart they're integrated into the folding system.
04:34 On this you've got to take it out and put it in manually.
04:37 Not only does it add time to actually putting it all together
04:40 but at some point knowing me I'm going to forget that.
04:43 It's frustrating that it isn't integrated into the system.
04:46 I think that's a bit of a design flaw especially compared to these two where it's integrated.
04:51 However as you can see when I'm folding it's pretty straightforward.
04:53 One step process and whether you do or don't invert the wheels will add a little bit of time
04:58 but it's really easy and worth it I think to save space.
05:01 Same with the Powercaddy. Really simple one step system.
05:04 You see it all folds into the chassis and the only thing you're doing to add a bit of time on that
05:08 is inverting the wheels if you want to do that.
05:11 Now for me the Stuart, I'm familiar with it.
05:13 It was the same on the Q-Follow.
05:15 I've used this system for a while.
05:17 It is a two step system.
05:18 These wheels fold as a separate motion to the rest of it but they do fall under.
05:22 As you can see really quick and easy when I was doing it.
05:25 I think it's my favourite of the two because A) it's compact.
05:29 The anti-tip wheel is integrated and then I've got that handle which I clearly love very very much.
05:35 Okay so let's now chat about the actual remote functionality of these trolleys
05:39 because it's the main reason you'll be getting one.
05:41 It's become really popular over the last couple of years and it really does give you that hands free experience on the golf course.
05:48 Now remote wise the Motorcaddy is awesome.
05:51 Look how compact that is.
05:52 Definitely my favourite out of the three.
05:54 The Stuart and the Powercaddy are fine but they're just a little bit bigger
05:56 and I think that's a really nice design from Motorcaddy which fits there.
06:00 As I mentioned earlier the Motorcaddy and the Powercaddy you can do in manual mode.
06:03 So as soon as you press the dial on here like a conventional electric trolley it will go back into manual mode.
06:08 So something to bear in mind. The Stuart doesn't have that but for me you become so attuned to the actual remote use of it.
06:14 You don't really need it anyway but I just thought I'd mention that because they're there.
06:18 Quickly on the batteries. The Motorcaddy's still got a wire on it which you don't see very often on electric trolleys anymore.
06:24 It's fine. I'm just thinking I'd rather the wireless but it is there. It works. It's fine.
06:30 And the Powercaddy's battery is spectacular.
06:33 Super super thin and it's got that isolator switch on top of it as well.
06:37 Same as the Stuart so you can turn it on and off while it's in the chassis.
06:40 Now the actual remote functionality. All three are a) actually really fun to use.
06:46 I think that's a reason you should be getting something like this.
06:48 They're a lot of fun as a top line. Obviously they're a little bit easier to use as well.
06:53 You can send it off and go after your ball or behind you or whatever. However you use it.
06:58 So all really fun. All super responsive.
07:01 A couple of key things I want to point out though is that the Stuart's microchip it's got in it called Active Terrain Control is super super impressive.
07:08 What that means is if you're ever going up a steep hill or down a steep hill the trolley won't lose speed or gain speed.
07:14 It will stay at the same speed you've had it set for the whole time.
07:18 That means you're pressing the buttons a little bit less.
07:20 Which is I think the goal of these things is to try and take your hands away from the experience as much as possible.
07:25 So I was super impressed with that on the Stuart.
07:27 The Stuart have been the pioneers and the authority in this technology for a while.
07:33 And they've upped their game again with the Vertex I think.
07:36 However all of them have got their own version of a downhill control technology.
07:40 They don't speed up or slow down too much. Which is great.
07:43 The motorcaddy and the powercaddy I really can't pick between too much.
07:46 They're super super similar.
07:49 So yeah I'd say for actual remote usage the Stuart stands out for me.
07:54 Right then the elephant in the room that I think you might have noticed is the handles on the powercaddy and the motorcaddy have GPS.
08:00 Obviously the Stuart is GPS free.
08:02 So let's talk about these two GPS's.
08:04 I will have to consult my notebook on this one to make sure we get it right.
08:08 Now if you don't have a GPS already and you're looking to get a sort of all in one product.
08:13 This is where these two come into their own.
08:15 So let's chat about what they both have as standard.
08:18 So that's front, middle and back distances to the green.
08:21 Hazard information, 40,000 pre-downloaded courses, drag and drop pin positioning, a round timer, scorecard, shot distance measurement.
08:29 And it's all controlled on the same, well not the same, but the same size 3.5 inches full colour touch screen on both of them.
08:39 Now I've got to say for both touch screens super high quality, sort of smartphone quality.
08:43 Sometimes you can get you know sort of naff touch screens in places but they've not skimped on that.
08:48 And the sort of premium feel really comes through on this and they're really responsive and work with the glove as well.
08:53 So that's fun.
08:55 Now I said that's what you get as standard because the motorcaddy does have a little ace up its sleeve.
09:00 And that is the motorcaddy performance plan.
09:03 Now with the M7 GPS you get that 12 months for free as a little trial.
09:07 And what that gives you and it is pretty impressive is most importantly full hole mapping.
09:13 So instead of just seeing the green on there, the dynamic green which is the same on both.
09:17 So the actual shape of the green, you get that plus the full hole map and all the hazards on it as well.
09:23 And that is huge to be fair.
09:25 It really makes it stand out over the powercaddy.
09:28 You get as I said more detail on those greens as well.
09:31 So the hazards will start to appear, the bunkers and the exact shape of the bunkers.
09:35 You also get scoring and stats, fairways and greens here.
09:39 You get automatic course updates and firmware updates because it's got cellular connectivity.
09:45 There's a little sim card in here.
09:47 So even if you're not on wifi or anything like that, it can do its updates automatically wherever you are.
09:53 Now to be perfectly honest with you with the motorcaddy performance plan,
09:56 the only thing I think you'd be buying it for is that full hole mapping.
09:59 And it's worth knowing after that free trial, you don't have to take it up but it is 49.99 a year.
10:04 That's in pounds 69.99 dollars.
10:07 And I know that is frustrating to have another subscription system put on top of the ones you probably already got
10:12 like Netflix and whatever else you have subscriptions for.
10:15 But I do think it's really worth it.
10:17 As I said, that full hole mapping changes the game entirely.
10:20 Right then, concluding thoughts.
10:23 I've been using these all since about March on and off.
10:26 And I've got to say they're all a lot of fun.
10:28 That is my top line on remote trolleys.
10:30 They are fun and convenient as well obviously of course.
10:33 I'm not going to pick an out and out winner here because I think each of these three trolleys
10:38 serves an individual purpose for an individual type of golfer.
10:41 But if you're after the best remote trolley with the best GPS in it,
10:45 absolutely go for the MotoCaddy.
10:47 Brilliantly compactly folding system and that GPS with that performance plan on it
10:51 is the best you can get in trolleys.
10:53 And I know there's another subscription price.
10:55 Say what you want in the comments about that but I think it's fine and I like it.
10:58 And it's a good investment.
11:00 If you want the best out and out remote trolley, the best experience of using the remote,
11:04 stability, control, speed control, you've kind of probably heard it already in this video,
11:10 it is the Stuart.
11:11 So if you're not worried about GPS and you want just the best remote experience possible,
11:15 the Vertex remote absolutely stood out for me.
11:17 And then as for the PowerCaddy, I think we can all agree it is absolutely the best looking.
11:22 And if you want the most simple folding system, space isn't a problem,
11:25 and you like how easy that went down and how easy those wheels inverted,
11:29 there's the PowerCaddy.
11:31 So I think each one does serve, absolutely serve a purpose for a different type of golfer.
11:35 So those are my concluding thoughts on those three.
11:38 Now I did say at the top of the video I've got a wild card option I want to introduce you to.
11:43 I'm just going to wheel it into shot now.
11:45 Here it comes.
11:46 There it is.
11:47 It is the Alphard Club Booster V2.
11:51 And now what this does, it isn't the whole trolley you see here,
11:53 it's just the back two wheels and this device.
11:55 And it turns push carts into full remote electric carts.
12:01 Now there's a list of compatible carts on their website,
12:04 but it includes Click Gear, Rovic, I think the Bag Boy, one of the Big Max trolleys as well.
12:10 And what it does is take the two wheels off the back of your push cart,
12:14 and you attach this via some clamps,
12:16 and all of a sudden you've got yourself a remote electric cart that's a push cart.
12:20 Now it's a really unique device, and it is worth mentioning about half the price of these.
12:25 You can get this for about £800 in the UK, I think it's $800 in the US as well.
12:30 And it's a heck of a lot lighter than these as well,
12:33 because all you're using then is your push cart and these back two wheels.
12:37 Now it's a little bit quirky in places, and the design's a little bit funky,
12:41 the back wheels are a little bit strange,
12:43 and it can be a bit complex in my opinion, it took me a while to put it all together.
12:46 But I think at half the price of these guys here,
12:51 much more lightweight and really quite a lot of fun,
12:54 really stable, really quick as you can see me playing with it now.
12:57 I think it's a really unique option if these are just way out of your price range,
13:00 but you still want the benefits of what a remote electric cart can bring you,
13:04 which is that fun, which is that convenience,
13:06 and ultimately something to carry your clubs around the golf course.
13:08 So this is a really cool option that I think you should really be checking out as well as these three.
13:14 So I think that's about it, I think I've covered all these pretty well.
13:17 Like I said, if you've got any questions for me, get down in those comments, I will try and answer them.
13:21 If there's another remote cart you think I should have mentioned,
13:23 and there are a few, these in my opinion are the best, let me know down in the comments,
13:27 I'd love to hear what you think about that.
13:28 But for now, from the London Club, thank you very much for joining me, I'll see you next time.
13:32 [Closing Music]