There is a saying that golf’s beauty “lies in between shots.’’ The meaning, of course, is that golf is best played and experienced when walking. Players, particularly in the United Kingdom, have lived by that mantra for more than 500 years. Spoiled Americans, on the other hand, prefer hitching rides on golf cars.
Over the past five years, however, Stewart Golf has been making strides (pardon the pun) as being the best available option for players who want to begin walking – or want to walk more – .with a collection of electric golf caddies that are the most stable and user friendly on the market.
How user friendly? Consider that the Stewart Q Follow combines handsfree “Follow’’ technology and ultra-responsive Remote functionality, each of which provide unimpeded freedom and control anywhere on course. In other words, it’s a caddie that doesn’t talk back and you don’t have to feed.
The Stewart Golf VERTX, meanwhile, includes a first in golf Active Terrain Control (ATC) that company Founder/CEO Mark Stewart says is a sophisticated operating system that gives the user “ultimate control’’ of their trolley on any course, no matter how challenging its landscape. The Q Follow and each of the VERTX models easily fold and are light weight. Each cart can easily folded down with one hand.
“Small enough to fit in the front trunk of a Porsche,’’ Stewart told me with a smile.
Made in the UK and with a dedicated customer care and distibition center in Houson, each Stewart cart is sole with a 30-day, on-course the carts trial period.
Truth be told, there really is nothing like any Stewart Golf trolley (cart) on the market today.
VERTX (Stewart Golf)
“Most of our customers are regular golfers,’’ said Stewart, who founded the company in 2003. .“Since Covid, there has been a big walking boom (in the U.S.). Our business tripled overnight and continues to grow.’’
To be sure,Stewart Golf trolleys aren’t inexpensive. Retail prices begin at $2,999. A Q Follow, for example, currently But, Stewart said, consider the future savings on not having to rent pull cart or golf car, as well as the physical fitness each electric caddy provides through walking, and the costs reduce considerably. In addition, a Stewart electric caddy generally improves pace of play versus a golf car.
“You can just directly to your ball without having to stay on a path, at 90 degrees of dropping off your partner at his orher ball,” Stewart said.
In regards to fitness, Stewart cites the results of a study conducted by Professor Graeme Close, of Liverpool John Moores University. Published in the European Journal of Sports Science, the study reveals the “truth’’ about golf’s health benefits, including how making the switch to an electric golf caddie could make you feel better, perform better and still burn the same calories as carrying or pushing.
“We can prove the calories that you burn,’’ Stewart said. “We can’t measure how you feel, but we know there is more romance to walking. It’s a more enjoyable place of play. It’s about the cadence inside you that says, ‘This is what we should be doing.’’’
Feature Photo: Q Follow (Stewart Golf)