We often look on with envy at Rory, Tommy, Scottie and the like, as their caddies strain under the weight of their tournament bags, leaving the players to focus purely on the next shot.
And with the average game of golf lasting three and a half hours and involving five miles of walking (even more if you’re wayward off the tee), how nice would it be to be able to offload the clubs and put all your energy into making that birdy.
This is where a good golf trolley can help to improve your game but if you’re thinking of investing before your next tee time there are a few choices to mull over first. Is your trolley going to rely on you to pull or push it, or will you electrify the experience, whereby an on-board battery will power the bag along?
Obviously, the latter will set you back more, but if you often play on courses with a lot of ups and downs, you might welcome the fact that the batteries are doing the work, not you.
Whatever you decide, it’s important that the trolley has good manoeuvrability and roll over fairways as well as in the rough, and that the unfolding/folding mechanism is efficient. The last thing you want after a bad round is spend any more time wrestling with an unresponsive trolley back to the car park.
Trolleys should also have as compact a footprint as possible, plus good ergonomics and extras like a holder for your scorecard and drinks bottle.
Best golf trolleys at a glance
- Best overall: Kaddey Switch Push Trolley - £235, Kaddey
- Best folding mechanism: Eze Glide 3G Smart Fold Trolley - £159, GolfOnline
- Best for small boots: Powakaddy Micra Push Cart - £179, ExpressGolf
- Best entry level electric: Powakaddy FX3 Electric Trolley - £664, CompleteGolfer
- Best for a quick start: BagBoy Nitron Push Trolley - £269, Golf Shop Online
- Best handling: Stewart R1-S Push Trolley - £175.20, Stewart Golf
- Best two-step folding system: Motocaddy CUBE Push Trolley - £179, Express Golf
- Best four-wheeler: Ram Golf Deluxe FX 4 Push Trolley - £159.99, Ram Golf
- Best remote-control trolley: MGI Zip X1 Electric Trolley - £999, American Golf
- Best follow trolley: Stewart Q Follow - £1749, Stewart Golf
We tried several manual and electric trolleys from some of the most well-known manufacturers and took a new one out for a test drive every time we played a round, basing our review of each one on how it helped or hindered our scorecard. Shop now
Kaddey Switch Push Trolley
Best: overall
This is a permanent trolley, which means it doesn’t have a folding mechanism. Its USP is that it’s meant to be attached to your golf bag at all times; the only thing you will have to do pre-game is to simply slot in the two big wheels, which will carry you effortlessly around the most geographically challenging of courses.
The trolley is designed to be pushed or pulled, so faced with a hill you can get all your weight behind your bag and get to the top without puffing. It’s lightweight, its bag fixing is very efficient and secure and we love the functionality of the trolley and the considered details, like a pencil sharpener to keep your scorecard legible and a selfie mode, which allows you to fix your smartphone to the handle so you can record and analyse your swing.
Buy now £235.00, Kaddey
Eze Glide 3G Smart Fold Trolley
Best: folding mechanism
The Eze Glide was true to its name and rolled effortlessly over the fairways and never got stuck in the rough, as well as accommodating a range of bags via the trolley’s adjustable brackets, which did a great job of keeping our bag secure.
The folding mechanism was one touch and very, very smooth, and the front wheel retracts to reduce the wheel print of the trolley in the boot of your car. It’s also very easy to lift in and out of a boot, thanks to it being made from lightweight aluminium.
There’s good customisation at the handle so you can dial in the ergonomics and the footbrake was easy to operate and dependable.
In terms of the extras, there’s a scorecard, drinks and pencil holder and dry space for any other bits and bobs you want carted around for you.
Buy now £159.00, GolfOnline
Powakaddy Micra Push Cart
Best for: small car boots
Known primarily for its electric carts, Powakaddy also has a range of excellent push trolleys. The Micra is our favourite thanks to its compact design and a two-step folding mechanism that is easy to operate and never gets jammed or stuck.
The wide wheelbase and wheels make for easy rolling over fairways, but also doesn’t struggle if you have to take it into the rough.
A solid footbrake adds to the trolley’s usability and there’s plenty of functionality with dedicated mobile phone storage that’s soft lined and water resistant, as well as a scorecard and pencil holders plus plenty of further storage for balls and tees.
Buy now £179.00, Express Golf
Powakaddy FX3 Electric Trolley
Best: entry level electric
If you’ve decided to finally electrify your golf game, this trolley is an excellent jumping off point with an effective folding mechanism that we couldn’t find fault with.
The tactile handle adds to the experience of driving the trolley and it handled superbly over the course, driven by twin motors - although we did experience some wheel spin going up moderate inclines on dew-wet grass.
However, for an extra £50 you can incorporate the clever electric braking system (EBS) which senses an incline and slows wheels to increase traction.
It’s all finished off with a smart-looking, 2.3-inch full-colour widescreen display that was easy to read at a glance.
Buy now £616.00, Complete Golfer
BagBoy Nitron Push Trolley
Best: for a quick start
We had no issues with keeping our golf bag in place with the strapping on the Nitron and there’s plenty of storage space on board if you don’t exactly travel light when playing.
There’s a scorecard console, drinks holder and a stash pocket for all the golf balls you’re about to lose. If it’s raining there’s an umbrella holder and an extra utility storage pocket under the scorecard.
What we loved about this lightweight cart, rolled well over 18 holes, was the lightning-fast one-step folding mechanism (assisted with nitrogen, hence the model’s name), which means you won’t have to waste any time getting out on the course.
Buy now £269.00, The Golf Shop Online
Stewart R1-S Push Trolley
Best: handling
This British-built trolley had some of the best handling on test with big ball-bearing wheels, which had no trouble trampling over long grass when another tee shot went AWOL. And it was easy to drive, thanks to a nice, silicone handle that felt comfortable in the hands. Our bag was never in danger of coming free and was held in place by adjustable jaws.
The folding system never failed (neither did the foot brake, which was simple to operate) and it folds into a compact size thanks to the brand’s innovative rack and pinion mechanism.
It features an umbrella, scorecard, ball and drinks holder and the fact that it’s available in 10 different colour combinations means that you won’t have any issues matching it to your current golf bag.
Buy now £175.20, Stewart
Motocaddy CUBE Push Trolley
Best: two step folding system
The CUBE packs down very tight (40 per cent tighter, in fact) and folds and unfolds easily with a very well-thought-out system that didn’t snag once in all the time we tested it.
The bag attachment secured our clubs well and the trolley was easy to move up the fairway thanks to its ergonomic handle and easy-roll rubber wheels and they coped well when things got a little rough and we needed some more traction.
There’s a storage net under the handle as well as drink, scorecard, umbrella, ball and tee holders and we got plenty of admiring glances when the red and black version (you can choose from blue and black too) was parked outside the clubhouse.
Buy now £179.00, Express Golf
Ram Golf Deluxe FX 4 Push Trolley
Best: four-wheeler
Our one complaint with four-wheelers is that they don’t always handle that well, but that’s not a grumble that we had with the FX 4, which performed superbly over 18-holes. Added to that was a solid and smooth folding mechanism that was only ever a button push away and for a four-wheeler it was still pretty compact, as long as you’ve got a fairly organised boot space. It’s lightweight also made it easy to lift in and out of the car.
The trolley held our bag well, the foot brake was easy to operate and in general the trolley came well provisioned with holders for your bottle, umbrella, pencil and tees and a separate compartment for phones and keys.
Buy now £159.99, Ram Golf
MGI Zip X1 Electric Trolley
Best: remote-control trolley
There’s nothing more comical on a course than seeing a golfer haring after a runaway electric trolley because the remote control isn’t responsive enough.
Thankfully, we didn’t have any problems with the excellent remote on the Zip X1 and felt totally in control of the cart as it trundled along in front of us, making light work of all the different terrains from tee to green.
The twin motors had plenty of punch to get the trolley up inclines and the two larger rear wheels combine well with the multi-rotational front wheel to make it very manoeuvrable.
It’s very easy to see exactly what speed you’re going at from the display, which also shows battery life and tracks distance walked and the distance of your last shot thanks to onboard odometers.
Set up and breakdown was also very straightforward and the three-step folding system worked very efficiently.
Buy now £999.00, American Golf
Stewart Q Follow
Best: follow trolley
This is the supercar of the trolley world, with a price tag to match, but it harnesses some serious tech which allows the trolley to track you as you head around the course. Simply press ‘Follow’ on the Bluetooth gizmo, hook it to the back of your trousers and away you go, and the trolley will simply follow in your footsteps using the Bluetooth signal as a guide.
It will stop when you stop to play a shot, you can take control of the remote to bring the trolley to heel and even send it on to the next green, while you try not to look too smug in front of your playing partners.
Cutting-edge tech aside, this is a great trolley, travelling effortlessly over the course and performing well on slopes and inclines. For a follow trolley, it really is incredibly compact when folded down too.
Buy now £1749.00, Stewart
Verdict
We love a bit of ingenuity and the Kaddey Switch Push Trolley has got bags of it, from the compact breakdown to the fact that you can just leave it attached to your bag if you have the boot space.
Big, sturdy, 15-inch wheels made it one of the best handlers which rolled well in the rough when shots went wayward, but it’s the little details that make this best on test.
From the in-built pencil sharpener for your scorecard and sturdy storage toolbox to the fact that there is even an attachment for a smartphone in selfie mode so that you can analyse why you’ve ended up in the bunker again.
