It wasn't long ago that the best remote control electric trolleys were just a toy for that one really rich guy you knew at the golf club. Now, with more social acceptance of the remote trolley and more brands than ever making them, they've never been more accessible or more enjoyable for the average golfer to use.
With lower prices very much in mind, let me introduce you to Navee, a brand that has entered the UK market with a seriously competitively priced remote electric trolley, looking to disrupt the stranglehold the likes of Motocaddy, PowaKaddy and Stewart Golf currently have on this part of the market.
Navee is a Chinese company that specialises in electric scooters but has entered the golf market seemingly with one task in mind: undercut everyone. We've already tested the brand's Birdie 3X trolley, which is ostensibly the same trolley you see here but with added Follow technology, and now it was time for the slightly pared-back model to be put through its paces.
I'll cut straight to the chase. The Birdie 3 Remote retails at £799.99 here in the UK. That's the best part of £300 cheaper than the RRP of the 2026 version of the Motocaddy ME Remote, the cheapest model from the much more established powerhouse that is Motocaddy.
There are some even cheaper options than the Navee. The Alphard Club Booster V2 - which is a rear chassis addition to a push cart rather than being a full model - is only around £500, and a Ben Sayers remote trolley, around £699, is available too. I haven't tested this yet, but at a glance online, it doesn't fill me with excitement.
That leaves the Navee as the cheapest, purpose-built remote trolley available for purchase in the UK. It's great to see remote models slowly but surely become more accessible in terms of price point, but at what cost in terms of functionality and pleasure does this cut-price RRP afford us? Sadly, a little too much for my liking.
One of the most frustrating elements of the Navee starts on its very first use. Though the setup is pretty quick (bar the bizarre, instructionless umbrella holder and phone mount that comes with it), once you fire the Navee up, it beeps every time you press start or stop.
While not ear-piercingly loud, it's one of those noises that, once you hear it, you can't unhear it. Quite quickly, it becomes a very annoying presence during your round of golf. Though I tried, it can't be turned off, and makes you an immediate enemy of your playing partners, anyone within earshot and, eventually, yourself.
I had multiple occasions where I wanted to stop my trolley to let someone hit their shot, only for the beeping noise to interrupt their pre-shot routine over the ball. After the countless times you have to start and stop the trolley during a four-hour round of golf, you come off the course feeling like you've gone 12 rounds in the boxing ring with R2D2, rather than the sense that a relaxing round of golf has been enjoyed.
I get the sense this is a product developed by people who aren't regular golfers. Sure, the beeping has likely been implemented as a 'safety' feature to let the golfer know their command has been understood by the trolley. Makes sense on scooters, sure, but not here on the golf course.
Sadly, this set the testing procedure off to a poor start, but all was not lost for the Navee. Credit where credit is due, this is a very stable model once it's running on the course. I like the dual front wheels, which offer a much wider and more stable base than some of the single front wheel remote models on the market. Both of the front wheels are also on a 360° pivot, which makes for excellent and quick manoeuvrability, too.
Including a phone mount is a nice touch, doubled by the free one-year subscription to the premium version of the Hole 19 GPS app. Widely regarded as one of the best golf GPS apps you can get on your phone, this is a really neat added touch from Navee that effectively turns this into a full-featured remote GPS at half the cost of the major brands like PowaKaddy's RX12 GPS.
Unfortunately, the Birdie 3 doesn't come with a built-in gyroscope, meaning it can't track straight when traversing a side slope. That means gravity will have its merry way with the Navee unless you provide constant corrections as you walk up a fairway with any sort of sideways camber. It often means having to apply more input than you would on even the best push cart or best standard electric trolley.
In terms of overall weight, it's actually a little lighter than most of its competitors. It's still heavy, though, as all remote trolleys are. It folds relatively compactly, though it would be good to see a folding mechanism added to the rear stabiliser wheel and also be given the ability to invert the rear wheels to save even more space.
So, the million-dollar question: is the cut-price RRP worth it for the Navee? For me, no. What you gain in an extra bit of money in your back pocket, you lose in usability on the golf course.
Seeing as you spend the best part of four hours with this device while it carries your beloved and expensive golf clubs, the investment of an extra £200-£300 on a much more refined model like the Motocaddy ME over the 7-10 year lifecycle of a trolley will make a lot more financial sense in my opinion.
That being said, a three-year frame warranty with Navee (one more year than you get with PowaKaddy and Motocaddy), and a five-year battery warranty is an excellent offering again, considering the lower RRP. The company even has a UK-based service center based in Scotland.
That shows signs to me that this company is here to stay, which can only be a good thing for competition in what is still a relatively compact sub-category within electric trolleys. I've also been told a new generation is already in development, and hopefully, they'll have had time to read this feedback from my review before they start developing the next generation in earnest.
There's the base of something decent here from Navee, but it lacks the culture and time in the industry that its more established competitors have to iron out some of the creases that come with not having developed golf-specific products for a very long time.
No doubt that will come soon as feedback for the product comes in. If the brand can keep this incredibly appealing price tag on a slightly more refined product next time out, we'll be onto a winner.
