If you love golf, maybe it’s time for a robot caddie, a remote control motorized cart that can … [+] follow you around the course while you enjoy the walk.
Walking the golf course is undoubtedly better for your health than riding in a cart. But it is probably better for your golf game too. That’s why the must-have golf gear of 2025 is a motorized cart.
Why Walk? Health and Lower Scores
There’s a reason why the best players in the world only walk, and several teaching pros I’ve talked to say the time spent walking to your ball leads to natural focus on the next shot and strategy, versus jumping into a cart, speeding to your ball and jumping out, which can lead to a more scattered mental state.
But the exercise benefits are more quantifiable, with the average 18-hole round (assuming 6,500-yard tees) resulting in a rather substantial 6.53-mile walk. While the playing distance is only 3.7 miles, that does not include the distances between holes or the fact that the course is measured in straight lines, while real life golf zigzags—a lot. In fact, the worse your game is, the more steps you’ll get!
These motorized carts from MGI can be programmed to walk in front of you, behind you or to the side, … [+] whichever you prefer.
The most substantial study on this, spanning more than 1,000 rounds on different courses, determined that the average mileage was 77% more than the scorecard distance. These results were published in leading UK magazine Golf Monthly, which also cited a study at Northern Ireland’s vaunted Royal County Down golf club showing that the 3.9-mile course length required a walk of between 5.7 and 7.8 miles depending on performance. That means those offline the most actually doubled the length, even more than the 77% figure, but in any case, the average was 6.6-miles.
I have played a lot in the British Isles, where most courses are walking only, and carts are not even an option. Historically golf is a walking game, and where it was invented it still is. One silver lining of the pandemic on this side of the Atlantic was a return to walking here, much of which has stuck around, and for quite a while you couldn’t even buy a pushcart because they quickly sold out. For many people, the big barrier between riding and walking is carrying the bag on your shoulder for 6-plus miles, so a pushcart is a great economical option, and if you go that route, the best brand is Sun Mountain, which makes both three and four-wheel standout models.
But I was just in England for a week of links golf, and literally every club member I saw at the half dozen different courses I played had a motorized cart that followed them around the course, aka “robot caddie.” The investment is greater, but if you are playing regularly and always walking, which was the case there, it totally makes sense. This pervasive level of market penetration has not occurred yet in the U.S., but the technology is still fairly new, and it has been gaining recent traction, to the point where a motorized cart is the next big thing in golf. I got one and you should too, so make it your dream upgrade for 2025. The result will be the healthier option of walking, fitness benefits plus lower scores, all without an once of strain on your shoulders or back. And while a pushcart also takes the stress off your back and shoulders, it still takes more effort, and since you are getting all those steps anyway, you might as well save some energy for your swing.
If the cold weather is getting you down and you are dreaming of some warm weather golf, check out my recent Forbes travel story on a top hidden gem golf resort outside Austin, Texas.
Motorized Cart Features and Options
After much research I went with MCI Golf (Motorized Golf International), which offers high performance, one of the longest track records in the industry, and the most bang for the buck. MCI is an Australian company that has been a pioneer and introduced its first remote control cart way back in 2000 and has been manufacturing motorized pushcarts for even longer. By 2010 they had added GPS mapping and in 2014 they began selling in the United States. MCI is the motorized cart partner of Troon Golf, widely known as the top luxury golf course and golf club management company.
A motorized four-wheel cart with remote control can handle the trickiest golf course terrain.
Today MGI has eight models, all of which fold up for easy transport and storage, and most offer its fully directional remote control, which lets you set the caddie to walk ahead of you, behind you, or to your left or right, covering every personal preference. Even the top-of-the-line flagship is very good buy, the MGI AI Navigator GPS+, which has a full color touchscreen with built in GPS mapping of over 40,000 courses worldwide, giving you hole views and accurate distances. It has a USB C charging port and even connects to Bluetooth so you can get texts and emails on the screen (but you probably don’t want to be bothered during golf). It has an app that works on iOS and Android, and most importantly, the 4-wheel cart is rugged and designed for all sorts of terrain, and the remote control works up to 110 yards away. It has a quick release lithium battery that can last for two rounds (36 holes), and includes accessories that are usually extra, such as a drink holder, umbrella holder and phone holder. But at $1,895 it is still a very good buy in this class.
The lower-priced AI 500 has the same GPS and many of the same features in a lighter duty 3-wheel version suited for all but the most rugged courses ($1,499). The Zip Navigator AT is a 4-wheel heavy duty “all terrain” version like the flagship but without the GPS color screen ($1,595). The Zip Navigator is a similar but slightly less heavy-duty model ($1,495).
The most economical choice is the Zip X series, which does not have remote control and is more of a motorized pushcart, though you can preset a distance and send the cart on its own. Say you hit your tee shot about 235 down the fairway, you can punch this distance in and the cart will stop automatically when it arrives. The X5 is $1,099 and includes an electronic parking brake and automatic downhill speed control, designed for hilly courses. But if you live someplace flat like Florida, the X3 foregoes these extras and is one of the only motorized carts on the market you can get for under a thousand dollars, at just $899.
Almost all modern technology gets better and more affordable over time, and motorized, battery powered golf carts have reached the tipping point where if you’ve been thinking about it, this may be the time. That’s why the must-have golf gear of 2025 is a motorized cart or robot caddie.
