I recently played a high-end course that sported golf carts with impressive capabilities on its extra large GPS screen. In addition to the usual distance information, the carts also offered strategy advice and let you track each shot’s distance. The screens showed the location of—and distance to—the carts ahead of you, helping to ensure that you didn’t hit into another group. Notices on the screen popped up to tell remind you of the 90 degree driving rule. You also could order food and beverages from the cart, and call for help if needed. Just for fun, the unit also broadcast the leaderboard from the latest PGA Tour event.
All of those features, along with reading an article about the University of Michigan’s experiment to connect cars in a wireless computer network got me thinking about the future of golf carts. Here are a couple of ideas for the GolfBlogger Cart of the Future™ (GCF™) with its GolfIntelligence™ unit.:
- The GCF™ GolfIntelligence™ unit would have all the features mentioned above, but also would be touchscreen (the one I used had pushbuttons).
- The GCF™ GolfIntelligence™ unit would let you keep score for each member of the group, and also would manage handicaps and bets in a variety of formats. Just input each players’ shots and the results are reported.
- For larger groups, The GolfIntelligence™ unit; would allow players to see how other players are doing elsewhere on the course. It would be a sort of mobile leaderboard.
- GolfIntelligence™ units would keep players informed about pace of play, warning them when they were falling behind relative to the groups ahead. The same data would be transmitted to the golf pro and rangers, who could pop in virtually on the GolfIntelligence™ unit and send a message. It would also let the rangers know exactly who is responsible for the delays.
- Golf cart traffic info on the GolfIntelligence™ would let players know if the idiots immediately ahead are to blame for the jam, or if they’re waiting for a group ahead, who’s waiting for the group ahead of them. It’d keep tempers down.
- The GCF™ would mount a wide angle sensor on the forward roof of the golf cart that picks up the flight path of the golf ball and then shows you on the cart’s GPS where the ball has landed. Given the doppler units that are available for practice, I don’t know why you couldn’t add a bigger, more accurate one on a roof. Then, you’d just have to be sure to aim the front of the cart in the direction of your swing before taking the shot. It’d be like having a forecaddy. The cart would lead you right to the area where the ball should be.
- As the unit above already does, the GCF™ GolfIntelligence™ unit would track your distances. In addition, however, the cart’s gps would store each player’s distances in a cloud account. After a couple of rounds, the cart would then—like a caddy—help you with club selection based on your previous distances, and what the cart’s GPS knows about elevation. A little sensor on the roof could also help with compensating for wind.
- The GCF™ would also have a built-in video camera under the doppler that films each shot. Each swing then would be linked to the distances calculated by the cart’s GPS, and to the flight path and spin information tracked by the doppler. After the round, players could upload the information to an account, where a pro could then analyze the information. How someone performs on a course is a much better indication of their true swing than what shows up on the range under a pro’s watchful eye. This would be a great new revenue stream for the pro at the course.
- A bluetooth device, like the one sold by GolfSense would transmit swing plane data to the GCF™ GolfIntelligence™ unit for future review.
- Instant weather reports, including radar images would be available on the GCF&trade GolfIntelligence™ unit screen. Players would know if there was a front rolling in.
- Safety feature: every GCF™ will have a first aid kit and an AED device.
- And finally, the GolfBlogger Cart of the Future™ will have power to spare. I find nothing more annoying than a cart that goes up a hill with less speed than I could walk it.
If I had these features on my carts, they would almost be enough to convert me from a walker to a rider.
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I am a little less demanding. I would like a cart which:
– holds two loaded Sun Mountain C-130 bags without crushing, angling, or manhandling the bags into position.
– has USB outlets on them (I bet this on new carts right now)
– has a fan/AC. Today will be 97 degrees. I am getting tired of the heat.
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All the features of yours I like, however, the one which has ball radar on it might be difficult to utilize on a number of courses where the cart path isn’t directly adjacent to tee boxes.
I love the idea of a leaderboard which has multiple foursomes on it and would keep bets/skins/skats on it, I keep thinking I am going to build an iOS app which will do this, but I never get around to it.
Yes. Bigger bag areas would be great.
Not sure about the USB. Do we really want to encourage people to have phones and such?
AC would rock. Didn’t think about it here in Michigan. It’s been in the mid 70s all week. But heat would be better.
I think the radar would have to be a wide angle arrangement.
I see your point about phone usage, but 98% of the time my iPhone is used for something other than a phone call but for applications which have higher battery drains. I used my iPhone yesterday as GPS and music player, and had a 2.5 hour round and was down to 30% battery at the end.
I actually thought when I first saw the RSS for this article it would be the push cart of the future. Probably because I just found mine. Looking at the 4-wheelers, there are aspects of both the BagBoy and the SunMountain that I like, but I would prefer an easier fold on each. I saw the Golfsmith (Tour Trek) One-Click 3-wheel which folds with a single pushbutton mounted at the top where the handle meets the top bag mount. Researching further I found this is the Caddytek One-Click. Looking up reviews I found Caddytek makes a 4-wheel version of the one-click, and THAT’S what I want. Then I found out in Golfsmith yesterday that they will have a 4-wheeler coming out this fall – I hope it is the same Caddytek one-click and once I can check it out in the store I will probably get it.
It’s an amazing golf buggy. What’s great about it is it is fully enclosed which makes it ideal for all weather conditions. Most buggies today are no good once it starts to rain.