Kam Kaddie Electric Trolley Review

Kam Kaddie Electric Trolley Review

Kam Kaddie Electric Trolley
Grade: A
Teacher’s Comments: Does all the hard work associated with walking a round of golf. Great price.

Manufacturer’s Website

The Kam Kaddie electric push cart may be just what you need to get you walking instead of riding on your next round of golf.

Looking for all the world like a standard three-wheeled trolley, the Kam Kaddie hides a large lithium battery and electric motors in the lower central frame. The handle has a push-and-turn knob for speed control and a bright digital display.

The display shows a number for the speed and has a battery life graph.

To get the Kam Kaddie going, push the knob and then turn it to adjust the speed. The motors halt by pressing the knob once again.

In addition to the control knob, the Kam Kaddie has a small keyfob-like controller that lets you remotely start, stop and change speed. However, because there is no steering control, the remote is limited to sending the Kam Kaddie forward in a straight line.

Or a mostly straight line, anyway. The front wheel swivels easily, and will catch the contours of the fairway, quickly veering offline.

In practice, I keep the remote in my pocket and use the Kam Kaddie for what it is: a powered walking assist cart.

As such, the Kam Kaddie works well. With just one hand on the cart to nudge it left or right, the powered trolley does all the heavy lifting. Gone are the days of being bent over at the waist to gain more leverage over a push cart as I head uphill. Gone are the tired legs and tight lower back at the end of a round. The Kam Kaddie lets me remain upright in a naturally relaxed walking position.

I’ve found that the Kam Kaddie is easy to maneuver down the fairway with just one hand placed lightly on the handles. Around the greens, and in tighter spots, I slow it down and use two hands for more precision.

The Kam Kaddie’s speeds range from a slow crawl (1) to a jog (5). I am a fast walker and can just barely keep up when it is at five. For the most part, heading down a fairway, I keep it at four.

Initially, I was worried about what kinds of slopes the Kam Kaddie could handle. It is lightweight and I supposed that the electric motors would not be particularly robust. I was wrong. Washtenaw Golf Club is a hilly course for Southeastern Michigan and the cart handles its fairways with aplomb. It is only on the steepest sides of raised greens that it hesitates. In those cases, a little human-powered assist gets the Kam Kaddie scooting on up.

My experience is that the battery is good for at least 27 holes. I have not tried to push it further than that for fear of running out of power far from the clubhouse. The manufacturer, however, claims that it lasts as long as 54 holes.

If you do get stuck with a dead battery, however, the wheels are designed so you can disengage them from the motor and push it along like a regular human-powered cart.

The Kam Kaddie has two quick fold levers in the frame that make set up and take down a breeze. The wheels slide onto the axles and lock with a push button. The whole thing in either direction takes less than a minute.

In its folded position, with the rear wheels off the axles, the Kam Kaddie is quite small and easily fits in the back of my Subaru Forester along with my golf bag and a large hockey bag of spare clothes, balls, raingear, etc.

A couple of other nice touches on the Kam Kaddie are the storage compartment and cell phone holder just under the handle. It also has provisions for attaching bottle and umbrella holders.

One of the best parts about the Kam Kaddie is the price. It currently retails for $698, which is at least half as much as other motorized trolleys. For that price, you can get two (and currently get a discount for doing so). In an ideal world, I’d have one at the cottage Up North and one at GolfBlogger World Headquarters in SE Michigan.

If you hesitate to walk the course because carrying or pushing seem like too much work, but know you should for the health benefits, the Kam Kaddie is a perfect solution.

Recommended.