Stewart Q Follow Review

Stewart Q Follow Review

Stewart Q Follow
Grade: A+
Teacher’s Comments: A golf course game changer for walkers — and for those who should walk.

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As loyal readers know, I am a dedicated walking golfer. I walk every round I play, unless a course forbids walkers — and I avoid those courses. I carried until my back said “no more,” and since have relied mainly on three wheeled push carts like the Big Max Blade IP and the powered assist Kam Kaddie.

Earlier this summer, Stewart Golf USA sent a Q Follow electric trolley for me to borrow for a review.

The Stewart Q Follow is the next best thing to having a human caddy — maybe even better because one can rest assured that the Q Follow is completely non-judgmental. Nor does it expect a tip. And it does not complain about being loaded up with two dozen balls (I don’t, but I could; its got power to spare).

As I walked the course with the Q Follow, it often occurred to me that at long last I have the personal robot that science fiction promised when I started reading it in the 1970s. Now if only I could have a flying car.

With the remote clipped to my belt on my backside, the Q Follow lets me walk completely unencumbered down the fairways, arms swinging, staying loose for the next shot. It is out of sight and mostly out of mind. The motor is just loud enough to assure that it is still keeping up.

The follow function really is amazing. A push of a button on the remote links it to the cart. After that, the Stewart Q Follow powers along behind at a respectable distance, adjusting left and right as needed. It easily keeps up with my fastest walking pace (and I am a fast walker). When I slow, it also slows; when I come to a stop, it glides in slowly and comes to a stop just a few feet behind.

A cart following dutifully behind its golfer gets a lot of comments from playing partners and stares from adjourning fairways.

“He’s got a robot!”

Following ends with the push of the stop button. Thoughtfully, the silicon cover for the remote has a couple of raised dots that make it easy to reach back and stop the cart without unhooking the remote from my belt. If I take it off and bring it into my line of sight before stopping it, the Q Follow will track the remote in my hand, which has led to it running into the back of my leg.

I like to have the cart parked to the right of the ball, so as I approach, I walk a yard or so to that side and just past it. That puts the Q Follow in the perfect position before pushing the stop button. It really is no different from the way I manage with a push cart, parking to the right of the ball.

While the follow function performs flawlessly, it did take a couple of rounds for me to get used to it. I learned, for example, that its steering can be a bit erratic on a cart path. Now, when I have to take a path — or in tight situations — I use the Q follow in a manual steering, powered assist mode.

In the powered assist mode, I clip the remote to the handles and stand behind it just as I would on a non-powered push cart. A push of the forward arrow button sends the Stewart Q Follow forward at a slow walking pace. In this mode, it is quite easy to steer through tricky situations such as across bridges, between bunkers or in the parking and around the clubhouse.

If more speed is needed, holding down the forward arrow will accelerate it to a good clip — one that could potentially outrun the golfer. Take care. The stop button will bring it to an immediate and jerky halt. It is much better to use the glide stop button on the remote. This slows the Stewart Q Follow gradually to a smooth halt within a yard or so.

The remote also has backward and left and right arrows. Combined with the forward arrow, this lets the golfer send the Q Follow ahead.

At first, I imagined that I would use the Q Follow primarly in the “send ahead” mode. I thought I would be nervous not seeing where it was, or that something would fall off the cart and I would never know.

I tried it in the follow mode, and much to my surprise, I love it. There is a welcome sense of freedom to having it follow wherever I go.

The Q Follow is powered by a large lithium battery that lasts at least two rounds on the courses I play. At my home course — Washtenaw Golf Club — where I typically trek five and a half miles, a round eats around 40% of the battery. The same was true on a couple of much more rugged courses in Northern Michigan that I tested it on.

Keeping track of remaining battery life is easy with the Q Follow app. The app connects to the battery via bluetooth and offers a graph showing the capacity left.

Twin motors on the Stewart Q Follow provide more more than sufficient power to swiftly glide up hills. Downhill, it regulates is speed, keeping it all under control. I daresay anywhere a riding cart can go, the Stewart can go.

For all its power, the Stewart Q Follow folds to an impressively small package for transport. One button unlocks the handle segment. A second unlocks the main support. A third folds the rear balancing wheel under. The entire thing can be folded or unfolded in less than a minute. Or it will after some practice. For some reason I have had trouble remembering the exact location of the rear wheel lock and usually have to fumble around for a second.

The Q Follow fits comfortably in the rear storage of my Subaru Forester, along with my bag, shoes, extra balls and other paraphernalia.

Build quality on the Stewart Q Follow is excellent. It’s constructed of a “microcellular composite chassis” which comes across as a very dense, strong plastic. All of parts fit closely and tightly. After opening the box, there is virtually no building to do.

All of these feats of engineering and software do not come cheap, however. The list price is currently $2699. That’s probably a fair price

They have models in other colors as well.

Overall, the Stewart Q Follow is an excellently designed gadget. I have just three thoughts for possible improvements.

First, I’d like to see the front wheels on swivels, rather than fixed forward as currently designed. That would make the Stewart more nimble. Right now, when the Q Follow turns, the front wheels slide left and right over the ground as the rear wheels distribute power in the direction of the turn. It works, but could be better.

Second, I wish that the handle had a dedicated stop-go button — one that doesn’t require the remote. I have this (probably unreasonable) worry that that the remote would run out of power, leaving me away from the clubhouse with a cart that won’t move without it. The app keeps me from worrying about the big battery. Maybe there could be a part on the app. The LED will flash when the battery is low, but at that point it might be too late.

Finally, the remote has a non-standard USB charging cord. The one end is a USB A, but the charging end is a 5.5mm circular 5v plug. I think it would have been much better to have a USB C on that end. If a USB C can charge my laptop, it can charge a remote.

Those minor points aside, the Stewart Q Follow is an amazing bit of hardware and one that I wholeheartedly recommend if you’d like to walk without the burden of carrying or pushing a bag.

I have enjoyed my rounds with the Q Follow and am going to be very sad as I send it back to the manufacturer.