I try to walk as often as I can, but with a sketchy back I don’t like slinging my bag. That’s why I use push carts, also known as “trolleys” for you HOG patrons in the U.K. I’m now sporting this 4-wheel trolley from Big Max Golf, the Blade Quattro:
The Blade Quattro sports “4-wheel drive,” in a folding package that flattens to a small footprint for putting in the trunk or storing in the garage:
I need to capture some video of the folding action. The wheel’s automatically fold under when the user folds the frame. Very cool.
I’m just starting my detailed review process, which of course means a lot of on-course evaluation. Stay tuned for my full review soon, lack of snow permitting here in northern Utah.
Until then, enjoy one more shot of the Blade Quattro doing its thing.
I love to walk when I golf, but with a bad back I don’t carry my bag that often. So I like to use a push cart (“trolley” for my friends in the UK). I’ve had the BIG MAX Auto-Fold FF unit in play since this summer and put it through a very rigorous test battery. Yes, being one of the world’s top golf bloggers can be rough. You know, having to play golf and “evaluate” great golf equipment, apparel, and accessories. I do it for you, the HOG patron. Now let’s take a look at the BIG MAX Auto-Fold FF cart/trolley.
Big Max Auto-Fold FF in all its glory
Construction/Design
The BIG Max Auto-Fold FF (okay that’s taking a lot of typing, so let’s call it the BMAF from this point on) is a 3-wheel push cart/trolley designed to make walking the course easy. The two rear wheels are large and wide and the front wheel a little smaller but still a wide tread. The wheels and wide wheelbase help the unit push very easy and ride very smoothly. I have a few other trolleys which shorter wheelbases and smaller wheels, and those designs seem to accentuate bumps and hills. The BMAF handles bumps and hills much better.
BIG MAX Auto-Fold FF Push Cart/Trolley
The frame of this unit is extremely solid and sturdy. Big Max makes many push carts for the rental pool of courses, and those must be tough. That knowledge and experience in design carries into the BMAF. That said, the unit is still quite light and easy to lift into the trunk of my car. When folding up, the two rear wheels can be easily removed.
The handle is big and solid with nice padding. That helps to make pushing the unit and steering it easy.
The golf bag is secured onto the cart with some nice and easy to use thick bungee cables with solid hooks. It’s a good way to secure the bag. The unit can cary bags up to the large “tour” size.
Folding
Speaking of the trunk, the unit folds for storage and transportation. Folding is very easy. In fact, no “latches” or buttons or anything else need be manipulated to fold it. Just grab the front wheel and pull up and it folds nicely.
I don’t have a large space in my trunk yet the folded unit still fits easily with my clubs (photo below).
In the trunk with the clubs
Extras
The accessory compartment (photo below) is located underneath the scorecard holder, conveniently behind the main handle. The pouch is very large. I bet it would easily hold 3-4 dozen golf balls. I put my GPS, phone, camera, sunglasses, cigars, cutter, tees, glove and small children in there.
Accessory storage, drink holder, umbrella holder
There is an umbrella mount (main photo). That’s great to have for not only when it is raining, but when it is bloody hot here in the desert. I’ll put up the umbrella to give myself shade.
A drink holder connects to the side of the handle with a “quick lock,” along with a GPS holder. Both are conveniently located for easy access.
Final Thoughts
The overall experience of using the Big Max Auto-Fold FF trolley is fantastic. It is extremely easy and enjoyable to push, despite its large footprint. It rides smoothly and provides a very solid and stable platform for my golf bag and all the rest of the stuff I bring onto the course.
On my next Scotland trip I might ship my Big Max there in advance!
My 3-year-old Seve and I have had a blast with the new BIG MAX Autofold FF 3-wheel push cart (UK: trolley). I set it up in my office and have been carting him around the hallway, living room, and kitchen. Finally after about 14 hours that fun finally wore off I got a chance to take the trolley out into the back yard and get some pictures of it.
BIG MAX Autofold FF Push Cart/Trolley
I will begin testing this cart on my next walking round, Monday. Then I’ll keep it in play the rest of the week until I take off for Scotland. I’d really love to bring this trolley with me to Scotland to use it there instead of carrying my bag or renting trolleys there. Oh well. Life is rough.
BIG MAX Autofold FF Push Cart/Trolley
Stay tuned for my full review of this push cart soon. Initial impressions are that this is a well engineered, substantial piece of golf equipment. Let’s see if it holds up to some real abuse use.
Unit folds into a very compact and easy to store size: 12.8″x26.4″x16.5″ folded
Weighs 16.8 lbs
4-wheel stability
Easy to push with large 10.75″ wheels
Accessory holder (car keys, phone, camera, etc)
Scorecard holder
Golf ball/tee holders
Umbrella holder (great for not only rain, but keeping you in the shade in the hot summer months)
On The Course
Before I get on course, let’s talk trunk to course. The unit is folded into a conveniently compact size at only about 13x17x26 inches. The trunk of my car is not big, but the cart fits fine along with my clubs.
After pulling the cart out of the trunk the unfolding and setup could not be easier. All that is required is to push ONE button. That’s it. That’s all folks. The unit unfolds like some kind of science fiction movie transforming robotic character. After a few seconds the unfolding is complete and you can slap your golf bag on it and be off to the first tee. I almost have more fun folding and unfolding this thing than I do playing golf. Check it out:
During the course of the round the EasyPal performs well. I have several 4-wheel push carts and it is just as easy to push as any other in my fleet (yes I have a fleet). I’ve played many rounds with this unit and still have yet to charge the battery. Obviously by the way, the battery needs to be charged before you can use it.
I’ve used the umbrella mount in rain and it does a great job. I like to use it in the hot summer with a large umbrella to keep the sun off me.
The accessory container is nice and big to hold the million things I seem to need to carry like my large cell phone, camera, golf pocket GPS, car keys, nutrition bars and so on.
When done with the round the one-button process is all that is needed to fold the unit up. One push and it folds by itself and then easily stores in the trunk of the car.
Pros
Obviously the auto folding and unfolding is a pro. The 4-wheel stability is a pro. The ease in which the unit glides over the fairways and even through some rough terrain is great. The accessory holder and scorecard holder are excellent.
Cons
This is not a motorized push cart. Just the folding is automated.
I find it funny that all these electronics, battery, charger, and extra weight are dedicated entirely to the folding and unfolding. So that the user can push this easy button, he/she then pushes around the extra weight of the battery and all the motors for 18 holes? My deal lately because of my thoughts on this has been to take the unit out, unfold it, take the battery out and leave it in the trunk while playing my round. That way I’m not hauling a battery around for miles for no reason…
The handle position is a little high on the unit and can’t be repositioned due to the folding gig. I’d like the handle to be a little lower. I’m not that tall.
Due to how narrow they are, the front wheels rub against the lower pockets in my golf bag. I have to remove the stuff from those pockets and push them down somehow to prevent the wheels from rubbing the bag.
It is important to remember to put the BRAKE on when folding or unfolding. On a hill once I started the unfolding and the cart started rolling away. I’m sure I expended more energy chasing the cart than I would have if I had to manually unfold it!
Conclusion
While unfolding this cart a gentleman in the parking lot at one of my local courses came over and inquired about it. He offered to buy it from me on the spot! There apparently is a demand for this type of thing! If you find your push cart to be inconvenient or too hard to fold or unfold, the GolferPal EasyPal just might be the answer for you. The awesome motorized features aside, it is a solid 4-wheel cart.
Back in February 2009 I did a review on the “Upright Caddy Racr.” The Racr is the only four wheeled golf push cart where the golf bag is mounted in a vertical position. As I stated in my previous review, the vertical orientation of the bag makes accessing clubs way easier than any slanted cart. The clubs go in and come out of the bag so much easier. The vertical orientation also makes accessing the various pockets of the bag more convenient as well.
Upright Caddy Racr Features
Unique vertical mounting of the golf bag for ease of use with accessing clubs or bag pockets
Four wheels
Super lightweight aluminum tubing
Folding design and removable rear wheels for ultra compact size during transport and storage
Adjustable handle
Handle mounted parking brake
Racr video
Improvements for the new 4th edition Racr
In my previous review I raved about how great the Racr and the concept was, but I also had a few critiques which I felt needed to be resolved before I could fully endorse the product. I met in person with the passion and brains behind the Racr, Mr. Andrew De Carlo, and we talked at length over the design strengths and weaknesses. Andy didn’t waste any time revising the Racr and making huge improvements in the 4th edition of the unit.
Improvement 1: Airless tires
How many times have you gotten to the course and your push cart’s wheels were flat? This has happened to me more times than I can count. Naturally the pump was nowhere to be found, so I’d have to leave the cart in the car and carry my bag or ride a motorized golf cart. If I was assertive enough, I’d find the cart barn and use their pump to pump up my tires. PITA.
The new Racr has airless tires. No longer do I have to worry about pumping up the tires on my cart before my round, or worry about a tire going flat during a round of golf.
One of my biggest problems with the previous Racr was the ball, cup, scorecard, pencil holder. The old ball holder’s holes were too small and the pencil holder was about 2x too big to fit standard golf pencils. Those problems have been resolved. The cup holder has been improved as well, but I’d still tweak that a bit if I could by adding two additional straps to cover the bottle/cup on four sides.
Impovement 3: Handle padding and features
One problem with the previous revision of the Racr involved the pad on the handle of the cart. When folded up the pad could stick to other parts of the frame, then tear off pieces of the padding when unfolding. The new version of the Racr addresses this problem and improves the handle. Thicker padding covers the handle, and a Velcro section around the handle replaces the area where the tear would occur with a place to hang a golf glove to dry. Great idea.
Improvement 4: Longer strap and telescoping frame
One problem with the old unit was on very large bags the straps weren’t long enough. This problem has been resolved with straps which are much longer and now can handle any bag I threw on the unit.
The Racr has a telescoping frame which supports the top and back of the golf bag, where the aforementioned strap attaches to. The new tubes are slightly longer to accommodate taller bags.
Improvement 5: Bottom strap
The old Racr’s bottom strap, which secured the bottom of the bag, had a ball and loop fastener. This worked OKAY, but sometimes was a bit tough to work with. A new hook and loop system are a good improvement in the new Racr.
Improvement 6: Lever added to help release frame locks during folding
To fold the main frame down on the old Racr it took two hands, one for each back frame lock. It also helped to have the brake on and/or stabilize the unit with a foot to pull them up. Now folding can be initiated with the ease of one hand with the new crossbar which attaches to both locks. What took two hands and possibly one foot, takes one hand now. That was a bit tough to describe but please see my new Racr video to get the concept.
Improvement 7: Front mount straps for accessories or small cooler
To take advantage of the space behind the front wheels and in front of the golf bag, the new Racr has some straps which could hold a cooler.
New color
Last year’s model was silver/gray in color. The new Racr can be identified by the deep semi-metallic red color. More colors may become available down the road.
Conclusion
The new edition Racr 4 wheel golf push cart is ready for prime time.
I love to walk the course but having a bad back makes carrying my bag a tough option to swallow. Pushing my bag on the Racr is very easy and fun, and allows me to walk the course without tweaking my back. Having my bag mounted vertically is so great. The Racr is very easy to set up, tear down and transport.
I thought I’d seen it all in golf gadgets and accessories, but until the 
Improvement 2: Ball, cup, scorecard, pencil holder
Improvement 6: Lever added to help release frame locks during folding
HOGWire – Golf Industry News
