What Trundlers are best for you?

By Anthony Barkley
NZPGA Professional

Trundlers, buggies, push carts or whatever you like to call them, these golfing essentials have advanced over the years making pushing your bag around the course much easier. I will refer to these as trundlers in this article.
I remember when these first came out and I was playing at The Balmacewen Golf Course in Dunedin. The best part of having these trundlers is that you can let them go at the top of a hill, if they go straight!  Let’s just say on one large hill I let it go and to the delight of my playing partners it took a shift to the left and ended up ploughing into a tree at full pace, and it survived. Never really went straight again but I kept using it for years.
If you have an old Kean Cart pull trundler, I feel it’s time to upgrade to the modern push version. You want to make your walk around the course as easy as possible and the newer styles glide beautifully plus its easier on your body. We have actually had some go to a push trundler from the electric trundlers as they are that easy.
The modern trundler comes in 3 or 4 wheel options and I think there are not too many differences in performance between these generally. Certainly the ones with larger wheels glide better, especially when they also have large front wheels. As I said in my story above, you can let them go down hills but do watch out for large bumps (and trees) as it can turn into large mess.
Costs of trundlers have gone up slightly but most are close to the prices you used to pay for the older Kean Cart in their day. Now you pay from $250-$500 for a trundler. The higher you pay generally means the better the quality. I would recommend to watch out for the models that have a wire support between the wheel legs as this in my opinion shows some form of weakness in its manufacturing. Most of the cheaper models do have these but they can break so buyers beware.
My Top Pics
Sun Mountain MC3
This is the new version of the Speedcart model and now has 4 larger wheels, disc break system and sleek design making it our most popular model. Its strong and has a simple break system. I have not had any models with breakages other than with the umbrella holders which I will talk about later.
Its priced at the $349.00 mark but comes with good warranties and support if you ever need.
Sun Mountain also have the New Reflex trundler which folds down smaller and has sold well.
Clicgear 3.5 and 8.0 Models
These have been around for a while now and are strong and sturdy. Break issues seen in the 3.0 model have been tidied up and as with the MC3 trundler we have very few breakages with the 3.5.
The 8.0 model is a larger model with four wheels that still sells but with its larger price tag lags behind the 3.5. You can add plenty of accessories with these models such as handwarmers, seats etc.
The 3.5 models sits at $425.00 each and the 8.0 is $500+.
Clicgear also carry the Rovic trundler which is cheaper but in my opinion doesn’t match the 3.5 model for quality.
Aspects to watch with both models:
Umbrella Holders: It’s recommended to not use the holders on windy days as they are prone to snap and they are not warranted by the companies as they are not designed for windy conditions. Do use them on calm sunny days as they are awesome for blocking the sun.
Bags: Both companies have matching bags for their trundlers that are top quality and Sun Mountains SYNC bags have a “V” on the bottom that fits the MC3 trundler meaning it will never roll around which can be annoying for golfers.
A third brand to consider is the Flip n go models as these sit at a price point just under the MC3 and are similar in functionality. We have not seen too many issues with these models also.
So these are my recommendations for push trundlers on the market today. There are loads of options out there, each having different selling points but for trundlers, if you buy cheap, you get cheap so I do recommend you spend a little more as you want your trundler to last.
If you would like one of the above trundlers please contact us directly or go online to www.100percentgolf.com and make a purchase and receive a gift to sweeten the deal.
If you need Electric trundlers we sell MGi, MotoCaddy and now PowerCaddy so can give you great advice as to what suits you best and will ship FREE to you anywhere in NZ.