GOLF CAR NEWS
Club Car ’ s New Robotic Caddie www . forbes . com
Ifeel like a celebrity . As I ’ m walking the fairways of Torrey Pines South Golf Course in San Diego on a gorgeous June afternoon , people are snapping photos and videos of me . And they ’ re shouting at me from adjacent holes . Okay , they ’ re more interested in what ’ s following me : Club Car ’ s brand-new Tempo Walk electronic and robotic caddie .
It ’ s a 95-pound , three-wheeled , waterproof unit that you prop up your golf bag in . And via a remote control that you clip to the back of your shorts , it follows you around the course with a steady distance of four feet from your body . You run and it picks up the pace . Slow down or stop and it does , too . All the while , it emits a slight and subtle hum that pretty much only you can hear -- so you don ’ t need to keep looking over your shoulder to make sure it ’ s there . Best of all , you can just enjoy the walk and focus on both the scenery and your golf game .
Club Car is best known in golf circles for its driving carts , so this is new territory for the company . The general concept is not new by any means : At least 10 years ago , I played a round with a motorized , remote push cart much like this from a bag manufacturer . But the Club Car version is a lot more polished than previous attempts from others . I experienced only one hiccup with it over 18 holes . My golf towel swayed in the wind at one point and blocked the unit ’ s electronic eyes momentarily . So it stopped but gave me an audible warning message that it lost contact with my remote . The Tempo Walk also has a tablet mounted to it , which displays yardages to the front , middle and back of every green -- via GPS .
When you arrive at your ball to hit a shot , you just flip the switch on the remote . That way , the unit stops following you -- giving you room to swing your club . You also follow that protocol when you walk onto a green or into a bunker .
The entire experience was fairly seamless . There was little learning curve involved . And like I mentioned , people definitely took notice . Several asked questions to me from adjacent holes . Mostly they wanted to know how much it cost , where they could buy one , and if it worked as smooth as it looked . Speaking of , consumers cannot buy these . They are actually loaned for free to golf courses -- there will be “ lots ” of golf facilities across America using them by year ’ s end , according to a company spokesman . Club Car takes half the rental revenue the course gets , as payment . Rental fees will vary by course , but golfers can likely expect to pay between $ 20 and $ 40 to rent one for 18 holes .
My bigger question : Is this another case of a robot replacing a human ’ s job -- in this case , a caddie ? The company rep reasons that this costs golfers a lot less than hiring a caddie , and you don ’ t have to banter with it all day or tip it afterwards . Still , I ’ ll hold my verdict -- until it can tell me which way my putts break .
AUGUST 2018 29