Orlando, Fla. — With Boston’s own Meg Mallon named captain of next year’s U.S. Solheim Cup team during the festivities, and top LPGA/PGA instructor Suzy Whaley from Connecticut’s TPC River Highlands boosting golf for women all week, the 2012 PGA Merchandise Show had a decidedly women-friendly, New England flavor. It was, therefore, only fitting that the shining star of the exposition for vendors displaying their coolest new toys for the coming season was a whiz-bang robotic golf cart from a small company in Wakefield, Mass.
Follow the bouncing cart. Representing the next generation in remote-control electronic golf buggies, the CaddyTrek from FTR Systems will follow your every move from tee to green with the touch of a button. You can use the trolley in pure remote mode and click the directional arrows to send it straight ahead, right, left, or reverse, and you can always grab the handle bar to set its course manually. But what truly sets CaddyTrek apart from other remote-controlled e-carts is its hands-free ability to follow you, at your pace. I cannot wait to affix the clicker to my belt and simply have it trail behind me up and down the fairways.
CaddyTrek easily compresses into a compact package that weighs just 33 pounds. The six-pound lithium-ion battery that’s slightly larger than an iPad is a welcome upgrade from the 25-pounder that my current remote-control cart requires. After playing as many as 36 holes on one charge, leave the battery where it is, fold up the conveyance, and plug it in for a recharge. Oh, and not to worry if you have to fish your golf ball out of a hazard; the company promises that CaddyTrek’s patent-pending, multi-sensing technology detects danger and automatically veers away from tree stumps, sand traps, lakes and ponds, and other hazardous objects.
CaddyTrek at caddytrek.com retails for id=”mce_marker”,595. Contact FTR at info@ftrsystems.com and 781-213-3014.
Barefootin’. The honors for hottest new footwear goes to Barefoot B.E.R.B.S. (for Better Energy Recovery Balance Stability) for its minimalist golf shoes. Like nothing you’ve ever worn to tee it up, the flexible, light-as-a-feather foot huggers are as close to a naked foot as you can get and still protect your toes from the elements. Indeed, golfers of a certain age may think “Earth Shoe” when they look down to admire their ergonomically correct, lightweight, low-running, ultra-thin, cleated, and waterproof fashion statements.
Velcro straps that attach over the top and in the back eliminate the need for shoelaces. In pink neoprene with white leather for women, all black with white stitching for men, and white toe box with black saddles for both, Barefoot B.E.R.B.S. retail for id=”mce_marker”39. Since you’ve never felt anything like this before, the company suggests you walk nine holes to start. Contact president and CEO Jeremy Berbert at jmb@barefootberbs.com for more info.
Belly putter training wheels. Belly putters were all the rage at the show but women have yet to join the stampede of golfers trading in their traditional flat sticks for the elongated bats that reigning PGA champ Keegan Bradley and Deutsche Bank Championship winner Webb Simpson, among other PGA Tour stars, favor. If you’re considering going over to the dark side, however, perhaps a set of training wheels in the form of the Belly Putt would be a good way to start.
An adjustable attachment to a golfer’s regular putter, the Belly Putt screws into the club’s handle and can add up to eight inches of height. While the USGA won’t let you use the appendage as is in official tournaments, the intrepid among us may reconfigure it, according to instructions and a kit included with the tool, to meet USGA specifications. Belly Putt inventor Clay Judice says he sold some 1,000 items last year and filled 400 the week after Bradley won his first major.
Belly Putt is available for $39.99 by email or over the phone (337-837-5225).
Emily Kay is a regular contributor to New England Golf Monthly. View all her articles here. You may also follow Kay on Twitter @golfexaminer
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