Push Carts

[vickie]

Curious if you compared to the Clicgear at the time while shopping as well? And if so, what was the deciding factor for the Sun Mountain that set it apart?

I saw the Clicgear 4.0 in a store this week. Clicgear was one of the frontrunners from my research online, but there was a supply problem at one time. I don't recall if that drove my decision.

Clicgear's wheels and wheel base look larger than the VR1, or probably any other one I looked at. The frame too. It has an imposing structure.

The Clicgear has more storage than the VR1. I tend to not use the plastic storage case on the VR1. It seems too shallow to be very useful. I end up putting my extra balls, case for glasses, etc in the mesh bag. I'd rather have 2 small mesh bags, side by side, so I could separate stuff. (Exact opposite from purses where I don't want a bunch of compartments.)

The Clicgear has silicone belts that hold the bag in place. I don't care for those. It would require me to futz with 2 belts every time I put on or take off my bag. The VR1 has bungee cords with hooks. Each one takes about a second to hook/unhook.

The Clicgear weighs 21 pounds vs 18 for the VR1. As far as loading/unloading from the car, less weight is better. But -- the Clicgear folds up more compactly so it's like putting an almost square box in your car wrt the weight distribution. The VR1, folded up, is considerably longer. I can put it in the car with the wheels (heaviest end) going in last so I don't put extra strain on my back, but I'm still supporting 18 pounds while bent over at the waist. Or if I leave the brake off, I can put the wheels in first and roll it in. I'd rate the two carts about equal because Clicgear compensates for the extra weight by folding into a friendlier package.

Then the issue with the additional weight of the Clicgear is about pushing around an extra 16% of weight for the duration of your round.

I don't think you'd go wrong with either of these carts. If you're putting a cart and a golf bag into a car trunk, you may find an advantage to one over the other insofar as how well it fits with your golf bag.

 

[MissySki]

I saw the Clicgear 4.0 in a store this week. Clicgear was one of the frontrunners from my research online, but there was a supply problem at one time. I don't recall if that drove my decision.

Clicgear's wheels and wheel base look larger than the VR1, or probably any other one I looked at. The frame too. It has an imposing structure.

The Clicgear has more storage than the VR1. I tend to not use the plastic storage case on the VR1. It seems too shallow to be very useful. I end up putting my extra balls, case for glasses, etc in the mesh bag. I'd rather have 2 small mesh bags, side by side, so I could separate stuff. (Exact opposite from purses where I don't want a bunch of compartments.)

The Clicgear has silicone belts that hold the bag in place. I don't care for those. It would require me to futz with 2 belts every time I put on or take off my bag. The VR1 has bungee cords with hooks. Each one takes about a second to hook/unhook.

The Clicgear weighs 21 pounds vs 18 for the VR1. As far as loading/unloading from the car, less weight is better. But -- the Clicgear folds up more compactly so it's like putting an almost square box in your car wrt the weight distribution. The VR1, folded up, is considerably longer. I can put it in the car with the wheels (heaviest end) going in last so I don't put extra strain on my back, but I'm still supporting 18 pounds while bent over at the waist. Or if I leave the brake off, I can put the wheels in first and roll it in. I'd rate the two carts about equal because Clicgear compensates for the extra weight by folding into a friendlier package.

Then the issue with the additional weight of the Clicgear is about pushing around an extra 16% of weight for the duration of your round.

I don't think you'd go wrong with either of these carts. If you're putting a cart and a golf bag into a car trunk, you may find an advantage to one over the other insofar as how well it fits with your golf bag.

Thank you @vickie, this is a really nice overview~! I ended up seeing the VR1 in a store randomly when getting some new golf shoes (mine are white and I wanted a darker pair too because I'm sick of always trying to keep the white looking clean!). Ultimately I did decide to go with the Clicgear model 4 and just ordered it yesterday!

 

[vickie]

Ultimately I did decide to go with the Clicgear model 4 and just ordered it yesterday

Great! So now we can start on your next golf shopping list!

Tall cup to fit cup holder
Super long reusable straws for the cup (you'll sip water much more often if you don't have to pick up a cup and put it back)
Umbrella
GPS or laser rangefinder

 

[MissySki]

Great! So now we can start on your next golf shopping list!

Tall cup to fit cup holder
Super long reusable straws for the cup (you'll sip water much more often if you don't have to pick up a cup and put it back)
Umbrella
GPS or laser rangefinder

I like the way you think!

 

[vickie]

Great! So now we can start on your next golf shopping list!

Tall cup to fit cup holder
Super long reusable straws for the cup (you'll sip water much more often if you don't have to pick up a cup and put it back)
Umbrella
GPS or laser rangefinder

Birdie bottle (You have to practice with it so you get it right when the time comes. Belle and I treat all pars as birdies for practice purposes.)

 

[MissySki]

@vickie do you have a recommendation for all of these things? I have not started venturing down these paths yet haha. Well, I did look at the Clicgear umbrellas, but they don’t seem to get great reviews so I didn’t get one of those at the same time as ordering my cart.

 

[MissySki]

Birdie bottle (You have to practice with it so you get it right when the time comes. Belle and I treat all pars as birdies for practice purposes.)

I love this! What do you use for birdie juice, and the bottle of course?

 

[TNtoTaos]

I love this! What do you use for birdie juice, and the bottle of course?

Most folks I golf with buy the tiny little bottles of something like that cinnamon fireball whiskey, and carry tiny cups (like bathroom cups). I don't carry any, since I usually don't have to worry about birdies

 

[MissySki]

Most folks I golf with buy the tiny little bottles of something like that cinnamon fireball whiskey, and carry tiny cups (like bathroom cups). I don't carry any, since I usually don't have to worry about birdies

I am right there with you! Lol

 

[TNtoTaos]

@vickie do you have a recommendation for all of these things? I have not started venturing down these paths yet haha. Well, I did look at the Clicgear umbrellas, but they don’t seem to get great reviews so I didn’t get one of those at the same time as ordering my cart.

Don't overthink it! Get the essentials, and then once you're using the cart you'll decide what else you need/want. But do get a mylar/silver umbrella when you get one -- they really are cooler than regular fabric umbrellas. I still don't have a rangefinder -- I use the SwingU app, which also works on my Apple watch.

 

[vickie]

Some of the things I got:

Tall cup -- I looked in Walmart, Target, etc. for one that fit snugly in the cup holder but would not stretch out the holder too much. And I wanted a hole that a long straw would fit thru

Super long reusable straws

Birdie bottle -- I was introduced to this by a putting instructor my golf friend and I were paired with one day. He said every time he comes home from golf, his wife checks to see if the Birdie bottle is empty. If it isn't, she asks "what's wrong? didn't you have fun?" So we helped him avoid that kind of pressure at home. He introduced us to Skrewball, peanut butter whiskey, and to the "rule" that newer golfers celebrate pars just as he would a birdie. It added some fun to our day ... we were all cheering each other on to make pars and birdies. I actually made par that day on a par-3 hole by chipping the ball up over a tree and landing it on the green. If you get a Birdie bottle or any kind of flask, you will need a small funnel for filling it.

GPS or laser rangefinder -- I first tried a couple of free apps on my phone. 18 Birdies worked well. If you want to try those, you might google best golf apps and see what they're recommending now. After using a couple of apps, I found I really didn't want my phone in front of me all the time. For me, golf is a get-away from everything else. I don't like wearing a watch, so I was going to buy a handheld rangefinder, but then realized a watch could just as easily be strapped to my bag as to my arm. I bought a Garmin Approach S12. I think the S10 is their least expensive watch. I don't recall what extra features the S12 had. I wanted something fairly simple. I really just wanted yardage displayed large enough that I could read it with a glance. The S12 also allows me to keep score on it, or choose not to. You might want to try a golf app on your phone first to see if you even like it. The S12 is about $150 now. I found it on sale over the Thanksgiving/Xmas holidays.

Laser rangefinders are more accurate than GPS. GPS is +/- 5 yards, IIRC. Laser requires you to focus the laser on whatever spot you want to measure to. GPS keeps decrementing as you walk toward the green; you can glance down and get the reading quickly. Some, maybe all, phone apps allow you to move the target to, say, a dogleg so you can get the yardage to that versus yardage to the green itself. With free phone apps, you can play with some of the features and figure out what is or isn't important to you.

 

[TNtoTaos]

Some of the things I got:

Tall cup -- I looked in Walmart, Target, etc. for one that fit snugly in the cup holder but would not stretch out the holder too much. And I wanted a hole that a long straw would fit thru

Super long reusable straws

Birdie bottle -- I was introduced to this by a putting instructor my golf friend and I were paired with one day. He said every time he comes home from golf, his wife checks to see if the Birdie bottle is empty. If it isn't, she asks "what's wrong? didn't you have fun?" So we helped him avoid that kind of pressure at home. He introduced us to Skrewball, peanut butter whiskey, and to the "rule" that newer golfers celebrate pars just as he would a birdie. It added some fun to our day ... we were all cheering each other on to make pars and birdies. I actually made par that day on a par-3 hole by chipping the ball up over a tree and landing it on the green. If you get a Birdie bottle or any kind of flask, you will need a small funnel for filling it.

GPS or laser rangefinder -- I first tried a couple of free apps on my phone. 18 Birdies worked well. If you want to try those, you might google best golf apps and see what they're recommending now. After using a couple of apps, I found I really didn't want my phone in front of me all the time. For me, golf is a get-away from everything else. I don't like wearing a watch, so I was going to buy a handheld rangefinder, but then realized a watch could just as easily be strapped to my bag as to my arm. I bought a Garmin Approach S12. I think the S10 is their least expensive watch. I don't recall what extra features the S12 had. I wanted something fairly simple. I really just wanted yardage displayed large enough that I could read it with a glance. The S12 also allows me to keep score on it, or choose not to. You might want to try a golf app on your phone first to see if you even like it. The S12 is about $150 now. I found it on sale over the Thanksgiving/Xmas holidays.

Laser rangefinders are more accurate than GPS. GPS is +/- 5 yards, IIRC. Laser requires you to focus the laser on whatever spot you want to measure to. GPS keeps decrementing as you walk toward the green; you can glance down and get the reading quickly. Some, maybe all, phone apps allow you to move the target to, say, a dogleg so you can get the yardage to that versus yardage to the green itself. With free phone apps, you can play with some of the features and figure out what is or isn't important to you.

Most of the phone apps also work on an Apple watch, and probably on non-Apple watches, as well, so no need to spend $$ on a golf-specific watch. The SwingU app gives me yardage (accurate enough for me -- if +/- 1-3 yards made a difference, I'd be making more birdies, LOL). I used the free version for awhile, but then decided to pay for their Plus version, because it allows you to track which how much yardage you get with each club, and will even suggest which club to use, wind speed, "plays like" distances, etc - and no ads. I got it on sale for ~$2/mo. And of course you can keep a detailed or simple score on it. I really like being able to keep score on my watch - I also didn't like pulling out my phone all the time, and would constantly forget to note my score, but now I don't even use a paper scorecard anymore.

Another phone/watch app is the GHIN app, which you need anyway to keep your handicap info. I like the SwingU app better, so I transfer my score to the GHIN app after every round.

Another little item I find essential is a little bead stroke-counterlike this -- there are a bunch of different ones on Amazon -- without which I would never be able to remember my strokes/hole.

I like the idea of "par juice" instead of birdie juice, LOL. Maybe some of my partners would get a little tipsy, heh heh.

 

[Susan L]

I have the MGI electric push cart from Costco. It’s really nice to not have to push at all. Used it for a year, then decided to start carrying. I use the Sun Mountain 2.5+ stand bag with 9 clubs and 3 balls, which makes carrying quite easy even with elevation changes.

 

[MissySki]

I have the MGI electric push cart from Costco. It’s really nice to not have to push at all. Used it for a year, then decided to start carrying. I use the Sun Mountain 2.5+ stand bag with 9 clubs and 3 balls, which makes carrying quite easy even with elevation changes.

What made you decide to go to carrying from the electric cart, seeing as how you sound to have liked the electric cart and not pushing to some extent?

 

[Susan L]

What made you decide to go to carrying from the electric cart, seeing as how you sound to have liked the electric cart and not pushing to some extent?

I like that I don’t have to push the cart BUT my walking pace is between speed 4 and 5 (not sure of the unit they use), so the cart is either ahead of me and I feel I am trying to catch up, or it is behind me and I am waiting on it. It is difficult in the summer when I want to be under the umbrella. With carrying, I have one less thing to worry about (pace) and I have learned to bring the bare minimum for my round. The heaviest item in my bag is my hydroflask whereas with a push cart, I bring plenty of useless items with me.

 

[MissySki]

Just to update now that I’ve been using my Clicgear model 4 cart for awhile.. I LOVE it!! I got home from golfing tonight and was just like wow I’ve used it so much more than I thought I would and it really makes me happy to have out there. Lol There was a good sale recently on accessories for the Clicgear carts, so I bought some extras too. Haven’t actually used them yet, but I figure I’ll get that stuff more dialed in for next season. Currently I am most often just trying to golf as quickly as possible to finish with enough light because we are losing it so quickly now. I wish there was more time, I am finally starting to have some things click with my contact issues and it stinks that the outdoor season is almost done.

 

[TNtoTaos]

Just to update now that I’ve been using my Clicgear model 4 cart for awhile.. I LOVE it!! I got home from golfing tonight and was just like wow I’ve used it so much more than I thought I would and it really makes me happy to have out there. Lol There was a good sale recently on accessories for the Clicgear carts, so I bought some extras too. Haven’t actually used them yet, but I figure I’ll get that stuff more dialed in for next season. Currently I am most often just trying to golf as quickly as possible to finish with enough light because we are losing it so quickly now. I wish there was more time, I am finally starting to have some things click with my contact issues and it stinks that the outdoor season is almost done.

That's great that you're enjoying your cart. I really prefer walking when I play, and having a cart that you enjoy using makes a big difference. I agree -- it's a bummer that the days are getting shorter, and soon it will also be too cold to play comfortably.

My playing has improved quite a bit within the past couple of months - I actually started breaking 100 regularly! My local golf buddy and I have finally found a woman instructor here in the Clarksville area, and we started taking weekly lessons with her. She's great, and has helped me make some good changes to my swing. It's really too bad we didn't find her until September, but I'm looking forward to starting up with her ASAP in the Spring.

 

[MissySki]

That's great that you're enjoying your cart. I really prefer walking when I play, and having a cart that you enjoy using makes a big difference. I agree -- it's a bummer that the days are getting shorter, and soon it will also be too cold to play comfortably.

My playing has improved quite a bit within the past couple of months - I actually started breaking 100 regularly! My local golf buddy and I have finally found a woman instructor here in the Clarksville area, and we started taking weekly lessons with her. She's great, and has helped me make some good changes to my swing. It's really too bad we didn't find her until September, but I'm looking forward to starting up with her ASAP in the Spring.

Funny you should say that as I also finally found and started taking private lessons with a female instructor. She’s awesome, and competes professionally in long drive which I think is so bada*%. Her lessons, and my subsequent practice, have taught me so much more about my swing in three weeks versus an entire summer of group lessons. And my contact is getting better, finally! Still plenty to work on, but I am seeing progress, like tonight I didn’t slice any tee shots which has been a big issue I developed the last couple of months. I really wish I’d found her sooner too! I am going to get another lesson in with her this month, and then she is going home to Thailand for November and December. Luckily there is an inside facility where she teaches so once she is back in January I am going to continue taking lessons probably twice per month over the winter if I can fit it in. I really want to keep working on my swing and not end up back to the beginning in the spring again.

 

[TNtoTaos]

Luckily there is an inside facility where she teaches so once she is back in January I am going to continue taking lessons probably twice per month over the winter if I can fit it in. I really want to keep working on my swing and not end up back to the beginning in the spring again.

I'm so jealous!

 

[Eera]

I don't know if it's an Australian thing specifically but my husband's has an insulated compartment you carry ice and beer in...