The T&C Instagram had a story earlier in the week asking followers if they have ever tried the Clubcar Tempo Walk. Coincidentally I was playing at a course today that had this unit. It is a motorized caddie and I thought it was excellent. I would love to see option available at other golf courses but Blue Hill was the only place I have seen this so far. I find that I play better and have a better sense of playing tempo if that makes sense when I walk. I find riding carts tend to put me into a “rushing around” mindset.
The course has 8 total units and they are pretty popular according to the pro shop. We checked in at 8:00 and there were only 3 units left. While heading to the first tee through the parking lot we were asked by 3 other golfers what we thought and the cost for the rental. The course charges $22, which is the same fee as a riding cart. I normally hesitate to pay for a cart unless it is 100* outside or if I’m just physically beat from the night before. Again, I prefer to walk, so it isn’t a monetary issue. However with this device, I was happy to pay up.
How it works is a transponder that has an on/off toggle switch that you clip to your backside and the motorized caddie will follow you in proximity. The movement is similar to that of an old school pull cart. Today was a good test to see it’s mobility as we had a ton of rain all day yesterday and through the night. The course is hilly, with one steep descent on a par 3. If this thing were to get stuck somewhere or lose control and hit you, it was this morning. Needless to say, there was no slippage and sure footed as a mountain goat. The pace of the device is excellent and will slow and speed up to match your walking pace.
There is also a GPS tablet that displays the front, center, and back yardages but it doesn’t go into the next hole as consistently as it should. One of my playing partners had to manually scroll through.
From the social element, it makes it easier for me to converse with my playing partners as we all walk down the fairway together until we split up to get to our balls rather than jumping into carts and scrambling off.
Seems like it is all positive, right? Not quite. The area in which your bag should slot into could have been designed better. Whether that means padding, contoured molding or arms, better straps. Anything would’ve been an improvement. It is hard plastic with an elastic band on the bottom and a sliding pass through strap up top. Being that your bag is laid 45*, you have a serious concern of bending your bag’s legs or if you had a soft bag like I did today, the thought of a bent steel shaft was in the back of my mind. A better solution could have been arms that create two support points of the bag rather than a short ramp to support the bottom half of your bag. There is no suspension to soak up the bumps here and many times I would have to adjust my bag to center it but that could be my issue as I brought my Sunday bag.
One last issue I had was when I wouldn’t toggle the transmitter off and face the front of my caddie and it would freak out a little bit and not know whether to come towards me or back up and start chasing me. It is designed to follow the transmitter on your back and once you interfere with that and the caddie, it doesn’t know what to do.
To conclude, I really like this option of walking with an automated bag caddie. I know there are powered push carts out there but I don’t need more stuff to pack into my car for a round of golf. I just want to grab my bag and my shoes and head out. Sure there are some minor grievances but if I have another opportunity to use this device I am sure I will know how to avoid those minor issues. Ultimately, if the course offered this mode of transportation, I would pay to rent it almost every time. 
I should have I taken more photos but my phone is normally in the bag and it is a miracle I even got one photo and a short video of it in action.