You could be forgiven for thinking that the only thing surfers and golfers have in common is the amount of time they spend around sand and water. This could well be changing with the development of stand-up boards like the Golf Skate Caddy that aim to liven up golf transport by bringing the joy of those wide sweeping turns to the fairway.
We recently saw the successful funding of a Kickstarter campaign for the GolfBoard, which provides a similar alternative to the traditional golf cart using a repurposed powered mountain board. The Golf Skate Caddy takes a slightly different approach to steering however, which may widen its appeal to those not so comfortable on a surfboard, skateboard or other carving conveyances.
While the Golfboard is steered entirely by leaning, the Golf Skate Caddy features a mono-handle that users will need to push left or right to navigate the vehicle while shifting their weight accordingly. A hand-held 2.4 GHz trigger controller dictates forward and reverse movement through a wireless receiver built into the vehicle, and operates the ABS (anti-lock braking system) regenerative brakes within a 10 m (33 ft) range (outside of that, the emergency brake will kick in).
The vehicle's 1000 W brushless motor is powered by an 18 Ah lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO 4) battery which according to the company can be fully charged in 3.75 hours, enough for 27 holes of golf. The Golf Skate Caddy has a top speed of 20 kph (12.4 mph), weighs 30 kg (66 lb) and can carry a maximum of 110 kg (243 lb).
A caddy is mounted on the front of the vehicle which the company says is suitable for carrying a golf bag of up to 28 cm (11 in) in size. There's holders for a sand bucket, a drink bottle, umbrella and scorecard, as well as a removable seat on the rear. An upgrade to a six-pack cooler compartment seat is available as an optional extra.
The Golf Skate Caddy is set to be officially launched at the PGA Florida Golf show next month. A retail release is slated for the first quarter of 2014 with pricing for the UK, US and Australian markets set at £2999, US$3230 and AUD$3450 respectively.
You can see the Golf Skate Caddy in action in the video below.
Source: Golf Skate Caddy