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John
Nicholas' Accessible Golf Web Site Advocating golf as an accessible sport for everyone |
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There are many adapted golf cars on the market and in
development today. I have played out of many of them, swung clubs sitting
in some, and reviewed the literature on others. Contained below are review
of the following cars: I have tried to be as objective as possible, but keep in mind my perspective. I am a golfer that plays from a seated position. I am athletic and take a big swing. Here are the main criteria that I used to evaluate each car:
The Solo Rider-Club Car 1-Pass This cart is fantastic and is the best car in my opinion. It is actually a scaled-down 2-person cart, rather than a scaled-up mobility scooter,unlike other vehicles. The range is fantastic, the car will easily complete 36 holes, and probably 54 on a flat golf course. It is heavier than other carts but distributes the load extremely well. It is also stable on all terrain. I currently use this vehicle 100% of the time. It helps me play golf and not worry about logistics, and I am confident that I will be safe and finish the round. The vehicle also has a fantastic drive train and suspension that have been constantly improved over the years. It's a best in breed.
Phot of me hitting a tee shot from the Solo Rider at the Tee It Up Classic in Las Vegas. My partner, Gary Robb, and I finished second in the tournament. An added bonus, the car is rugged enough for golf course operators to rent it to the general public every day, making it a revenue generator. This is the perfect win-win situation: a golf course can make money on the cart every day and be able to do the right thing on days that they need an adapted golf car. How can you argue with that! The adaptive features are excellent as well, nearly perfect. There is a little bit of suspension on the vehicle that enables it to lean slightly to the side when I swivel out to hit my shot. What this means is that the seat is angled down slightly and I am able to get in a really strong position, more upright and my legs out of the way better. The seat can be improved, but that's true of every car out there.
The photo above shows the Solo Rider's hydraulic stand-up seat, which is a new option on the vehicle. As you can see I am in a more vertical position and my legs are out of the way. I feel like I am in a much stronger position than in a normal stationary seat. There's also a small golf lesson in this photo. Taken after impact, you'll notice that I am looking down at the spot where I just hit the ball while my partner is watching where the ball goes. I was pretty pleased with this photo. The stand-up seat is really nice to have. It allows me to get into a slightly elevated postion and get's my legs out of the way. On the course, its nice to be able to adjust the angle of your body as your lie changes with different shots. Perhaps the most important information about the SoloRider is the Strategic Alliance with Club Car, the number one distributer of golf cars in America. Together, the two have produced the Club Car 1-Pass, which will be fully supported through Club Car's extensive network. This alliance has produced an exciting development in that all of the PGA TPC courses have equipped themselves with 1-pass vehicles. Do I need to say this is BIG? This car is more expensive than the rest but in my opinion, the cars that are significantly less expensive are a waste of money, as they don't adapt to a wide enough variety of golfers.
The Model Tee is made by USA Golf Products and looks very good. It has a lot of features that will make it compete with the Solorider. The range, suspension, weight distribution, and adapted features all look good. Unfortunately, I haven't played from the car and can offer no first hand opinions. Please see their web site for more info.
This is the first vehicle I played out of after the custom 2-seat models that I learned on. I originally helped Electric Mobility bring this golf car to market as a field tester. It is solid, has an adjustable swiveling seat and many nice amenities to handle both your adaptive equipment, such as crutches, as ell as your golf clubs, tees, balls, etc. It also has an auto-engaging braking system that locks the cart inplace as soon as you lay off the throttle. Nice stability feature. It has its shortcomings, such as the seat isn't perfect and the cart could have more range, but all around its a great vehicle. When hitting off of this car, I angle myself over the right corner of the seat. This allows my right leg to get out of the way of my swing better. My feet are firmly on the ground at setup and I feel secure. I can take a pretty strong swing. NEW Info: The Golf Xpress Division of Electric Mobility Corporation was purchased in June 1999 by eMotorsports, Inc. of Chalfont, PA and now operates as the Golf Xpress Division of that company. Since then, the company has been sold again and I am unsure of the product's availability. Please see the Golf Xpress web site for the latest information.
Photo of me taking a swing seated in the Golf Xpress. I was at the big PGA merchandise show in Orlando (2002) and E-Z-GO was there with an adapted cart made by Eagle Parts and Products. First the good news - it's great to see E-Z-GO in the arena and the cart has great appeal. Now the bad news - for someone like me, the cart is completely unusable in its factory stock state. It is difficult to transfer into the seat because the rear fenders flare out to cover the wheels and I can't get my wheelchair very close to the seat. Once in the seat, the same fender makes it impossible to get your back leg out of the way to take a stance. The seat itself is difficult to swivel and while there is a mechanism to extend it over the ball, it doesn't get far enough out so that I can clear my legs. In addition, the seat belt was too low, providing no support for someone like me. I could not take the club back for fear of falling on the floor. All in all, its encouraging to see E-Z-GO in the arena, however, their cart is not ready for prime time. I have never seen this vehicle, but have heard decent things about it and it looks really good from the photos. It appears to very good mechanically and I am told the now have a swivel seat. The company makes other components used by the golf car industry and is not featuring its adapted golf car as prominently as it once did, however, this could be a very nice vehicle. This basic car has been around for a long time. While it may suffice to get a golfer around the course, in my opinion it is underpowered and not stable enough for an athletic golfer playing from a seated position. However, for a junior or small adult golfer needing to drive to his or her ball this might be a less expensive option. The Fairway is made by Ortho-Kinetics. I first encountered the company in 1997. I hit some balls from their car on a driving range and immediately concluded that it was unsuable for me because the cart moved every time I took the club back. However, fast-forward to 2002 and there is a different story. I just returned from the PGA show in Orlando and ran across the company again. They appear to have been hard at work in the past years or two, They had two vehicles at the show, one with a stand-up seat. I tried the stand-up seat model and was very impresed. The seat both raises and tilts you up. I had the seat at its highest setting and felt like I was in a really strong poisition. Unfortunately, I only got to stwing a club in the show and not on a driving range. The car felt more stable than previous version, but there was still a little play in the car and I don't know if they addressed the shortcomings in cart range that the previous models had. I hope to check it out and post more info after I've had a chance to play out of the car. One very unfortunate thing is that there appears to be little information available on the company and nothing on the golf cars on the internet. I hope this weill change. The Sport (formerly know as EZ-PLAY) is a vehicle that I have not used but has gotten good reviews from contacts of mine that have used it. It's made by Mobility Solutions. I have recently seen a CDROM that showcases the machine. I have not tested this car myself, but in discussing it with others that have, it's not suited for a seated golfer with a spinal cord injury. It might be perfect for an individual that can play standing or does not have balance problems, but for a public entity, it will probably leave a lot of the target audience unserved.
Photo of golfer seated in the Sport Mobility Solutions, Inc 4085 Herner County Line Rd If you would like to add information to this web site, please send me an e-mail with comments and information. |
