Alphard Club Booster V2 Review
Remote golf trolleys are increasing in popularity and this part of the market has seen a host of new models and innovation launch in 2023. Walking the golf course is a much healthier, freer and more enjoyable way to play golf for some and thousands more golfers are now walking the course since the Covid pandemic. Carrying a full bag isn't for everyone, so this is where the remote golf trolley comes into its own.
If you love the lightweight nature of your current push cart, but what to enjoy all the benefits of a hands-free remote golf trolley experience, meet the Alphard Club Booster V2. This unique device effectively replaces the rear wheels on your current push cart chassis, and, thanks to the Bluetooth remote, will give you your very own remote electric trolley. After seeing the Alphard Club Booster V2 in action at the PGA Show in Orlando, I was excited to try a model out for myself at my home golf course over a number of rounds. Included with the Club Booster V2 is the rear chassis itself with a rechargeable battery inside, a Bluetooth remote, two rear anti-tip wheels and all the various charging cables for the Booster and remote.
It's worth noting which push carts are fully compatible with the Club Booster V2. Those include any three-wheel Clicgear push cart; Sun Mountain Speed Cart, Micro and Pathfinder 3 & 4 models; Bagboy Nitron, Quad XL, Compact 3 and Tri-swivel, Rovic R1S and RV1C; all Caddytek models; TourTrek 360; all Axglo models and Big Max Blade IQ. It's a fairly extensive list, but one to make sure you have to get the most from the Club Booster V2. Alphard will provide you with the unique 'conversion kit' depending on the push cart model you have and the chassis will effectively clamp onto the Club Booster V2 on assembly. As I didn't have one of the select push carts, I used the Club Booster V2 on the Alphard Omnicart, a solid push cart chassis with a 360° rotating front wheel. I'll have a separate review focussing on the Club Booster V2 and the Omnicart, so for now I'll just focus on the Club Booster V2.
Assembly was my first task with the Club Booster V2, but there were plenty of instructions to help out with the task. In my opinion, the anti-tip rear wheels were a bit tricky to assemble, and their quality is on the rudimentary side. But, they do the job and are an essential part of the device working on the golf course. To be frank, the whole assembly out of the box was much longer than on the out-and-out remote models like the Motocaddy M7 GPS or PowaKaddy RX1 GPS and took me at least half an hour all told. This may have been down to my own practical incompetencies, but, at this price and for the specific nature of this device, I guess you have to expect some form of assembly. Luckily, once it's assembled once, you'll never have to do it again.
You attach the Booster via two clamps as part of the conversion kit. Then, simply, the Club Booster becomes the rear wheels of your push cart. After turning on the Booster, I was really impressed with how quickly the Bluetooth remote paired and I was off and running almost instantaneously. On first use, I immediately noticed the very wide wheelbase the Club Booster V2 offers. While this may look quite large to the eye, there's no doubt that this wide base gives the Club Booster V2 loads of stability when traversing the variety of terrain on the golf course. I quickly gained confidence with how it worked on the course and was happy to send it chasing after my golf ball across any terrain or slopes knowing it would survive the journey.
It uses an integrated 6-axis gyroscope that detects the terrain of the golf course every 10 milliseconds. This helps make sure the cart is always pointing in the right direction and I was overall thrilled with how responsive and accurately I could control the Club Booster V2. It's nippy on the fairways and turns on a dime thanks to the 360° rotating front wheel on the cart I was using it on. All in all, the performance of the Club Booster V2 certainly matches that of the more established remote controlled trolleys I've tested and it exceeded my expectations. All told, I really enjoyed having it as my companion out of the golf course.
It's worth noting that you have to remove the Club Booster V2 to fold up your push cart again, but the clamps are really easy to use and allow the push cart to fold up compactly. The Club Booster V2 comes with a convenient grab handle too, making lifting in and out of the car a breeze. Attaching the Club Booster V2 does mean you now have two separate pieces to your cart - the chassis and the Club Booster - but this is a small concession considering the convenience when assembled.
Alphard is also soon to be launching the 'Sidekick', which will add follow technology to the Club Booster V2 and I'm looking forward to testing this out on the golf course soon. For now, though, the Club Booster V2 is a practical, unique and highly enjoyable piece of technology that really delivers on its promise to effectively convert push carts into remote electric carts. It's quirky in places, but this is the ideal investment for golfers who already enjoy their pushcart and now want to benefit from the hands-free enjoyment that a remote golf trolley provides. At this price point too - and with a two-year warranty - the Club Booster V2 represents a much more accessible entry point for those looking to use a remote golf trolley.
