Best golf trolleys for carting your clubs around 18 holes

Best: overall

This is a permanent trolley, which means it doesn’t have a folding mechanism. Its USP is that it’s meant to be attached to your golf bag at all times; the only thing you will have to do pre-game is to simply slot in the two big wheels, which will carry you effortlessly around the most geographically challenging of courses.

The trolley is designed to be pushed or pulled, so faced with a hill you can get all your weight behind your bag and get to the top without puffing. It’s lightweight, its bag fixing is very efficient and secure and we love the functionality of the trolley and the considered details, like a pencil sharpener to keep your scorecard legible and a selfie mode, which allows you to fix your smartphone to the handle so you can record and analyse your swing. 

Best: folding mechanism

The Eze Glide was true to its name and rolled effortlessly over the fairways and never got stuck in the rough, as well as accommodating a range of bags via the trolley’s adjustable brackets, which did a great job of keeping bags secure. 

The folding mechanism was one touch and very, very smooth. The front wheel retracts to reduce the wheel print of the trolley when packed into the boot of your car. It’s also very easy to lift in and out of a boot, thanks to the lightweight aluminium construction. 

There’s good customisation at the handle so you can dial in the ergonomics and the footbrake was easy to operate and dependable. 

In terms of the extras, there’s a scorecard, drinks and pencil holder and dry space for any other bits and bobs you may want carted around. 

Best for: small car boots 

Known primarily for its electric carts, Powakaddy also has a range of excellent push trolleys. The Micra is our favourite thanks to its compact design and a two-step folding mechanism that is easy to operate and never gets jammed or stuck. 

The wide wheelbase and wheels make for easy rolling over fairways, but also doesn’t struggle if you have to take it into the rough. 

A solid footbrake adds to the trolley’s usability and there’s plenty of functionality with dedicated mobile phone storage that’s soft lined and water resistant, as well as a scorecard and pencil holders plus plenty of further storage for balls and tees.

Best: entry level electric

If you’ve decided to finally electrify your golf game, this trolley is an excellent jumping off point with an effective folding mechanism that we couldn’t find fault with.

The tactile handle adds to the experience of driving the trolley and it handled superbly over the course, driven by twin motors - although we did experience some wheel spin going up moderate inclines on dew-wet grass.

However, for an extra £50 you can incorporate the clever electric braking system (EBS) which senses an incline and slows wheels to increase traction.

It’s all finished off with a smart-looking, 2.3-inch full-colour widescreen display that was easy to read at a glance.

Best: for a quick start

We had no issues with keeping our golf bag in place with the strapping on the Nitron and there’s plenty of storage space on board if you don’t exactly travel light when playing.

There’s a scorecard console, drinks holder and a stash pocket for all the golf balls you’re about to lose. If it’s raining there’s an umbrella holder and an extra utility storage pocket under the scorecard.   

What we loved about this lightweight cart, rolled well over 18 holes, was the lightning-fast one-step folding mechanism (assisted with nitrogen, hence the model’s name), which means you won’t have to waste any time getting out on the course.

Best: handling

This British-built trolley had some of the best handling on test with big ball-bearing wheels, which had no trouble trampling over long grass when another tee shot went AWOL. And it was easy to drive, thanks to a nice, silicone handle that felt comfortable in the hands. Our bag was never in danger of coming free and was held in place by adjustable jaws. 

The folding system never failed (neither did the foot brake, which was simple to operate) and it folds into a compact size thanks to the brand’s innovative rack and pinion mechanism. 

It features an umbrella, scorecard, ball and drinks holder and the fact that it’s available in 10 different colour combinations means that you won’t have any issues matching it to your current golf bag.

Best: two step folding system 

The CUBE packs down very tight (40 per cent tighter, in fact) and folds and unfolds easily with a very well-thought-out system that didn’t snag once in all the time we tested it.  

The bag attachment secured our clubs well and the trolley was easy to move up the fairway thanks to its ergonomic handle and easy-roll rubber wheels and they coped well when things got a little rough and we needed some more traction. 

There’s a storage net under the handle as well as drink, scorecard, umbrella, ball and tee holders and we got plenty of admiring glances when the red and black version (you can choose from blue and black too) was parked outside the clubhouse.

Best: four-wheeler

Our one complaint with four-wheelers is that they don’t always handle that well, but that’s not a grumble that we had with the FX 4, which performed superbly over 18-holes. Added to that was a solid and smooth folding mechanism that was only ever a button push away and for a four-wheeler it was still pretty compact, as long as you’ve got a fairly organised boot space. It’s lightweight also made it easy to lift in and out of the car. 

The trolley held our bag well, the foot brake was easy to operate and in general the trolley came well provisioned with holders for your bottle, umbrella, pencil and tees and a separate compartment for phones and keys. 

Best: remote-control trolley

There’s nothing more comical on a course than seeing a golfer haring after a runaway electric trolley because the remote control isn’t responsive enough. 

Thankfully, we didn’t have any problems with the excellent remote on the Zip X1 and felt totally in control of the cart as it trundled along in front of us, making light work of all the different terrains from tee to green. 

The twin motors had plenty of punch to get the trolley up inclines and the two larger rear wheels combine well with the multi-rotational front wheel to make it very manoeuvrable. 

It’s very easy to see exactly what speed you’re going at from the display, which also shows battery life and tracks distance walked and the distance of your last shot thanks to onboard odometers. 

Set up and breakdown was also very straightforward and the three-step folding system worked very efficiently.  

Best: follow trolley

This is the supercar of the trolley world, with a price tag to match, but it harnesses some serious tech which allows the trolley to track you as you head around the course. Simply press ‘Follow’ on the Bluetooth gizmo, hook it to the back of your trousers and away you go, and the trolley will simply follow in your footsteps using the Bluetooth signal as a guide.

It will stop when you stop to play a shot, you can take control of the remote to bring the trolley to heel and even send it on to the next green, while you try not to look too smug in front of your playing partners. 

Cutting-edge tech aside, this is a great trolley, travelling effortlessly over the course and performing well on slopes and inclines. For a follow trolley, it really is incredibly compact when folded down too.