Hedgehog wheels winter testing opportunity

[MikeH]

Hi all

Anyone who uses a trolley knows how frustrating it can be having a trolley ban in the winter. Quite rightly course managers want to avoid the damage that trolleys can cause and put bans in place

However there is a solution at hand - Hedgehog wheels www.hedgehoggolf.com which are much more course friendly especially in winter

The nice folk at Hedgehog have offered us the opportunity for 4 forumers to test the Hedgehog wheels over the coming weeks and months

If you'd be interested in taking part then send me an email to michael.harris@timeinc.com with 'Hedgehog Winter Testing' in the subject line and the following info

Name
Forum User name
Trolley used (make and model)
Home Course
Does your course have trolley bans during the winter?
Rounds played per week in the winter?

If you're selected you'll need to post some feedback on how you got on testing the wheels

Thanks
Mike

 

[louise_a]

Shame, I only recently bought some for my trolley.

 

[Hobbit]

Shame, I only recently bought some for my trolley.

And very expensive too. I highly recommend them for the amount of grip they provide and they don't chew up the ground when its wet, unlike the summer racing slicks.

 

[Garush34]

I don't have any and would be interested to see how they fair compared to my normal wheels, so I'm in.

 

[fundy]

I assume the comparison is to the hard wheels found on most trolleys, be curious to know how they compare and whether they are deemed an improvement on pneumatic tyres (which i find seem to do far less damage)

 

[Chaddy]

Total ban at our course and I couldn't justify buying the Motocaddy winter wheels so have been carrying all winter. I'm definitely in!

 

[Alex1975]

My father in laws club Batchworth Park got everyone to buy winder wheels then banned them when they ripped the course up. Lots of unhappy members.

Don`t all the trolley manufactures make their own anyhow? So you would know they are right for your trolley?!

 

[USER1999]

You can't put winter wheels or hedgehogs on a motocaddy s7 remote, so i am out!

 

[garyinderry]

Never used winter wheels before so interested in these.

 

[Canfordhacker]

As per email earlier Mike, here's my feedback.

Moved clubs last spring, and new club has a winter wheels only rule, so I bought new Hedgehogs for my Motokaddy S1 and started using them in November. Course is hilly in parts, not too soggy as a rule but wet in places. Wheels were expensive (IMO), but don't want to carry and exacerbate bad back. Easy to fit, less than 5 mins.

The single biggest impact I have noticed is on my battery. It's an 18 hole battery, but in Summer I regularly get 36 holes out of it. Had a couple of shotgun starts straight off which meant a walk out to a distant tee, and the battery warning light was on by the time I got to the end of the round.That has got steadily worse each week, to the point that it was on by the 16th last Saturday with a first tee start.

I get no wheel spin whatsoever, and it's very stable even through wet and slippery patches on the course. Last winter with "summer" wheels on wheel spin was noticeable on many occasions. I do worry when I reach my ball or a tee and need to do a 90 or 180 degree turn on a sixpence that that action causes damage to the course, so I've had to change the way I execute those turns.

Overall I love the fact that I get to keep using the trolley through the winter, and the wheels do the job perfectly well. But at the end of the day it was a grudge purchase.

Hope that helps.

 

[Tashyboy]

Pm sent Tashyboy is deffo in. Not trolley ban at our place and some of it looks poor at the moment

 

[wrighty1874]

I've e mailed as well but not heard anything yet.

 

[Bunkermagnet]

We sometimes have a trolley ban int he wettest of winters, and it's a complete ban.
I personally have pneumatics wheels and tyres with the green friendly tread pattern. They grip very well in all conditions, so wouldnt even dream of putting hedgehogs on.

 

[MikeH]

thanks everyone who has put themselves forward for this. closing off applications as of now. I'm going to send a shortlist to the guys at Hedgehog (they'll need to check they have compatible wheels for your trolley) and will let those who have been selected early next week

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Quick question, unrelated to the actual competiton. I have never seen people use hedgehog wheels up here although I do know what they are. Are they just for electric trolleys? I've used and seen people use push trolleys in all sorts of weather and I can't say that I have noticed the wheels damage anything. Is it the power of an electric motor that churns up the grass or does a push trolley do the same?

How do hedgehog wheels not damage the ground? They look like great lumpy things that would cause indentations everywhere.

 

[Tashyboy]

LT, our place is called Norwood but affectionately known as Mudwood. It is mainly the back nine which is about ten years younger than the front nine. In essence, when you go to Glastonbury, and it has been bladdering it down, the wheel spin of the car wheels when your leaving churns the grass up, you then get the mud. In essence on the fairways it is usually not to bad. But this time of the year if greens and other areas are roped off you can get heavy wet traffic in certain areas which get churned up very quickly. On hilly courses it can stop a lot of wheel spin causing said probs. Supposed to be good extras, but look expensive. To a golfer who has £60-£80 do you buy a wedge or a couple of wheels?
Neither spend it in the 19th 😁

 

[Fish]

Quick question, unrelated to the actual competiton. I have never seen people use hedgehog wheels up here although I do know what they are. Are they just for electric trolleys? I've used and seen people use push trolleys in all sorts of weather and I can't say that I have noticed the wheels damage anything. Is it the power of an electric motor that churns up the grass or does a push trolley do the same?

How do hedgehog wheels not damage the ground? They look like great lumpy things that would cause indentations everywhere.

I've had mine on for a couple of weeks now and I believe in them. We have some grass banks that we have to walk up & down on and those that don't use any kind of winter wheels leave skid marks down the bank whereas my hedgehogs don't! Think of some of those huge tractors with colossal wheels, they don't do any damage, but if they couldn't grip and slid the wheels, they would!

 

[MikeH]

hi all
the lucky four selected to trial the winter wheels are….
Robobum, Beezerk, Chaddy and Titleist3
emailing you all to put you in touch with the guy from Hedgehog
thanks to everyone who put themselves forward
Look forward to hearing the feedback on the wheels

 

[need_my_wedge]

Our course has requested trolley users switch to Hedgehog wheels for winter in future. Our pro-shop is selling them at cost price for the forseeable future (£60) which is the best price I've been able to find them at. I purchased a set about a month ago now and think they do a decent job on the course. The only time they feel wrong is if the speed is set high and you try to turn the trolley from a standing start, they can churn a bit then. They are supposed to prolong the battery, not sure about that, they certainly seem to slow the cart down, I can easily keep up with it set to max 9 with the hedgehogs on, used to have to walk fast/ jog after previously. They make an odd rattling noise when going over hard terrain, such as the car park. Nothing seems loose, may just be the way the tread comes into contact with the harder ground. they get a yes vote for me, and i'm sure a lot more people would get them if they were a bit cheaper - I would have bought them a lot earlier if I could have gotten them for about £50 ish.

 

[drdel]

When I looked into it they did not make sizes to fit a PowerKaddy so went for the makers winter wheels.

Purely subjectively; the indentations the Hedgehog equipped trollies seem to look more damaging to the well trafficked areas of the course than 'flat' tyres.