Hedgehog wheels are now mandatory on all trolleys for the Winter months at our club. Does your course insist on them? Do they actually reduce damage to the grass or the ground?
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Hedgehog wheels.
- Thread starter delc
- Start date
HawkeyeMS
Ryder Cup Winner
Nope, haven't used them since I joined Blackmoor.
D
Deleted member 15344
Guest
No not mandatory and not seen them make too much of a difference in regards damage to the course.
upsidedown
Tour Winner
No , not at ours. Can see the point of them on a frozen course when the frost comes out to reduce spinning on leccy trollies going up an incline but apart from that pretty pointless .
Khamelion
Tour Winner
Yes they're mandatory and they do make a difference on muddy or soft ground. The hedgehog wheels grip better and thus do less damage than the smooth normal wheels, as they tend to skid over the wet/soft areas making that area worse.
HomerJSimpson
Hall of Famer
Mandatory at ours. Not wholly convinced they make a difference but assume they are requested at the behest of the head green keeper and not just a random thing the club decide to put out. If it is from the green keeper then I have to trust that he knows what he's doing and that he thinks it helps
fundy
Ryder Cup Winner
Not needed at ours. Have pneumatic tyres on my Golfstream which dont skid like the plastic ones do anyway so wouldnt see any need to use them if required
GB72
Money List Winner
Used to be compulsory at our course then we changed head greenkeeper who suspended their use and they have not been compulsory since. Noticed no change in the course except for less little dimple holes all over the place
HomerJSimpson
Hall of Famer
I've heard this before and is why I'm not convinced how useful they really are. I think GM should be asking this sort of question!
Imurg
The Grinder Of Pars (Semi Crocked)
Mandatory at ours until the end of March - regardless of the actual weather conditions.
To be fair it can be a pain having hogs on one week and off the next only to be on again the week after.
There really does seem to be a fairly even split as to whether they make a difference or not.
Agree, its something GM could make an article from...
To be fair it can be a pain having hogs on one week and off the next only to be on again the week after.
There really does seem to be a fairly even split as to whether they make a difference or not.
Agree, its something GM could make an article from...
Robster59
Tour Rookie
Not required at our place but the treads on my GoKart give pretty good grip anyway. I do think the smoother ones I see fitted on the likes of Powakaddy are more inclined to slip and cause damage in bad weather.
Our course developed the dimple marks in the muddier areas last Winter, but the affected areas seemed to recover quite quickly in the Spring. Up to a couple of years ago we were only allowed to use pull trolleys with Hedgehog wheels, but then suitably equipped electric trolleys were also allowed, much to the relief of some of the Seniors.
CliveW
Tour Winner
I had never heard of hedgehog wheels before reading about them on here. I still haven't seen them on any course I've played
Not required at my club, we have ropes out now though but it was disappointing to see wheel marks going past them and around some greens, obviously lazy seniors as usual 
GB72
Money List Winner
What gets me are the ridiculous cost of hedgehogs for electric trolleys. £50 or £60 for a set of plastic wheels seems extortionate.
chrisd
Major Champion
Not necessary at our, I think that they decided the impressions made were worse than ordinary wheels
D
Deleted member 16999
Guest
They do make an indentation but the ground recovers better than wheels slipping or spinning which tears and removes the grass, also you can't spin the wheels to remove grass/muck build up as you can with normal ones, again preventing damage.
Capella
Journeyman Pro
Mandatory at ours when the weather turns really nasty in winter (mostly after very heavy rains or after a snow melt). Then trolleys are banned except if they have hedgehog wheels. I do have a pair for mine, but it means that I have to convert it from a push trolley to a pully (because the small front wheel does not come in a hedgehog version) I find that more annoying than just carrying my bag, so I normally don't bother.
At the moment normal trolley wheels are still allowed, but a lot of the fairways and more sensitive areas around the greens are now marked as off-limits for trolleys.
At the moment normal trolley wheels are still allowed, but a lot of the fairways and more sensitive areas around the greens are now marked as off-limits for trolleys.
trevor
Head Pro
2years ago we had to have hedgehogs but last year and this year it has not been compulsory. Don't know about the damage to to grass but they certainly ripped the paths to bits.
Yes they are quite expensive, especially for some of the electric trolleys. I suppose they increase the profits of our pro shop, particularly as they hire out trolleys to visitors who turn up without hedgehog wheels on their own trolleys!
