FIELDREPORT
Max Power
Austrian-owned bag and trolley specialists Big Max are bringing a powered four-wheel trolley to the UK market. The brand’s managing director Ian Waddicar tells Duncan Lennard why, and details how the new Quad series fits into Big Max’s 2016 line-up
T
here have been several ‘Marmite’ golf products over the years – think square-headed drivers,
cattle-brand mallets and broomstick putters – and now there may be another, courtesy of Big Max, in the form of a powered golf trolley with a wheel in each corner. “We were showing a new Quad trolley
to one of our accounts,” says the brand’s UK managing director Ian Waddicar. “He told us he didn’t like the look of it, that it was too expensive, that it wouldn’t compete against more established three-wheel brands. As we were taking it out of the shop, two customers walked in. One of them asked to buy it on the spot. Our account made an order.
“Yes, the four-wheel look of the Quad
might divide opinion, but we don’t think its functionality will. As well as offering something genuinely new and being stacked with technology, it offers more stability than a three-wheeler and its front wheels swivel, making it very easy to manoeuvre.” The three Quad trolleys, powered by
lithium batteries only, have been available in-store from the end of May. They are surely the most exciting product brought to the UK market to date by Big Max, the only brand owned by Vienna-based GolfTech, one of Europe’s largest golf distributors, and named aſter the son of GolfTech founder, Thomas Reiter. The brand – and indeed the son – is now 22, and while it remains an unfamiliar name to many in the UK, Big Max has become a fixture in continental Europe. The brand even claims to be the most owned push-pull cart in Europe, and enjoys just shy of a 40 per cent market share in Germany and Austria. Waddicar has been running the UK
and Ireland sales from Bolton ever since his own distribution company – Golf and Sports Supplies – joined forces with GolfTech five years ago. “We also distribute the likes of PowerBilt, Tommy Armour, Rife and the Golf Rules Quick Reference book, but Big Max occupies more than 50 per cent of our total business,” he says. Of the three Quad trolleys, the base model is Hunter (RRP: £699). It includes
24 SGBGOLF Ian Waddicar
distance control up to 60 yards with speed setting, battery levels and distance measuring all clear on a colour display panel. An adjustable handle accommodates a GPS holder plus a solar charging compartment (the charger is sold separately) capable of charging other devices. Coaster (RRP: £799) adds an electronic parking brake and gearbox to regulate downhill speeds, while the top-of-the-range Navigator Gyro (RRP: £1,099) is remote-controlled and offers complete directional versatility as well as the impressive ability to re-find its original course even if humps or terrain try to throw it off. The Quad is not the brand’s first
powered trolley. “We introduced the Nano about seven years ago,” Waddicar continues. “It was a very high-end product with a long, thin lithium battery that inserted into the chassis and a gearless and brushless motor. It won product awards at Golf Europe, but it retailed at £1,500, very high for the UK market. “Quad is in fact a joint venture with
Australian company MGI Golf, the country’s No.1 trolley brand. They introduced this four-wheel technology three years ago and it has grown in popularity each year, currently commanding 40 per cent of their sales. The product is tried and tested. Rather than their trying to launch under an unknown name in the UK, we decided to use our brand with their technology.” Going into the UK market against
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