FAQ's - BUGGIES
Q. Where are the buggies made?
A. Labour costs have compelled most suppliers to sourcing buggies from China. You should not be alarmed by this as very strict manufacturing agreements are put in place by the various wholesalers to ensure their products maintain an enviable reputation.
Q. I have seen some scathing reports on some buggies in internet forums?
A. Information on some forums is quite old and refers to older products. Word of mouth is probably the most reliable source for product reviews but rest assured, at Mr Ball, if we are aware of a problem with a buggy, we will advise you of this so you can make an informed decision as to which buggy suits you best.
Q. Will my buggy fit into the boot of my car?
A. All buggies have differing attributes, one of which is the foldability of same. If buggy size is important to you, let us know and we will point you to the buggy most suiting your needs.
Q. Will any golf bag fit?
A. All golf buggies are designed to take virtually any bag available. Some however are more suited to a particular bag type than others.
Q. Which buggy is the lightest?
A. Be wary of choosing a buggy simply on weight alone. Generally "light weight" can translate to fragile. Some important things to remember are that you only lift the buggy at the start of your game and the finish. It is quite possible the heaviest part of the buggy is the battery and this is generally lifted separately anyway. Be aware here also that if you go for a lighter battery, it will very likely have a lesser capacity than a heavier unit and you could end up pushing the buggy over the last few holes!
Q. What about remote control buggies?
A. Remote control buggies can be a lot of fun but a word of warning. It is very easy to set your buggy off on it’s way and your partner distracts you. You will spend the next 5 minutes trying to find your misguided RC buggy. Hopefully when you do, it’s not in a lake or in a bunker with broken body parts as they can be expensive to repair. Having said that, they are probably the most sought after buggy when going electric.
Q. Do the buggies make much noise?
A. When new, most buggies make very little noise. As they age this noise may increase but only to a tolerable level. Some older style buggies can be noisy and can be very difficult to silence.
Q. What are the benefits of a “Distance Function” button?
A. The Distance Function allows you to send your buggy a pre-determined distance where it will automatically stop and wait for you. Care must be taken to ensure the distance function is only used once you have determined there is clear ground ahead (no bunkers or lakes!) and never used in downhill situations as the buggy will continue to free wheel after the controller has stopped driving the motor.
You would be well advised to practice use of this facility on an oval until you become proficient with it’s use.
Q. What is the difference between a differential and a gearbox?
A. All good buggies will allow the rear wheels to turn at a speed independent of each other. To achieve this they will either have a clutch on each wheel or a differential gearbox and no clutches. Use of a differential facilitates electronic downhill braking so your buggy will not race away from you if let go downhill.
FAQ's - GPS
Q. What is the difference between a GPS and a Rangefinder?
A. A golf GPS works much the same as your car GPS. You have golf courses rather than streets stored in your unit, your GPS tells you how far you are from the various features such as bunkers, lakes, trees, greens etc. at any given time without you having to do anything. It will tell you how far you are from a particular hazard/feature even if you can’t see it.
A rangefinder will calculate the distance to features/objects that you can see and you must sight them each and every time so they require much more concentration than a GPS unit and tend to slow play whereas a GPS tends to speed up play.
Q.Is there any difference between a Sureshot GPS and another manufacturers GPS?
A. On a Sureshot GPS, each golf course is individually mapped by Sureshot using very sophisticated Satellite GPS equipment realizing an accuracy of mostly less than a metre. Most competitive brands simply copy “Google Earth” maps and are considerably less accurate.
Q.Am I able to map my own course?
A. With a Sureshot GPS, yes you can map any course you wish. In fact, you can also edit any course you have downloaded from the Sureshot website adding for instance your own layup points.
Q. How many courses will my Sureshot GPS hold?
A. Included with the purchase of your Sureshot GPS or GPS buggy you can download any three courses you wish which will be retained on your GPS for the life of the product. These three courses however cannot be changed. You can take out a "Life Membership" package which allows you to store up to 40 courses on your GPS and these courses can be changed as often as you wish. See www.sureshotgps.com or www.mgikaddy.com.au for details.
