If you've been shopping for an electric trolley lately, you'll have noticed that more and more of them now come with GPS built right into the handle. Distances to the green, hole maps, shot tracking, even your phone notifications, all sitting on a little screen a few inches from your hands as you walk.
It looks brilliant in the brochure, but it usually comes with a higher price tag attached, which raises the obvious question: is a GPS golf trolley actually worth it, or are you paying for a gadget you'll rarely use? Or, should you opt for a different type of GPS tracker entirely, like a GPS watch or a laser rangefinder?
Here's our honest take on what GPS trolleys offer, how they stack up against a separate device, and which models we'd point you towards.
What a GPS trolley gives you that a standard model doesn't
A standard electric trolley (powered by the trolley battery) already does the hard work of hauling your bag around, and for a lot of golfers that's the whole point. What GPS adds is a layer of course information that lives on the trolley itself, so you don't need to reach for anything else.
The headline feature is accurate distances. With thousands of courses pre-loaded in the integrated GPS, a GPS trolley shows you how far it is to the front, middle and back of the green from wherever you're standing right on the trolley screen, which takes a lot of the guesswork out of golf club selection. Many models go further with dynamic green views and drag-and-drop pin positioning, letting you see the shape of the green and set the flag exactly where it is that day.
Beyond green distances, the smarter trolleys track how far you hit each club over time, keep your score, and mirror your phone notifications on the screen so you can leave your mobile in your pocket and stay focused on the round. In some cases, these stats are also accessible via a GPS app. It's all designed to keep your eyes on the golf course rather than fishing about in your bag.
GPS trolley or a separate GPS device?
This is the real decision, and it comes down to how you like to play. A built-in GPS trolley keeps everything in one place, with a big, easy-to-read screen at chest height and nothing extra to charge, carry or clip on. If you always walk with a trolley anyway, for most golfers, it's a tidy, fuss-free solution.
The trade-off is that the screen only helps you when you're standing at the trolley. A separate device, whether that's a GPS watch or handheld, travels with you right up to the ball, so you get your numbers wherever you are on the hole. Watches in particular are hard to beat for convenience, and they're just as useful on the days you fancy carrying or playing a quick nine.
There's also the question of precision. If you want the most exact distance to the pin, a laser rangefinder will generally give you a more pinpoint reading than any GPS unit, trolley-mounted or otherwise. Plenty of golfers happily pair a standard trolley with a watch or laser and get the best of both worlds, often for a similar overall spend.
In short, a GPS trolley makes most sense if you're already sold on an electric trolley and like the idea of one less thing to think about. If you value distances at the ball or want the sharpest accuracy going, a separate device like a range finder might serve competitive golfers better.
How two of the most popular GPS trolleys compare
If you've decided a GPS trolley is the way to go, two models tend to dominate the conversation: the PowaKaddy FX7 GPS and the Motocaddy M5 GPS. Both come from brands with a serious reputation for build quality, both fold down neatly, and both put a bright, sunlight-friendly screen and course data right at your fingertips, so you'd be well served by either on the fairway.
The differences are in the details, from screen size and menu layout to the way each brand handles hole mapping and app connectivity, and those little things can make one feel like a better fit for your game than the other. Rather than rehash it all here, we've put the two head to head in our full comparison of the PowaKaddy FX7 GPS and Motocaddy M5 GPS, which is well worth a read if you're torn between the two.
Our top GPS trolley picks
The good news is that GPS trolleys have come a long way, and there's now a genuinely strong choice at several price points, from PowaKaddy and Motocaddy in particular.
Whatever your budget, the key things to weigh up are the size and clarity of the screen, how many courses come pre-loaded, whether you want extras like full hole mapping and shot tracking, and, as with any electric trolley, the battery range for the number of holes you play. Getting those basics right matters far more than chasing every last feature.
We've pulled together our current favourites, with a bit on what makes each one stand out, in our guide to the best electric golf trolleys with GPS, so that's the ideal next stop if you're ready to start narrowing things down.
Find the right trolley at Clarkes Golf
So, do you need GPS built into your trolley? Not necessarily, but if you walk with an electric trolley and love the idea of your distances and stats in one easy place, it's a genuinely handy upgrade. And if you'd rather keep things simple, a standard trolley paired with a watch or rangefinder works just as well. At Clarkes Golf, you'll find all the latest models to peruse at your leisure.
Browse our full range of electric trolleys and golf GPS today, or get in touch with the Clarkes Golf team and we'll help you find the right setup for the way you play.