winter wheels

been a member of 2 golf clubs, work relocation forcing transfers, and joined my 3rd club 2 months ago. Very friendly and happy bunch of members here.  Upon turning up for my tee time , with my pull along trolly I was informed that there was a trolly ban. Even though my trolley is fitted with Hedgehog fairway protector wheels I was told the ban applied to ALL trollies. I fully respect this ruling but wondered if any one else has had this happen to them. I have always been allowed to take my trolly @ the other 2 clubs and @ various other course's.   We played @ another course that day and was allowed on with our trollies even though there was a trolly ban on @ this venue.

Barry, I'm sure you will find this is common to a lot of clubs.

When we have a really wet spell (and it has to be quite bad) our club will first ban 2 seater buggies, then single seaters, then electric trollies and finally all trollies.

After the recent wet weather we are currently at 'no 2 seater buggies'.

Richard

Thanks for the response Richard. Whilst protecting the course is of paramount importance to everyone I was just a bit phased by not being allowed out despite having Hedgehog fairway protector wheels fitted to my trolley. The sole reason for fitting these is they make your trolley exempt from any ban. Never been refused course access with the Hedgehog fairway protector wheels fitted before. I would like to see them used all year round on every trolley as, unlike standard trolley wheels, they leave no trace as to where the trolley has been. 

Hi Barry, I'm not sure just the use of hedghogs can make your trolley exempt from any ban.  I would have thought the course would still have right to refuse access etc.

In terms of the hedgehogs I actually wonder if they are any better for the fairways, anyone have any detailed information ? 

Normal wheels obviously flatten the ground causing damage that way but the hedgehogs leave dents in the ground which I've seen last for several days and surely this can't be any good either ?

Off to do some googling and research

Regards, Darren.

Darren

We introduced hedgehogs this winter and I havr to say the jury is still out.

Out of interest, a friend of mine is a former chairman of BIGGA and has just left the Belfry to take over at Wentworth.  As you can imagine he knows his stuff!  He is of the opinion that hedgehog wheels offer no real benefit. 

It seems like the only person who might benefit is the professional who fits them!

Over the winter, I chose to use my carry bag and left a few clubs out to reduce the weight.

Richard

hi again Richard and welcome Darren. Please veiw the following links regarding Hedgehog fairway protectors:-

http://www.hedgehoggolf.com/#/how-they-work/4537089601.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8S5IEHmCzI

you can fit these yourself in a matter of minutes. Rhuematoid Arthritis prevents me from carrying but not enjoying the game. As previously stated I fully respect the decision to ban trollies to protect the course but welcome other people's thoughts on this product and if they consider trollies fitted with these should be exempt from trolley bans.

As has been said above, the jury is still out.

At a recent greens meeting, our greens manager (a former superintendent at the STRI and a Master Greenkeeper) took us to point on the course and showed us the 'stud' marks that these wheels had made on a soft part of the course. The impressions were about 1/2" deep and had prssed the fine grass into the ground and torn some of the fine roots in the process.

He then showed us an area on a hill where normal trolley wheels had lost grip on the grass and left skid marks.  

However, a recent study by the STRI on behalf of the EGU showed that in comparision with buggies, all trolleys caused significantly less damage. In addition the damage was not significantly greater than caused by ordinary foot traffic. 

DH  not sure if we are talking about the same Fairway protectors. Have you visited the sites in my previous reply ? 

I have been using these for about 2 years now and have never left the sort of impressions you describe. If I had I would never use these again.   A third member of our regular golfing group has not fitted these to either his electric or pull along trollies, myself and the other regular player have fitted them to both our electric and pull along and no matter which trolley we use it is always possible to see the path taken by the unfitted trolley and not our trollies.. It is even more obvious in frosty conditions. Thank you for your response. As the adverts say's "It's good to talk"

Yes, I am very familiar with them, having been involved in using and testing them.

You will note that the website says:

Parabolic studs on the Hedgehog Fairway Protector reduce contact with the soil surface by over 85%, 

A fully loaded golf trolley with 3” wide flat wheels equates to 6-7 square inches in contact with the ground at any one time. If you then put Hedgehog fairway protectors onto the same trolley the ground contact would be about 1-2 square inches

That means that the weight of the trolley is now concentrated on a far smaller area of the ground surface area. Thereby increasing the psi where contact is made.

I certainly accept that they are easier and safer to use on wet hilly terrain.

I have previously been in touch with the STRI but they have not yet finished their field trials (which take some time) to determine the possible long term effects on root damage.

The immediate effect on very soft ground is quite clear.

Barry

Come and visit our course - you will see in the areas where the ground is softer the very distinct damage left by hedgehog 'protectors'.  I'm playing on Saturday, if I remember I'll get a few photos.

On the plus side, they do avoid the damage done by spinning wheels as they don't tend to lose traction.

Richard

I certainly agree with the last point

D H thanks for your response. Firstly I did not know that you were involved in the testing and usage of the protectors so please accept my apologies for thinking you were unfamiliar with them. One more than 1 occassion we have been asked by other golfers why we had such strange wheels so from this it appears they are not a very well know product and I wrongly assummed you fell into this catergory. I would be very interested to see the results of the long term test's being carried out by the STRI if you would kindly publish them to the forum when you can.

Richard another advantage of the protectors is you get better battery life ( at present I manage 36 holes per charge) on the electric trollies due to less wheel spin and  reduced surface contact.

Barry

When I something from the STRI I'll certainly post it. The original report re buggies was published last year and included preliminary information re trolleys. This suggested that smooth wheeled trolleys do not present a long term damage problem significantly worse than foot traffic.