PowaKaddy CT12 GPS Electric Trolley Review

PowaKaddy's compact electric trolley family - known as the CT Series - have always been one of the best compact electric trolleys to use in my opinion. The incredibly compact and easy folding mechanism, alongside one of the best looking chassis on the market, make for a great electric trolley. The PowaKaddy CT6 GPS been incredibly popular for the best part of four years now, but this year, the brand is extending the family out to introduce the new CT10 GPS and CT12 GPS. Both trolleys are built on the same platform but have been given new, portrait 3.5-inch and 5-inch touchscreens, respectively.

PowaKaddy isn't the first brand to employ a vertical screen on its trolleys - MGI has done this before - but PowaKaddy is the first brand to attach a huge 5-inch touchscreen in this orientation. I got to test the larger-screened CT12 GPS and was excited to see how this new screen orientation worked in the real world.

To get straight to the point, I think the new screen is superb. It just makes perfect sense to have the screen in this orientation, considering it's the exact shape of the hole. Some may be concerned that the screen protrudes too far from the handle and will thus get in the way of putting clubs into the bag, but this isn't the case, and PowaKaddy has done a great job of making what is a considerable change to the footprint of the handle barely noticeable. Included is a neat silicone screen protector, which will protect the screen when you're not using the trolley.

The new orientation allows for so much more to be displayed on the bright, colourful screen. The shape of the hole and the positioning of the hazards are so much clearer than ever before, and it allows you to gain a real understanding of what is in front of you. It's an intuitive screen and user interface, too, taking barely any time to get familiar with. It's got the responsiveness of a standard smartphone with the ability to pinch and scroll like it's your phone. It utilises the full hole mapping available on the screen to the absolute fullest, and the detail and accuracy are right up there with some of the best golf watches and best GPS devices out there.

To me, it does make the new CT10 GPS, which has a 3.5-inch portrait touchscreen with a little less functionality, seem almost obsolete. Even the extra inch and a half is a significant jump up in size, and the 3.5-inch screen doesn't have the same pinch and scroll functionality as the larger screen. The CT12 GPS also stores more than 40,000 courses internally, whereas on the CT10, you need to connect and sync up to 20 courses to the device via the mobile app. It's a sizeable increase in price from the CT10 to the larger screen of the CT12 (around £250), but one that is entirely justified in my opinion if you're in this part of the market, such is the superiority of the larger screen.

The GPS is ostensibly the same as previous PowaKaddy GPSs, just in portrait. It gives yardages to the front, middle and back of greens, yardages to hazards, the ability to drag and drop the pin, a scorecard, performance tracking (fairways hit, greens hit, putts per hole) and a shot measurer.

Full hole mapping is incredibly useful at courses you haven't played before, and you can simply touch any part of the hole layout to find out how far away it is - especially useful for finding yardages to the corners of doglegs or carries of fairway bunkers. The yardages were accurate to within a yard or two of the laser rangefinder I was using to corroborate yardages, with is about right for any GPS.

Apart from the new screen, there are plenty of other features to enjoy on the CT12 GPS. I've always loved the way the CT series folds away. Even with the bigger portrait screen on the CT12, it's still a remarkably compact trolley that is incredibly easy to fold away. The first time folding any golf trolley is always a little awkward as you've got to learn what buttons to press and which part of the chassis goes where. Like anything, practice makes perfect, and it takes one successful opening and closing of the two-step system until using this day-to-day becomes second nature. What's more, the rear wheels can be inverted to save even more space when storing it away - you'll be amazed at how small this trolley folds away.

Also carrying over from previous PowaKaddy trolleys is the excellent Plug 'n' Play lithium battery. While it doesn't have the auto-disconnect feature of trolleys like the new Motocaddy M7 GPS, it does have a switch on top allowing to turn it on and off without taking it out of the chassis. The battery is incredibly lightweight and charges swiftly, too.

Another feature worth noting is PowaKaddy's new MagLok bag connector. When using a corresponding PowaKaddy bag, it allows to bag to attach to the bottom of the trolley without the need for a bungee strap. It's easy and quick to fit and I would highly recommend taking advantage of this technology if you do invest in this trolley.

This is, without a doubt, a niche product. If you already own a GPS device or watch or just prefer to use a rangefinder, then there really is no need for you to be investing over £1200 in such a trolley. The CT6, built on the same platform just without the GPS, is a more sensible place to go here. But, if you're looking to trade in your old trolley and you want to get a new GPS device, bundling it up in such a great product like this makes a lot of sense. The move to portait screens is an excellent move and one that has been executed to perfection by the team at PowaKaddy. As far as compact GPS trolleys go, this is the best I've tested to date.