Golf is a sport I am particularly fond of. There is nothing like waking up early on a Saturday morning, loading up the golf cart and heading off to the golf course for a round of golf with my husband and with friends. I love the sport because I’m good at it; and because I’m highly competitive. We also live in Florida, and that means there is a gorgeous course every 2 miles no matter where you go. Now, though, the game is changing, and I think that many people are going to love what’s happening to it. What if I told you that instead of driving your golf clubs around the course in your golf cart, you could fly them around in your golf cart? How would that make you feel?
Amazing; I know. What’s more amazing than the idea of a flying golf cart? Pretty much nothing, really, and that’s what the Golf Cart Jetpack is all about. It’s a collaborative effort between Oakley, Martin Aircraft Company and golfer Bubba Watson. Basically, Bubba Watson decided that the sport needs to be faster to make it more fun, so he came up with an idea to fly your golf equipment around the course. That’s when he decided to team up with Oakley and take matters into their own hands to create a golf cart that’s actually a hovercraft.
The two partnered and decided to approach Martin about their idea, and the company was elated to make it happen. Knowing that golf would be returning to the Olympics in 2016, the trio decided to work as hard as they needed to bring this idea into fruition in time for the Olympic games; and it’s finally here. Since Bubba Watson enjoys the idea of being a sort of trendsetter in the game of golf, he was on board from start to finish, and he’s more than a little excited to put his name in conjunction with this amazing product.
The golf cart jetpack is about as amazing as you could imagine. What you get is a single person aircraft. You need no second person; you don’t even want one in this spectacular machine. The pilot sits in the front. Behind him – or her – is a space for all your golf essentials (your clubs, your accessories, and possibly a small cooler for a few additional golf necessities if you play like I do). Powered by two fans with ducts that allow it to work in ways that are far to technologically advanced for us to even comprehend, the machine flies.
More importantly, I know, you want to know how fast, how far and how awesome it flies. Don’t you worry; I’ve got the answers you need. It’s fast. It reaches speeds up 46 miles per hour, and it can go as high as 3,000 feet above the course. Talk about an amazing view of the golf course – forget living on the ninth hole. It’s far better to just fly over it in your awesome hovercraft anytime you feel the need.
It’s an amazing creation, but it’s not quite street legal just yet. For one, the FAA has to approve anything that works like this hovercraft. Additionally, there is a bit of discrepancy as to how annoying it might be for the people who are golfing, enjoying the game or even living on the course to actually have to deal with these on a regular basis. I would also think that people using their own personal hovercraft as a pilot might – perhaps – need some sort of special pilot training and lessons. Flying 3,000 feet above the golf course sounds amazing, but it’s probably not the most practical idea for those who don’t know how to pilot anything other than grounded vehicles, if we have to be honest.
Additionally, should the FAA ever approve this, and people sign off on it, you still have to see if certain courses will approve it. Basically, this jetpack was introduced in time for the Olympics, and we do think we will see some of it in the coming weeks, but it’s just a really cool toy and a big pipe dream at this point. We’re not sure what the FAA might think about jetpacks on the course, but we know what Bubba Watson things – and we’re with him.
