Whatever happened to Bubba Watson's hovercart?

02/12/2023 17:05

Bubba Watson threatened to start a golfing revolution that would likely have made him very unpopular with courses around the world when he debuted a golf hovercart.

Watson and sunglasses manufacturer Oakley teamed up to develop the project, which saw a commercially available hovercraft converted into a golf cart.

Oakley and Neoteric never intended to mass produce and sell the vehicles, but the viral video stunt was simply a PR exercise for Oakley, to show the limitations of current carts.

That said, the video showed Watson zipping about on a golf course and having a real time of it.

The hovercraft golf buggy has not gone into development, but for a limited time the Windy Knoll Golf Club in Springfield made two Neoteric Golf hovercrafts available for certain events.

“We wanted to be able to offer something no other course could,” managing director Pete Duffey said in a statement. “A way to further put Windy Knoll Golf Club on the map of public destination golf courses. It was an easy decision. When we saw them on YouTube, we said ‘We gotta have those!'”

Neoteric has produced hovercrafts for police, fire departments, the U.S. Air Force, and Disney World. Each of these craft feature a 65-horsepower engine that can reach speeds up to 50 mph, with side-by-side seating for as many as four passengers and two golf bags.

That top speed would have a lot to do with golf clubs not wanting to get involved in something that could be a significant liability.

Golf jetpack

Oakley and Watson put together another game-changing stunt in 2016 when they came out with a golf jetpack.

"The biggest advantage I see is the bird's eye view," Watson said in a promotional video when the product was announced in 2016. "It's going to give you perspective that you've been missing."

"It's quite scary when you're trying to go through a bunker or over water," Watson told Jay Leno.

"You could do 18 holes in about 20 minutes," he joked.

Seeing the evolution of Watson’s contraptions, Leno joked that he would take his technology too far.

"Not sure what Bubba will come up with next," Leno said.

"But I have a feeling you might see a KITT golf cart on the horizon somewhere — with the … flame throwers and, of course, you got to have turbo boost."

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