[Bag Boy Nitron Cart - 2023 Forum Review]

Some quick thoughts on the three Bag Boy-branded accessories I purchased for the cart.

The first, and so far most-used accessory is the Bag Boy Cart Storage Basket:

This one is pretty self-explanatory. The basket is a universal fit accessory that is attached to the cart handle and frame with some nylon straps with hook and loop fasteners. It unfortunately takes away from the clean lines of the cart, but I think this is a must have accessory for keeping things like a light jacket at arm's reach.

Currently, the most common resident of the cart basket is accessory No. 2, the Bag Boy Cart Mitt:

I don't know that the mitt would keep your hands warm on the chilliest of mornings, but it does a wonderful job of keeping the chill off my non-gloved hand on days when it is in the low 40s. The mitt is easily removed and stored in the storage bag. This accessory will get a lot of use in my early and late season rounds.

The final accessory I purchased was the Bag Boy Carry Bag:

I really, really wanted to love this carry/storage bag. Since I play a lot of morning rounds, I inevitably track a good amount of wet grass clippings into my trunk from the cart. I was hoping the bag would allow me to capture most of the clippings and keep them out of my trunk.

It was a good theory, but the bag is such a tight fit (though the Nitron does fit!), that it ultimately is too much fuss for me to be bothered with. This is the only accessory that I wish I hadn't purchased, but for offseason storage I guess I will use the bag.

[Bag Boy Nitron Cart - 2023 Forum Review]

At least for my Samsung Galaxy S22, the cell phone holder and the easily adjustable handle work great on the range for grabbing swing video. Was toying around with it today and the results were solid. I just put the phone in backwards and then backed the cart into position on the range.

[Bag Boy Nitron Cart - 2023 Forum Review]

1 hour ago, Hobert said:

The one thing I miss from walking generally is no sand/seed bottle with me to fill in my divots in the fairway. I feel a bit of guilt. I was looking at the accessories brochure that came with the cart, and am thinking about grabbing at least the bottle. 

@edingc should I consider any of the stuff you bought?

Funny you tagged me here, I was planning on doing a small review of the accessories sometime this week.

Long story short, the cart mitt is nice and will get continued use from me during the colder months. The cart storage basket is fine, I've been using it to hold the cart mitt now that it's warm. The storage/carrying bag is fine for storage - but unless you have time to burn after rounds (I don't - usually am headed straight to work in the morning), it's such a tight fit that it's hard for me to quickly get the cart in and out of the bag.

[How'd you play?]

My game continues to come and go seemingly randomly lately, though the last few rounds have been better than the previous couple of weeks. Finally able to get the ball in the air again after about a five round stretch of nothing but duck hooks. 

It's been a humbling experience to say the least, and it's a good thing because I think my head is better off for it. Clocked a +3 75 this morning and managed to stay pretty level the entire time. Three birdies, no double bogies and should have been better but missed two putts inside of five feet that would have saved par. I also capped the round on 18 with a terrible three-putt bogey as well.

We had a beautiful weekend for golf. My wife managed to snap a pretty nice picture of me yesterday morning as the fog was lifting.

[Bag Boy Nitron Cart - 2023 Forum Review]

Mine is through the paint in spots already. I'm sure I don't help things by not cleaning the cart very well after rounds. It probably only takes a bit of debris caught under the plastic to cause these kinds of marks.

[Bag Boy Nitron Cart - 2023 Forum Review]

Had another opportunity to use the umbrella holder this morning, but... I left the umbrella in the car because I didn't think it was going to rain!

Thankfully, the heavy stuff was very short so I made it around without everything getting too wet.

I haven't added a ton of thoughts in here beyond my initial impressions because, frankly, this is a solid cart! It rolls well, it is stable even on uneven terrain, it looks good and the Nitron feature works as advertised. 

My only concerns at this point are the longevity of the Nitron opener and also the mechanism used to adjust and secure the handle. Those two areas seem like they will wear out the quickest, how quickly is the question.

Speaking of the handle, you have to fold/unfold the handle section each time you unfold/fold the cart to get it fully compacted for storage. My CaddyTek did not require this, once I adjusted the handle to my liking I never needed to adjust it. That might be my biggest negative to the Bag Boy design.

That being said, I counted "Mississippis" the other day when I got to the course and I was able to have the cart out, unfolded and bag loaded and strapped in about 30 seconds. Not bad!

[Looking to join the push cart mafia]

I will echo most everyone's thoughts in here, don't sleep on CaddyTek as I have an EZ V8 that's seen over 1,000 miles and is just starting to show wear.

That being said, I won't spoil my Bag Boy Nitron review, but the Nitron is an awesome cart that is better (my opinion) than my CaddyTek.

[Bag Boy Nitron Cart - 2023 Forum Review]

Had a chance this morning to make use of the umbrella holder and mount as well! Very sturdy mount point on the top of the cart. Did a great job of protecting myself and clubs from a light drizzle.

Up to 207 holes on it now, plus lots of trips at the range to the tee from the parking lot. A nice design for sure. My cart experience has definitely been elevated from my previous CaddyTek.

[Bag Boy Nitron Cart - 2023 Forum Review]

46 minutes ago, Preeway said:

I think you are using the wrong part of the cord to secure the bag. 

I believe you are supposed to use the plastic part on the cable to secure into the hook rather than the webbing on the end of the cord. I was doing it this way too until I realized the difference. I believe this allows for greater adjustability in regards to how tight the strap is which thereby allows smaller bags to also be just as secure as larger bags. 

Interesting. Given my track record so far, I might be doing this wrong, too. I assumed that other plastic piece was just to keep the bungee cord in a general loop shape... I'll have to look closer at this!

[Bag Boy Nitron Cart - 2023 Forum Review]

I wanted to do a quick summary of how a golf bag is actually strapped into the Nitron. You may recall from my introduction that I really liked the strapless bag arms on my CaddyTek and this was an area of concern for me with the Bag Boy.

The top of the Nitron features the "Top-Lok Technology" system. For those of us who do not have the bags with this attachment system, the cart features two small cradle arms that fold around to hold the top of the bag to the cart with elastic cords.

The elastic cords use a hook and loop system to attach to each other. The hook end is easily adjustable with two simple friction fit slots that pinch onto the cord.

The bottom of the cart uses a very similar setup, but there are no folding cradle arms.

I like the bungee system for it's ease of use. It's very simple to get my bag on and off the cart.

I have been pleasantly surprised with the Nitron's attachment system. The small nylon strap on the end of the "loop end" of the cord feeds easily through my Sun Mountain Sync's cart strap slot.

Most importantly, I'm finding that my bag moves around much less than it did with the CaddyTek's top bag arms. 

So far, the only issue I've had with this area of the cart is that the top arms can pinch the sides of my bag too much, making the clubs that are in those areas rub as they are put in and out of the bag. Unfortunately, the stiffer upper rim of my bag doesn't extend down quite far enough to prevent this.

[GolfSpy AFG’s Speed & Swing Odyssey]

19 minutes ago, Getoffmylawn said:

I'm at a crossroads here.  I'm about ready to f@ck!ng quit this speed endeavor and golf in general.

Okay, maybe I'm not.  However, it's time for me to admit that I'm not getting faster, I am getting older, and maybe I need professional help.

This is a screenshot of my completion of my first Stack training, wherein I got to 113 mph at 195g, equating to 122 driver eSpeed.

One year later, I'm much slower.  Granted, speed training isn't linear, but my speeds have gone the wrong direction:

I think, when considered against my overall weight training regimen, that I'm simply overtrained and need to go back to the drawing board to learn how to train like a 40-something golfer who is "strong enough" and now after speed, versus a 20-something kid who's just trying to look good shirtless.

So, I've signed up for Fit for Golf.  Mike Carroll has also been remarkably responsive to some of my questions, and when I have a new plan and program I'll share it here, as well as any particular insights he may offer.  

June 16 I fly out to California for a family vacation, then I get back to PA and get ready to move to Ohio.  I'm viewing that as an opportunity to do a "hard reset" on my training and speed goals.

Obviously, I'm highly highly discouraged right now.  Down.  Hopefully, not out.

I assume you are not seeing changes on course either?

[How'd you play?]

On 6/4/2023 at 10:55 AM, rkj427 said:

Maybe a little break (refresh and reset) and then back at your routine may help clear up the current issues and concerns.

Here's hoping it gets better sooner than later.

On 6/4/2023 at 4:43 PM, Kenny B said:

Timing is just a little off.  Happens to me all the time.  All of a sudden... it's back.  No worries!

This is why I appreciate this thread. Sometimes it feels like it's just me.

Got a range bucket in yesterday and although I'm still not hitting the ball wonderfully off the tee, my wedge game and putting were very good today en route to a +1 73. Had three birdies and a couple other good looks that just missed. Lipped out a 3 footer on No. 1 and should have saved par on No. 12 but the ball stopped 1/2 revolution before the hole. 

Such a frustrating sport! Here's hoping I can build back some confidence and do this more often moving forward.

[Bag Boy Nitron Cart - 2023 Forum Review]

11 hours ago, Preeway said:

I think I figured it out. First you need to tip the cart back on the handle. 

Then you will see a hole on the left side and there is an allen bolt inside.

 


Hope that helps. 

 

11 hours ago, Lacassem said:

Nice catch man.

also has anyone seen the grease fitting (that’s what it looks like anyway) opposite side of the handle to adjust the push handle? 

I noticed it last round will get a picture of it tomorrow and read into the manual. 

Who had the front wheel in backwards? This guy! 

I will have to see how it pushes now. I changed it around in the parking lot after my round this morning.

[Bag Boy Nitron Cart - 2023 Forum Review]

Interesting find tonight while trying to adjust the front wheel. As I mentioned in a past post, my cart pulls slightly to the right, especially when rolling downhill. Bag Boy included a small Allen wrench to adjust the front wheel along with the assembly instructions.

Simple enough, right? Turn the Allen screw counterclockwise to fix a cart that pulls to the right. Well, that's all fine, except when I looked down at the front fork, there was no Allen screw and only an 8mm locking nut.

I tried to adjust this but no neither direction seemed to change the tracking of the front wheel.

Does everyone else have this nut or do the other testers have the supposed Allen screw? I didn't pull off the front wheel, but do I have this installed backward?

[What/How Did You Practice Today?]

First range day in a while as I had been on vacation so was doing a lot more playing (and playing poorly) than practice. Sorted some stuff out, we will see if it sticks on course. 

Not really a drill person (probably to my detriment) but went back to one my coach gave me a few years back. Placed the empty range bucket just outside and forward of the ball (like within an inch or so). When I start to get too in-to-out this gets me back to neutral or a little out-to-in. I have really been trying to change my default shot to a fade, progress has been intermittent and slow but this drill helped me a lot today.

[Bag Boy Nitron Cart - 2023 Forum Review]

On 6/2/2023 at 12:24 PM, Lacassem said:

Initial impression is up:

Curious if the other testers are seeing some in-stability on slight hills, when walking horizontally with the slope is the cart top heavy (not sure if its just my bag or that the cart is not very bottom heavy maybe?) but I definitely feel to top tipping as well as when applying the brake the cart likes to transition and slide to be in a the vertical position compared to horizontal. 

Minor thing but is new to me will get it on video at some point.

Top-heaviness is actually one of the things I was worried about when I first saw the cart. The bag does sit up pretty high in the upper supports. I have not had the same exact experience as you, but depending on your bag I could see this perhaps causing some issues.

I've really been enjoying the hand brake and have not had a reoccurrence of the issue I mentioned in my initial impressions - the pin has engaged quickly and easily.

I also really like that the front wheel is "ready to go" as soon as the cart unfolds. My previous CaddyTek required the front wheel to be moved in order to fold and unfold the cart.

I have noticed the top bag supports tend to squish the bag, making the clubs on the bottom left and right of my bag tougher to pull out. I suspect this has more to do with the design of my Sun Mountain Sync bag than the cart, and I'm guessing a bag with Top-Lok technology would not have the same issues. That being said, I've been very happy with how the Sync has performed on the cart, and I would not say having a Top-Lok bag is at all a requirement for this cart.

[How'd you play?]

Meh. My swing has left me. Still scoring OK at times, but outside of a couple solid 9s there has been nothing good to talk about. My driver, which had been phenomenal until recently, is now nothing but low and left. Irons, too.

My putter has been really pretty solid though, so trying to look on the bright side. But this has to be the worst swing funk I've ever been in.

[Bag Boy Nitron Cart - 2023 Forum Review]

31 minutes ago, Preeway said:

I'm still working on my unboxing first impressions write that will go in my original post on page 1. For now, all I will say is, wow. Or as my son said when I opened it up in front of him, "Whoa, do that again"! About to head out for my league night and my second time on a course. Should have the next part of my review up by Friday if not later tonight. Stay tuned.

Lime looks really nice with the white bag.

[MGS Off-Season Speed Challenge]

2 hours ago, RichL85 said:

Not much to say other than nice drive! I legitimately haven't gotten out to course as much as I've wanted due to work. It has been crazy busy for me. Having said that, for comparison, during my fitting back in September, my 7 iron swing speed was averaging around 82mph. Recently went out and hit through the bag to check gapping, and 7 iron is sitting right around 89-90mph with what feels like a much easier swing. I just haven't been able to get on the course to have ShotScope track the results for me, but I see it at the range where my 9 iron is carrying past the stake that used to be my 8 iron target. 

That's awesome! Distance is such a huge advantage. Hopefully you can get out and play soon.

[MGS Off-Season Speed Challenge]

Anyone else seeing the fruits of their offseason labor?

I had a drive yesterday that reminded me of why I need to work on trusting my mechanics more on course. I came to No. 13 not playing particularly well and coming off three straight bogies to open the back. I won't lie, I was a little mentally checked out at that point and just decided to see how hard/far I could hit my drive. No. 13 sets up pretty well to my swing, there's not a lot of room left but leaving it right is bogey at worst. For whatever reason this hole is confidence inspiring and holds the honor of some of my longest drives at home. Not sure why - it's flat as flat can be, listed at 323 yards.

So, with my goal to hit the ball as hard as possible, I absolutely centered one up. The ball carried to the front part of the green, and ran out to the back fringe!

Led to a "stress free" par... 

Still really nice to see. My mechanics have certainly gotten better, but I've had a handful of 300+ drives so far this season and good swings are now 280+ constantly. It does help that we've dried off a bit earlier than usual, but there is still lots of progress here!

[Bag Boy Nitron Cart - 2023 Forum Review]

I've been out for 72 holes with the Nitron so far, and I'm generally really enjoying my experience!

The auto opening/closing function is really slick. I like that the assisted open/close mechanism also helps hold the cart collapsed while moving into and out of my trunk. I used to have to hold my old cart shut while moving it around since there was nothing stopping it from opening.

The opening power is plenty strong, so strong that I have to be careful not to eject the contents of the handle storage bin (found golf balls, generally) onto the parking lot as the cart pops open.

The wheels glide smoothly. As I mentioned in my unboxing, the whole cart feels very substantial and has some weight to it. It is not flimsy in the least bit. There's very little to no looseness or flex in the frame or handle while traversing my course.

Couple of other thoughts, not all positive:

• Out of the box my cart pulls to the right. I need to look at the manual and adjust the front wheel to fix this.
• Placing the drink holder on top of the cart makes me drink more water than with my previous cart, but...
• Moving the storage basket underneath the handle is meh. I like the top storage basket of my CaddyTek way more.
• How did I live without the push cart mitten accessory? Simply awesome for chilly mornings.
• The hand brake seems to not like cold weather. On Tuesday morning it was in the low 40s when I teed off. I could not get the hand brake to fully engage as the pin that inserts into the wheel would not extend far enough. I thought it was just needing adjustment, but I have not experienced that again since the weather has now warmed into the 50s in the mornings.

[Bag Boy Nitron Cart - 2023 Forum Review]

1 minute ago, StrokerAce said:

Appreciate the time-lapse! that's a nice touch. 
Big fan of the design of the brake too. That's a great way to do it.

The red looks sharp; what led to you choosing the red color?

Thanks! Not a video expert by any means but I really enjoy messing around with some light editing.

To be honest, they were out of graphite/charcoal color option, else I would have probably gone with that. But, after having the cart in person, I like the looks of the red a lot. Just the right amount of pop, and it goes well with my bag.

[Bag Boy Nitron Cart - 2023 Forum Review]

Bag Boy Nitron Cart – Official MGS Forum Review by @edingc

Unboxing and First Impressions - May 25, 2023

As I posted earlier, FedEx delivered my Nitron cart on Monday, May 22. The cart came securely packaged in its branded box, surviving its trip from Chicago to me without issue. I had to put it together right away!

The time-stamped video below shows the ease of assembly. The main cart (the “Nitron” part) comes already put together. I only had to install the three wheels. Honestly, it was harder to figure out where to attach the storage bag I purchased than to set up the cart itself. One important part of the setup is that you must match the orientation of two small stars on the cart frame and front wheel during installation.

I had the cart ready to go in under six minutes.

The build quality is impressive. It is obvious this is not a cheaply constructed item. The frame has some weight to it, and the plastic parts are sturdy and solid.

The top handle assembly adjusts easily using a quick release knob. The handbrake is located on the left side of the top assembly and has a bicycle-like brake line that runs down to the right rear wheel.

The top assembly a lso has the cupholder and a storage compartment for balls and other small items. I love that this is not a spring-loaded door (likely to fail), instead a simple open/close door.

Rounding out the handle assembly is the cell phone holder and small storage bag on the underside.

I have been able to get out for 27 holes with the Nitron so far and have been enjoying my time. Thoughts on actual functionality coming soon!

[How'd you play?]

Roller coaster of a last week. Have shown some really good flashes of golf but just can't put together a full 18 holes.

Three 18s: 81, 83, 84 (three double bogies and a triple )

My swing completely left me halfway through the 83 and did not come back leading to the 84 the next time out. Went 37/46 on the 83 which was a huge confidence killer. 

Four 9s: 40 (finished double, bogey after being +2 through 7), 39, 39, 37. 

Frost advisory tonight so no round tomorrow or Friday, back at it Saturday. One of these days it will all come together!

[Bag Boy Nitron Cart - 2023 Forum Review]

3 hours ago, sirchunksalot said:

Does it have a hand brake? I'm assuming that's one in the left hand side.

Yes, it does!