ROBOLOGIC makes golf equipment, including physical caddies. This guide uses official rules, event terms and course guidance to explain how permission is decided.
Across the United States and Australia, no single rule either bans electric golf caddies at every course or permits them everywhere. Start with one check that applies to every device: does the course—and any event, if applicable—allow that type of non-ridden electric trolley today?
Add a second check only when the context makes it relevant. If you are playing a competition or another round under the Rules of Golf, and the device offers distance, elevation, current-round analysis, shot advice, audio or video, ask which of those functions may stay on.
Every electric trolley needs a course-access check. Whether you also need a function check depends on the round and the functions you plan to use.
Then make one morning-of check. Rain, frost, soft ground or maintenance can change the first answer after you have already packed the car.
This guide focuses on the United States and Australia. The same access-first, functions-when-relevant method travels well, but the documents and decision-makers differ elsewhere.
Why the Rules of Golf cannot give you the whole answer
The Rules of Golf govern how the game is played. They do not operate the course.
That distinction explains a result that can otherwise look contradictory: the Rules may not ban a walking electric trolley, yet a tournament or host course can still restrict it. The course is managing turf and access; the competition committee is setting conditions for that event.
An official Rules page can therefore answer how equipment or information may be used during a round. It cannot tell you whether wheeled traffic is welcome at your tee time.
Ask who controls each permission instead of asking only, “Are electric caddies allowed?”
The check every golfer needs: can the device be on the course today?
If an event is involved, start with its current terms and then check the host course. Otherwise, start with the course.
In the United States, the Florida State Golf Association’s push/pull cart policy encourages push/pull carts in events where players are required or allowed to walk. It permits electric push carts, says players will be notified when a host course does not allow push carts, and treats riding any distance on the trolley as a breach of the transportation rule.
That one policy produces three different answers:
- The association permits electric push carts in its walking events.
- The host course can still refuse push carts.
- Permission to carry the bag is not permission to carry the golfer.
An Australian event document makes the same distinction in its own terms. Golf Australia’s 2025 Katherine Kirk Classic Terms of Competition prohibited players from riding on motorised transportation while expressly permitting electronic push trolleys.
These examples do not mean every US or Australian event allows them. They show why “motorised transportation is prohibited” is not enough information to decide whether a non-ridden electric trolley is allowed. Read the trolley clause as well. The cited terms cover electric push trolleys; they do not confirm that every remote-control or follow mode is included.
What about Model Local Rule G-6?
The USGA’s current Model Local Rule G-6 text uses two levels of wording. Its purpose says a committee may prohibit players from using motorised transportation. The operative model wording says a player or caddie must not ride on motorised transportation unless the committee authorises or later approves it.
The operative wording is about riding, but G-6 still does not create universal permission for every powered bag carrier. An event or course can publish a separate trolley policy. If G-6 appears in the event documents, ask whether there is another condition for a non-ridden, battery-powered trolley and for the control mode you plan to use.
The course-access answer can change that morning
Ground conditions can change what the course allows that day.
After heavy rain, frost or maintenance, a course may change routes or restrict wheeled equipment to protect soft or stressed turf. The USGA’s explanation of the 90-degree rule shows the traffic logic: keeping riding carts on paths for longer reduces time on the grass and spreads entry and exit points. A walking trolley is a different device, so a riding-cart instruction does not automatically answer your question. Ask how the day’s restriction applies to your equipment.
Do not rely on “course open” alone. Ask whether personal electric trolleys are allowed that day.
The morning check should be specific:
- Is the course open?
- Are personal electric trolleys allowed today?
- Are there wheel, path or route restrictions?
- Has the answer changed since you last checked or since the event information was issued?
This is a short operational check, not a fresh rules investigation every time you play.
The conditional check: can rules-sensitive features stay on?
A trolley may be welcome on the course while one of its digital functions is not allowed in a round played under the Rules of Golf. In such a round, check the functions you plan to use rather than whether the product is labelled smart.
Under Rule 4.3, a player may obtain distance or directional information. The same Rule does not allow measuring elevation changes or turning distance or direction into a recommended line of play or club based on the ball’s location. A committee may also adopt Model Local Rule G-5 to prohibit distance-measuring devices.
Rule 4.3 also separates recording information from using it during the same round. Recording playing information for later use is allowed; processing current-round information into advice, such as club recommendations based on distances hit that day, is not. Watching video of the competition to help choose a club, make a stroke or decide how to play is also not allowed. A committee may adopt Model Local Rule G-8 to restrict audio and video devices during a round.
Make this check when the rules context and the active functions require it. List functions rather than relying on a product label:
- Motors, wheels and movement belong to the device-access question.
- Raw distance, elevation, current-round analysis, shot advice, audio and video belong to the feature-use question.
Check what can be disabled, then compare that list with the current event notice. A simple remote trolley with no rules-sensitive digital functions may make this step very short. A remote model that also provides GPS, elevation, advice, audio or video can require the same function-level review as a product marketed as smart.
Terrain capability does not grant route permission
A product may be technically capable of crossing a slope or rough surface. That does not make the route appropriate on a particular course that day.
The Australian Golf Club’s course-care guidance gives a concrete example. It tells players not to take pull trolleys or buggies between hazards and putting surfaces, and not to pull carts, buggies or trolleys across putting surfaces. That is a venue instruction about how traffic moves through sensitive areas, not a judgment about the maximum capability of a motor.
The better question is not “Can the trolley handle it?” but “Which route does the course want it to take?” In practice:
- Keep off putting surfaces and any other protected areas identified by the venue.
- Do not squeeze between a greenside bunker or lake and the putting surface when the club directs traffic around it.
- Follow ropes, signs, paths and staff instructions even when a shorter line is available.
- Give other golfers, greenkeepers and course vehicles room.
- In a narrow, blind or crowded area, use only a control method supported by the current product manual.
The same basic route etiquette applies to electric caddies and other wheeled equipment: protect the turf and give staff and other players room.
One message every user needs—and one only when relevant
“Can I bring my AI caddy?” invites confusion. The person reading it may imagine a ride-on cart, a remote trolley, an app or a human caddie.
Send this to the course office or the course’s pro shop:
I’m bringing a non-ridden, battery-powered trolley that carries my golf bag while I walk. It is [hand-guided / remote-controlled / using follow mode]. Is that trolley and that control mode permitted for my tee time, and are there any wheel or route restrictions today?
If you are playing a competition or another round under the Rules of Golf and plan to use digital functions, send the organiser or committee a separate question:
My device can provide [list the actual functions: raw GPS distance / elevation-adjusted distance / current-round analysis / shot recommendations / audio / video]. Which of these functions must be disabled for this competition?
Add the product name or a current manual extract if either decision-maker still needs to identify the equipment. Keeping the messages separate avoids asking the course’s pro shop to rule on competition features or asking the committee to guess the morning’s ground conditions.
Four checks for every round, plus two when rules matter
For every round:
- Course: Check the current course notice or contact the course office or its pro shop.
- Device: Describe it as a non-ridden electric bag trolley and name its control mode, not only as an “AI caddy.”
- Route: Ask about wheels, paths, greenside areas and temporary restrictions.
- Morning: Recheck after overnight rain, frost or a course-status change.
When the round is governed by competition conditions or other Rules requirements:
- Event: Read the current Terms of Competition and Local Rules, not last year’s version.
- Features: List the digital functions you plan to use and disable what the event does not permit.
Do not create a six-step burden when only the course-access check applies to your situation. But when the rules-sensitive functions are relevant, answering both parts before arrival is easier than debating them at the first tee.
Frequently asked questions
Are electric golf caddies allowed at every walking course?
No. A walking-only policy does not automatically permit every electric trolley. The event, host course and same-day conditions can each affect the answer.
Does Model Local Rule G-6 ban electric golf trolleys?
Not by itself. Its operative model wording prohibits a player or caddie from riding on motorised transportation when adopted. A committee or course can separately permit, restrict or prohibit non-ridden electric trolleys.
Would choosing a remote trolley avoid these checks?
No. A remote trolley still needs course access and must follow route restrictions. If it has no rules-sensitive digital functions, the second check may be shorter. If it also provides GPS, elevation, advice, audio or video, review those functions just as you would on a product marketed as smart.
Can I use an electric caddy in a US or Australian competition?
Sometimes. FSGA and the cited Golf Australia event provide official examples where electric push trolleys were permitted, but neither source confirms every remote or follow mode. The current event terms and host-course notice control your round.
Can I take a trolley across a green or between a bunker and the green?
Follow the venue’s route. The Australian Golf Club, for example, prohibits trolleys on putting surfaces and directs them away from the space between hazards and putting surfaces. Do not turn one club’s instruction into a worldwide distance rule.
Are AI shot recommendations allowed in competition?
Not when the device turns the ball’s location, distance or direction into a recommended line or club during the round, or processes current-round playing information into advice. Raw distance or direction may be allowed; measuring elevation is not, and a Local Rule may prohibit distance-measuring devices altogether.
If you are still deciding what kind of help you want from a caddy, compare a physical AI golf caddy, an AI caddie app and a remote electric trolley before comparing models.
Settle the question before the bag reaches the first tee. Then you can start the round thinking about the shot ahead, not explaining the trolley beside you.