b'Jim Billmaier (left) and Alex Wunderlich co-founded Fairway Bikes. exercise, which I didnt get drinking beereasier on golf courses turf than golf carts Fairwayin the golf cart. because its lighter and its weight is more I thought about how e-bikes wereevenly distributed. Golfers also wont Bikes becoming popular, and I thought, Thereworry about running out of juicethe must be a bike for golf, to let players getbikes battery has a 20-mile range, even if Golfers are savingadditional exercise if they want it. Andits being gunned to its maximum speed there really wasnt. of 12 mph on those long, flat fairways.strokes whileBillmaier got to work with engineersAn adjustable pedal assist allows and designers who shared a passiona rider to set different activity levels spinning spokes for golf and cycling. Three and a halfbased on how much of an electric boost years later, the prototype Fairway Bikesis needed depending on the terrain. by Doug Miller model is here. Its bright yellow, sturdy,And this bike is ready for hills. The team A three-wheeled, and ready for the fit andmade sure of it by testing it for climbing locally based startup company producing three-wheeled e-bikes foradventurous golfer to give a spin. while carrying the maximum load of 300 golf has bold plans to get their fitness- When you first lay eyes on the bike,pounds.forward machines on public and privatetheres a good chance youll be thinking,Now Fairway Bikes is ready for courses all over the world. So far, theyreThis is a lot more robust than I pictured,the mainstream, and the prototype is making progress, one shot and severalsays Fairway Bikes CEO Alex Wunderlich,delighting golfers at three golf courses pedals at a time. who was an All-American golfer atin Washington with which the company The spark that ignited Fairway BikesEmory University.has partnered: Billmaiers home course of came from the entrepreneurial mind ofAnd then, when you first get on it, itBear Creek Country Club, Suncadia Resort, Jim Billmaier, a former CEO who has beenfeels good. The seat is nice and wide. Youand Twin Lakes Golf & Country Club.involved with technology companies insee where the clubs are loaded, and itsThere are other products out there the areas of software, music and electricvery similar to a traditional golf cart, withthat are similar, says Chas Holmes, Bear vehicles, and has worked with latethe same kind of strap. Creeks general manager. But they dont Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Wunderlich explains that it mightquite work. This works. Were all about The genesis of this venture wastake half of a hole before golfers get thefitness in todays day and age, and I loved your typical entrepreneur kind ofhang of the bike. the fact that you can pedal or you dont thing, Billmaier says. At my previousTo get it started, you either starthave to. That was very intriguing. Also, company, I was promoted to the Boardpedaling or just tap the throttle, he says.the bike has very low impact on turf.and had more time to play golf. BeingOne thing that youll have to get used toHolmes adds that private clubs in the that I live near Seattle, it can be a littleis that with the three wheels and the twoSeattle area suffer some attrition because wet out there, and I was getting out onup front, it doesnt lean when you turn.members who ride carts dont want to a lot of cart-path-only days. It was hillyIts kind of a funny feeling. But once youdeal with cart-path-only restrictions.and challenging to walk. I rememberget over that, youre just pedaling. Maybe we can save a few members telling my wife that I was getting a lot ofWunderlich points out that the bike isout of it, Holmes says.24 PACIFIC NORTHWEST GOLFER|MAR 2025'