Big Thinking For Small Spaces: The Big Max Story

In the competitive landscape of the golf industry, heritage, legacy and an engineering mindset go a long way in creating class-leading products. Golfers know some brand names better than others – often equipment manufacturers – and know the history of some golf brands more than others, too.

In the golf bag and trolley market, a family-owned Austrian powerhouse has been quietly re-engineering the walking experience for millions of golfers worldwide for over three decades now. From its headquarters in Vienna, BIG MAX has built an international reputation by inventing solutions to problems that golfers didn’t even realise they had. By setting a new gold standard for push carts and waterproof bag technology, the brand has dedicated itself to making life on the course easier through thoughtful engineering.

I wanted to better understand just how BIG MAX has innovated over the last 30 years, the thought processes behind inventing and reinventing trolleys and bags, and where it plans to take the trolley and golf bag industry next. With my goals set, there was only one thing for it – hop on a flight to Austria and go and meet the team behind the BIG MAX brand for myself...

Big thinking for small spaces

To understand how BIG MAX has got into the position it is in today, we must first look back into the archives to some of the company’s biggest moments. The BIG MAX story officially began in 1994 in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Thomas Reiter, the brand was never interested in merely adding to the existing noise of the market; it wanted to solve the invisible hurdles of the game that already existed. Named after Reiter’s newborn son, Maxi, the company set out with a simple, singular goal – to make the walk down the fairway easier.

The first major turning point arrived in 1997. At the time, the industry standard was the two-wheel pull cart, often described as a literal drag on the golfer’s body. Tinkering in his workshop, Reiter became obsessed with improving the basic frame. As his son Maxi recalls when I sat down with him at the company’s office and showroom, “My dad initially started the company with the idea that he wanted to improve the golf trolley. He started tinkering around, and that’s where he began developing a fascination with the golf trolley itself.”

This experimentation led to a breakthrough: fixing a third wheel to the front of a frame, thus creating Europe’s first three-wheel push cart. The resulting launch of the BM500 changed the market overnight. This was followed in 2000 by the legendary Ti 1000, a model so stable and compact it became the best-selling push cart Europe had ever seen, cementing BIG MAX as the continent’s No.1 brand.

Expansion continued at a rapid pace. By 2014, BIG MAX officially crossed the Atlantic to enter the American market. The reaction was immediate, and between 2016 and 2023, the brand racked up multiple consecutive Editor’s Choice awards from both Golf Digest and Golf Monthly. This period proved that Austrian engineering could dominate on a global stage. Today, with a presence in over 50 countries, the company continues to push boundaries, most recently with the launch of the electric e-Ti trolley, and with the IPX Hybrid Tour bag in development for 2027.

The obsession behind the innovation

The driving force behind BIG MAX remains Reiter senior’s relentless obsession with design and functionality. “I’m not obsessed only with the trolley,” he admits. “I have an obsession with golf bags, too. I own maybe 100 different bags. Oh, and I’m also obsessed with folding mechanisms!”

This passion for the technology of folding drives him to find ways to make items as small as possible while maintaining a deceptively simple appearance.

This commitment is most evident in the company’s signature, patented fold-flat technology. While many competitors’ carts fold into bulkier cubes, BIG MAX engineered models like the Blade IP2, which collapses to less than 5 inches (4.92 in). “Using the smallest space available, we came up with a slogan for ourselves: ‘smaller spaces need bigger thinking,’” Thomas tells me.

Maxi explains that it is this redeveloping spirit that sets the brand apart: “That’s just my dad loving a new idea and, even if there is not really a need in the market, he’s just committed to elevating the push cart idea all the time.”

This commitment to constant refinement means that even successful products receive regular adjustments. As Thomas says, “Even now when we have a product like the Blade IP2, we still change little details and make it better every day.”

Indeed, the flat design is about more than just aesthetics; it fundamentally changes a previously uniform ‘form factor’. “What flat means is that the way you can pack it changes fundamentally,” Maxi tells me. “It allows you to stack, it allows you to lay flat into the boot of your car, so it’s just that bit easier to store.”

Solving unseen problems: the product design philosophy

Underpinning every BIG MAX product are five core principles: innovation, reliable quality, functional performance, problem-solving and constant testing. Senior category manager Tim Norburn emphasises a key brand philosophy. “We don’t want to make anything just for the sake of making something,” he explains. “It needs to solve a problem.”

This dedication to solving practical problems led to the 2014 introduction of the Aqua Series, the first truly 100% waterproof bags featuring sealed seams and sealed zippers. More recently, the brand developed the Aqua IPX Tour, a bag that uses advanced IPX materials and, for the very first time on a golf bag, welded seams. The test is the reveal: after a round in heavy rain, every pocket of an Aqua IPX Tour opens bone-dry. That is the point of the welded seam.

The attention to detail in bags like this goes deep. The Aqua IPX Tour includes a clever drain feature in the cooler pocket. If you put ice in the bag to keep your drink as cool as possible for a whole round of golf, you can then just open it and let the water run out of the bottom at the end of the round.

A proud Austrian company

Despite a global presence, BIG MAX remains deeply rooted in its Austrian heritage. For over 15 years, the company has partnered with the Austrian Golf Federation (Golf Austria), creating bespoke, custom bags for the national team.

This partnership is a two-way street for innovation. The federation’s state-of-the-art performance and competence centre at Fontana Golf Club – which features a 1,300m indoor driving range and advanced tracking technology – serves as a hub where elite players provide real-world feedback.

BIG MAX often debuts experimental technology on Team Austria bags, to then refine them based on player feedback before implementing the designs for the golfing public. In 2026, BIG MAX will expand this collaboration further. For the first time, the brand has created a selection of bespoke Golf Austria accessories, including head covers, scorecard holders, umbrellas and duffel bags. While some will remain exclusive to the national team, many will be available for the public in 2026.

Engineering the future

As BIG MAX moves further into this year, its mission remains unchanged: if you can’t find the best, build it. The company continues to push boundaries with new products like the electric e-Ti trolley. Before I left Vienna, I got some hands-on time with the gear at Colony Club Gutenhof, to see what three decades of tinkering, innovation and design know-how really look like on the golf course.

Talking about the brand’s newest innovation, Maxi tells me that the e-Ti is designed to feel like a manual cart with effortless control, while providing golfers with the benefits of electric power: “It’s very quiet and very easy to control, just like a solid electric cart, but one that makes you feel like you’re not using one.

“Under the skin, the e-Ti pairs a custom gearbox with software-controlled dual motors, a 25.9V / 5.8Ah lithium-ion battery, and a 7.5 kg chassis. Supported by a three-step, dealer-led diagnostic system, it has been engineered to be repaired on-site rather than shipped away – a point of principle for BIG MAX, and the reason we rebuilt the electric trolley from the ground up rather than adding a motor to an existing frame.”

Out on the course, I also put the famous Blade IP2 and Aqua IPX Tour bag through their paces in weather that really allowed me to see the new waterproofing technology in action. The heat-welded seams on the Aqua IPX Tour are a truly unique feature to BIG MAX, and this bag creates both a unique aesthetic and a new benchmark for waterproof construction on golf bags.

From a single prototype in a Vienna workshop to over 30 years of market leadership, BIG MAX remains a family-owned business driven by the same redeveloping spirit that first added a third wheel to a trolley. It is a company that thrives on constant improvement, refining small details daily to ensure that every walk down the fairway is as seamless as possible.

In an industry where many are content with the status quo, BIG MAX continues to engineer solutions for problems we haven’t yet discovered. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.