Which Golf GPS to Buy
Lawrence Bredenkamp asked:
With the profusion of choice and the booming golf GPS market the decision of which golf GPS to buy can be a time consuming one.
When I first started looking at which golf GPS to buy I had no idea there was such a large choice and as soon as I found one that I thought was perfect I discovered another. It seems that in the world of golf GPS there are certainly more questions than answers
One of the major problems I found when researching is that each manufacturer swears blindly that theirs is the best product. And then ask anyone that owns one and they invariably tell you they are happy with their particular model and wouldn’t swap it for the world. In some cases I thought that some of the arguments favouring a particular model were rather weak. In the end I decided people generally do not want to feel as if they have made a mistake – so they find a reason – any reason – to validate their choice.
Truth is though that most of the top brands are absolutely perfect for most golfers. I came across one character who had no less than eight different models! His annual membership fees were well over $100.00 and he was quite happy to pay that. On the day I met him he was testing another model!
In the end the choice for me came down to one of 15 models.
I decided to stick with the popular brands:
iGolf (by iPlay) Golf Guru Golf Logix Golf Buddy Skycadddie Sonocaddie SureShot uPro Most of those had more than one model so it was pretty confusing to decide exactly which golf GPS to buy.
I then listed all the features that they all had and decided that the following was important to me:
Accuracy of measurements. Most are but I was being fussy. Size – I wanted something small to fit in my pocket with out the weight of it pulling my trousers down. Signal strength and the ability to hold the signal. If I carried it in my pocket I didn’t want to take it out to find the signal took a few minutes to lock in again. Customer service. I had read a lot of good and bad about after sales service and I went for a reputable company that cared about its customers. I just had to have a model that could be used as a digital scorecard and had the ability to track my game by giving me fairways and greens in regulation as well as putts per round. Whatever I bought had to have the shot distance feature. This was non negotiable as I wanted to know exactly how far I hit each club in my bag. The screen had to be easy to read. I wasn’t too fussed about having a colour screen but of course at the right price I might consider it. I preferred not to have an annual membership fee. Some people say they are good to have because you know your courses are updated regularly. Point taken but not necessarily agreed with. Battery life was important to me. The longer the better because I didn’t want to be half way through a round only to find my GPS had gone dead. Battery life was more important than the power source although external batteries do have the advantage of being able to be replaced at a moment’s notice whereas the built in batteries need to be charged for a couple of hours. Self mapping was important to me. I would like to be able to plot my own points on certain holes on my home course. Detailed Green feature. This goes by various names (depending on the manufacturer) but is essentially the ability to have more detail in terms of shape and angle of approach. It would be great if we always approached from directly in front of the green but in real life this is not always the case. Courses stored on unit. I didn’t have to have a facility for thousands but I thought I needed at least 10. Price. Obviously price was a consideration but at the end of the day it came down to value for money. Apples for apples – what was I getting for my buck? Deciding which golf GPS to buy took me over a month. Maybe I should have been like my friend who had eight of the things. He had the right idea – buy them all and you know you’ve got the best!
With the profusion of choice and the booming golf GPS market the decision of which golf GPS to buy can be a time consuming one.
When I first started looking at which golf GPS to buy I had no idea there was such a large choice and as soon as I found one that I thought was perfect I discovered another. It seems that in the world of golf GPS there are certainly more questions than answers
One of the major problems I found when researching is that each manufacturer swears blindly that theirs is the best product. And then ask anyone that owns one and they invariably tell you they are happy with their particular model and wouldn’t swap it for the world. In some cases I thought that some of the arguments favouring a particular model were rather weak. In the end I decided people generally do not want to feel as if they have made a mistake – so they find a reason – any reason – to validate their choice.
Truth is though that most of the top brands are absolutely perfect for most golfers. I came across one character who had no less than eight different models! His annual membership fees were well over $100.00 and he was quite happy to pay that. On the day I met him he was testing another model!
In the end the choice for me came down to one of 15 models.
I decided to stick with the popular brands:
iGolf (by iPlay) Golf Guru Golf Logix Golf Buddy Skycadddie Sonocaddie SureShot uPro Most of those had more than one model so it was pretty confusing to decide exactly which golf GPS to buy.
I then listed all the features that they all had and decided that the following was important to me:
Accuracy of measurements. Most are but I was being fussy. Size – I wanted something small to fit in my pocket with out the weight of it pulling my trousers down. Signal strength and the ability to hold the signal. If I carried it in my pocket I didn’t want to take it out to find the signal took a few minutes to lock in again. Customer service. I had read a lot of good and bad about after sales service and I went for a reputable company that cared about its customers. I just had to have a model that could be used as a digital scorecard and had the ability to track my game by giving me fairways and greens in regulation as well as putts per round. Whatever I bought had to have the shot distance feature. This was non negotiable as I wanted to know exactly how far I hit each club in my bag. The screen had to be easy to read. I wasn’t too fussed about having a colour screen but of course at the right price I might consider it. I preferred not to have an annual membership fee. Some people say they are good to have because you know your courses are updated regularly. Point taken but not necessarily agreed with. Battery life was important to me. The longer the better because I didn’t want to be half way through a round only to find my GPS had gone dead. Battery life was more important than the power source although external batteries do have the advantage of being able to be replaced at a moment’s notice whereas the built in batteries need to be charged for a couple of hours. Self mapping was important to me. I would like to be able to plot my own points on certain holes on my home course. Detailed Green feature. This goes by various names (depending on the manufacturer) but is essentially the ability to have more detail in terms of shape and angle of approach. It would be great if we always approached from directly in front of the green but in real life this is not always the case. Courses stored on unit. I didn’t have to have a facility for thousands but I thought I needed at least 10. Price. Obviously price was a consideration but at the end of the day it came down to value for money. Apples for apples – what was I getting for my buck? Deciding which golf GPS to buy took me over a month. Maybe I should have been like my friend who had eight of the things. He had the right idea – buy them all and you know you’ve got the best!
To learn more about the best deals on all makes and manufactures of golf GPS devices, check out my Amazon Store. Also, if you're really looking for a deal on a used device, take a look at our eBay listings.
