Can a Golf GPS device improve your golf game?
The world of gadgetry is filled with electronic toys that get used once or twice and then find themselves sifting down to the bottom of the kitchen knick-knack drawer. The hype on most of these gadgets is appealing, but rarely do they live up to their promises.
Many golfers are wondering the same thing about GPS golf rangefinders. With a fairly steep entry price, you don’t want to spend money on one unless you are sure it will work.
I did a search for Golf GPS reviews and didn’t come up with too much useful information, so I decided to do a test myself. I got 3 golfing buddies who own GPS units and we headed out to a local course. For each shot, all three of them would use their device to see how it measured shot distance and distance remaining to the pin or middle of the
green. In addition, I carried a laser rangefinder and paced off all distances from the installed yardage markers. My clipboard was filled with a stat sheet to keep track of all the readings and results.
The conclusion I came to was that most of the GPS devices gave readings that were within 2-3 yards of each other. All were quite accurate from the fairway. Further away in the rough was more difficult and the cheaper GPS devices didn’t do as good a job of calculating the distances from these positions.
All the GPS golf rangefinders were within +-3 yards from what the laser rangefinder read, and were within +- 2 yards from the distances I paced off from the yardage markers.
You may conclude that it would be just as good to have a laser finder or just use the yardage markers. That is true, except for the speed. Laser rangefinders take about 30 more seconds per hole, on average to get your yardage than the GPS device, and pacing off took an average of 75 seconds less. That speeds up play by about 1/2 an hour per round just by itself, and that is a very good thing. Plus, if you are off the beaten path a lot, it can be hard to find yardage markers and with the laser rangefinder you are out of luck if you don’t have a visual of the flagstick.
The most impressive aspect, however, is the ability of the GPS device to give very accurate yardages to potential problem areas – bunkers, water hazards, etc. By knowing how far you have to fly the ball to clear the water or sand can be the difference between a par and a double bogey.
If you just want a basic yardage and the ability to see how far you hit shots (this knowledge will help you make better decisions in the future), one of the GPS golf units under $200 are fine. If you want some of the more advanced features or a color display, plan to spend around $400. If you are and avid golfer, it is worth putting on your holiday or birthday wish list.
Some of the most popular brands of GPS devices for golfers are SkyGolf, GolfLogix, Golf Buddy, Garmin and OnPar. Some devices require you to pay an annual subscription to download new courses. Others let you download courses for free. That’s a feature worth looking for. The most popular brand seems to be the SkyGolf SkyCaddie series of GPS
rangefinders. It’s interesting to se a list of all SkyCaddie GPS units to know which features you want or need.
All golf GPS rangefinders and simple to use and most will automatically detect where you are and load the right course (providing you have that course stored on the device). After that, features differ from model to model. Most golfers will use the basic features most. Serious golfers will appreciate the advanced features of the high end models, and
golfers who love to keep stats between rounds will love the models that have those features.
Check out the new golf GPS devices. You will love them and unless you are an absolute beginner, they will help improve your game.