Golf GPS Devices

Does anyone have any good golf gps devices that they would recommend?

I am in the market for one and there seem so many to choose from.

Any advice would be great.

thnx.

If you have a smartphone I heartily endorse the one at www.golfgps.com. I love it so far. My only complaint is not finding out about it in early Spring instead of late Summer

I prefer a laser to a GPS - the laser gives you yardages right to the flag, doesn't require a subscription and doesn't require a course to be mapped.

Granted, sometimes a laser is sketchy if you're trying to figure out how far it is to cut a dogleg or to carry a hazard, but that's a tradeoff I'm happy with.

SkyCaddie Golf GPS Devices are awesome.

Screen Quality: Excellent
Weight: Light
Look: Very Nice

what more do you want, oh yeah accuarate yardages :-)

Cheating boxes

hey, we all can't afford to have a caddy and play multiple practice rounds to map out every yardage on the courses we play like the pros do....

Come to that, even if we did have the time and money, most club golfers - unlike the pros - can't hit that accurate or consistent yardages in the first place - let alone finesse a bit more or less out of their 8I by shaping the shot.

So if the marker over there says its 150 to the front and I'm ten yards back and a bit to the right and its a decent size green then we're looking at 180 thereabouts to the back: so that's my 24 degree hybrid - if I hit it out of the screws I'm at the back which is fair enough, a more likely slight mishit? well that should miss the crud at the front and be on the finely mowed stuff.

That's enough for me and I'd venture to suggest that unless you are a Category 1 golfer, enough for you too.

So with the money you've saved from NOT buying a cheating gimmick have a look at this site and, Brits especially, support it.

http://www.supportoursoldiers.co.uk/

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The main idea in golf as in life I suppose, is to learn to accept what cannot be altered and to keep on doing ones own reasoned and resolute best whether the prospect be bleak or rosy. Bobby Jones

I'm not a category one golfer. Sure, this year I've dropped my cap by 6 strokes and fired a 78 my last time out. What helped? A solid short game, for sure. What else helped? Having an accurate yardage to the flag to start with.

See, for all those that hate the GPS/Laser, there's guys like me who have no idea what 10 yards looks like, let alone 20 or 25 or 150. So unless I'm more-or-less on top of a yardage marker, I'm already disadvantaged. I'm sure if I played a ton of golf on a course with no yardage markers, sooner or later I'd get accustomed to what yardages look like, but I don't have that opportunity. So out comes the rangefinder to get a yardage to the flag. Then it's time to account for the lie, the wind, trouble, shot shape and whether the flag is front or back. Starting with a concrete number is a tremendous help.

Like you say Robin - I'm still likely to mishit it some so there's a fudge factor. But I'd rather lose a couple yards off the perfect number - rather than lose a couple yards compounded on the completely wrong club because I started with a yardage that was 10 or 15 yards out to begin with.

Now, before folks start claiming dependence on the machines, it's helped my eye - I've forgotten my laser for the last couple rounds and still played a decent round. I certainly lacked some confidence on some shots and left myself some long-ish putts because I didn't have a 'sure' yardage, but I was a little surprised at how often I seemed to pick the right club.

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True Length Technology Fitter - www.truelengthtechnology.com
It's live! - www.ShipShapeClubs.com
PCS Class 'A' Clubfitter

A new highlight: Golfing the home course on Christmas Day.

I say it too often: If it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

For the record, I'm a club doctor, not a swing doctor.

I dislike the way these devices de-skill the game. To me judging yardages is one of the necessary skills to be learned in golf, OK you have to work at it. I compare it to allowing children in schools to use calculators with simple arithmetic. Yardage markers and course guides are quite sufficient for me. Thankfully GPS and range finders are banned from my club.

Ben, I agree totally with the need for an accurate starting point, which is why I often walk 20 yards or more to find a marker. My reaction is against those who, despite being even worse than me think knowing "its 163.8 to the rear quadrant leaving me an uphill putt" will help them - as my son says "all the gear, no idea". And your handicap? I'd say more down to hard work on your rotary swing than gps - well done, its nice that we old duffers are improving.

I use a Bushnell Medalist and it's quick.

Of course I have a pretty good system that was taught to me by an older gentleman I often played with when I was first starting.

I keep a scorecard in the car and when driving in to the course I go by greens 2 and 3 and note the location of the pin in the scorebox. Playing hole 2 takes one by the pins on 4 and 5. Six and Seven were noted when playing #1. 8 was marked when going by it playing hole 6. 9 can be marked either from the first tee or 8 tee. Hole 10 is easy to see. 11 and 12 were note when playing hole 7. 13 & 14 are noted when playing 10 & 11. 15 is noted when playing 14 and 16 needs to be lasered. 17 is seen from 16 and 18 was noted on the tee box for 10.

It's a simple system but it had to be shown to me and when I explain how it works to others they're surprised how easy it is to mark them. It's also easy to forget if you don't do it every time.

It works for me.

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People in a hurry, shouldn't play golf.

BDBL - I absolutely agree with you. I play with a few guys who have recently invested in this type of technology and now spend ages working out distances (almost to the exact millimetre it seems at times !!) and they certainly don't possess the skill to hit accurate yardages. Also as Brian W says, judging yardages with your 'eye' is a skill you aquire over time.

Lowpost - there is merit in what you say when you get down to wedge distances but I think this sort of distance can be judged with the eye. Also, the guys that I play with never use their gadgets for this type of range !!

I concur that sub 80 yard shots are eyeballers. However, when I practice, I practice two ways. The first is hitting to a know target that's 80 yards away - do develop my eye and my feel. The other is to make a 'three quarter' swing, and find out how far it goes. Then I can adjust a little based on that.

I'm definitely a laser rangefinder man - bushnell are the best. It's great to know exactly what you have left to the pin and definitely saves you shots. And for those that say its cheating, well, not really. If you fork out for a course planner and spend the time pacing off yardages then you will get accurate yardages, but personally I don't like 5 hour rounds!

Anyone struggling with their driving? Check out the video tips on purplegolf.com. They really helped me.

It's about skill, not 5 hour rounds. I can look at a target and calculate the distance, club and swing required much faster than you can with your range finder (cheating box ) I will normally have done it before ariving at my ball. The range finder that comes as standard and is fixed between our shoulders is a better computer than any gizmo, you just have to work out how to program it!

NB:

If or when you aspire to the age that requires specs to read then you will certainly be playing 5 hour rounds pulling them on and off to read the display

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Best Regards
Brian

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Funny o'l game!