Golf Caddy GPS

There are so many choices out there for the golfer?  Which clubs should you get?  Which golf shoes are the best?  Should you get a golf GPS system or a golf laser rangefinder?  It can be hard to tell what choices to make.

This article will seek to educate you on the differences between a golf GPS system and a golf laser rangefinder.  There is an extreme difference in price.  But there is also a large difference in functionality.

Price:  The golf GPS system is generally more expensive than the golf laser rangefinder.  However, this also equates to the technology involved in each device and what it does for you.

Use:  The laser rangefinder requires you to aim a laser at the spot you wish to get the distance to.  This requires having a direct line of sight with no obstacles.  The golf GPS system allows you to pull up the information on a computer screen with no aiming involved.  This is very useful when there are slopes in the land, trees, or any other obstacles.  It also allows you to measure a much greater distance than the laser rangefinder.

Ease of Use:  To use a laser rangefinder, you have to have a steady hand.   If your hand shakes at all, this can ruin your results.  You also need good vision to accurately line up the laser.  Finally, you have to acquire a target before you take a measurement.  With a golf GPS system, you just select the spot on the course you want to measure to and press a button.

All of these features can help you improve your game.  You’ll have a lot more confidence that you’ll hit the shot you are aiming for with a golf gps system as opposed to a laser rangefinder.  So which should you get?

Go with the golf GPS system.  You won’t be disappointed.

Tags: golf gps system, golf laser rangefinder// Category golf // Add Comment »

With a golf caddy GPS, you can never go wrong on the golf course! A golf caddy gps acts as an enhancement to your golf game. You can decrease your score and improve your game by being able to alter your strategies according to what’s available on the map. You can even adjust your game by knowing the full depth and shape of the green from any angle of the course, even accounting for obstacles. By using one, you can take your game to the next level!

There are a few factors you should consider before buying your gps unit. Make sure that you get a full color, high resolution screen. The black and white versions just don’t show up in bright sunlight. Also, look for a long battery life. If you like to hit the course all day, this can be a necessity. It’s a pain to wait for the device to recharge once it’s out of batteries.

With the Sky Caddie brand, you get the only golf gps rangefinder used on professional tours. You do have to get the monthly membership to get access to the most up to date golf course plans. However, they are the most accurate. If you are a serious golfer, this can be an expense worth having.

Now, if you don’t want to pay the annual fee, there a number of competitors that have entered the market. They have products that are just as good, without the annual subscription. There may be some variation with accuracy, but unless you travel to multiple golf course around the world, a model such as this one by Golf Guru may suit your needs just fine.

Some people have found that they can download apps to their cell phone or iphone. These are definitely less expensive. However, they do tend to eat up the battery life quickly. Also, the cell phone is not as rugged or waterproof like an actual golf caddy GPS.

Overall, there are quite a few good models on the market today. You can easily find a golf caddy GPS that suits your needs and your budget.

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Callaway Golf makes two different golf GPS models – the uPro Golf and the uPro Go. Both of them are very good models, with only a few differences betweent  the two.  In this Callaway uPro review, we’ll look at the differences between the two, the features, the good qualities, and the negative.

Go vs. Golf

The main difference is the price – the Golf is slightly more expensive.  The Golf Pro also features a slightly larger screen.

The biggest difference is in the programming.  Both come with a basic course overview, but both offer upgrades.  The Golf offers you pro mode, which allows you to see the hole from an aerial, color view.  (This is what is pictured to the left.)  The normal screen mode is a bit more cartoonish.

This feature costs an additional $10 per course, or you can buy a lot of credits at a time and pay about $2.50 per course.

The uPro Go also has an upgrade available – Go mode.  This costs $49.95 to activate as a one time fee.  Go mode gives you virtual green mode and Anypoint view screens.  This allows you to pinpoint any spot on the screen and measure to it.  Distances are then updated as you move around the hole.  It also allows for changing pin locations.

uPro Go Review

The uPro Go is rated slightly higher than the Golf.  While the Golf does have the satellite imaging (with a fee), the Go is very useful with Go mode.  With this feature, the price tends to be about the same.

The Go comes preloaded with 18,000 courses from the US and Canada.  However, there are some courses that are not mapped, especially in Canada.  You can search their site to see if your course is available here.  Courses are added all the time, but it can be a pain if your course is not already there.

One nice thing about the uPro Go is it gives you the distance to the front and the distance to carry each hazard.  This can really come in handy.  It also has auto hold advance and an easy to use interface.

There were a few complaints about the device as well.  Some people said the screen was hard to see in the direct sun, while others did not have any problem with it.  There is not scorekeeping on the unit, and the joystick can be hard to manipulate if you have larger hands.

Callaway uPro Golf Review

The Callaway uPro Golf is also highly rated overall, although it does have more negative reviews.  A lot of people were disappointed that the screen shown in the picture was not what you get unless you purchase the course.  It does seem a bit like false advertising to me, too.

However, the device itself is very good.  The screen is a little larger and easy to see.  It really gives you a lot of information.  The measurement feature in particular was very helpful.  The size of the device itself is very small and light.

There were some drawbacks to this device.  It was very slow to download new courses, and seemed to lag between screens.  Also, the device goes to great lengths to save battery life.  In fact, it shuts down the screen almost all the time!  So that can get very annoying.  Buying the individual courses can get expensive, but they are helpful for difficult areas.

Tags: Callaway, Go, golf, golf gps, review, uPro// Category Golf GPS Reviews // 1 Comment »

If you don’t need all the bells and whistles of high end golf GPS units, then the Sonocaddie V100 could be for you.  This very basic model will show you the distance to the green or the distance to a critical target (that you set up), and features personalized course target setting.  It can show you the distance to the green even without a direct line of sight, reducing the errors in your shot selection.

With this unit, you get five course for free.  It holds up to ten courses.   You can download more at anytime for a $30 fee.   You can play about four rounds of golf per charge.

In a Sonocaddie V100 review on Amazon, one owner said,

“I purchased this GPS over the winter and just had my first chance to try it out, I could not be more pleased. This GPS was very easy to read, gave very accurate yardage and helps to speed up your game, no looking for markers. One course that I play was not mapped so I contacted Sonocaddie, a person actually answered the phone, I e-mailed a scorecard to them and had the course for download in 3 days.”

Overall, this little GPS unit gives you the information you need at an affordable price!  Read more about it at Amazon.

Tags: golf gps, review, sonocaddie// Category Golf GPS Reviews // Add Comment »

The Golf Buddy is a popular brand of golf gps unit.  With four different models, it can be difficult to decide which will work the best for you.   Here is an overview of different Golf Buddy reviews, in order from least to most expensive.

Golf Buddy Plus

The Golf Buddy Plus is the basic model.  It’s not cheap though, with a cost up to $200.  It has a simple small black and white screen, and holds 1000 courses at a time.  You get unlimited access to download up to 14,000 courses from their site.

This model automatically displays distance to the front, center, and back of the green as you move.  This seems to be accurate for most golf course, although a few seem to be off (a common complaint across all models of the Golf Buddy).  Their data comes from satellite images, so it is not the absolute best out there, compared to similar devices like the SkyCaddie.

Overall, it is a decent, affordable model.  However, if you want to save money, there are lower cost units available, such as the Swami.

Golf Buddy Pro

This model is the bestselling on Amazon, closely followed by the Golf Buddy Tour.  The Pro and Tour models are very similar.  This one has a black and white screen, and a 12 hour battery life.  The device holds 20,000 courses, and all courses in North America are available.  There is no yearly fee to download additional courses.

Most people seem to like this model in the reviews.  Most of the time it was accurate, with a few exceptions.  The biggest complaint was about customer service – like most companies, they seem to have outsourced it.

Golf Buddy Tour

The Tour is slightly more expensive than the Plus.  It holds the same number of courses, but comes with a color screen and a 14 hour battery life.  If you really want a color screen, you may want to upgrade.  Otherwise, the Plus works just fine.

Golf Buddy World Platinum

The highest end Golf Buddy is the World Platinum model.  This one comes with access to 40,000 courses around the world.  It has a color touch screen, which is a nice feature.  However, it does cost significantly more than the other versions.  If you golf around the world, this may be a good fit for you.

So, to sum up these Golf Buddy reviews, the best rated device among these four is:  The Golf Buddy Pro!  This was closely followed by the Tour.

Tags: comparison, golf buddy, reviews// Category Golf GPS Reviews // Add Comment »