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No more squinting out to count white stakes around the fairway – there are better ways to measure your distance from the hole. Designed to help golfers achieve much more accurate shots, a golf GPS is an easy, convenient, and practical sporting accessory for players who frequent the range.
Since they were introduced into the market, GPS devices for golf have seen a world’s worth of improvement, giving rise to a variety of designs that cater to varying tastes and preferences among golfers. Needless to say, taking a peek into the market might leave you a little stunned and clueless as to how to make the right choice for your needs.
What are the best golf GPS devices and how can you figure out if it’s for you? Read along to pick up some tips from the pros on finding the most practical and efficient golf GPS models with our definitive guide.
The varieties of GPS devices for golf are categorized based on their design. These include handhelds, watches, and golf cart GPS systems. Depending on what you find most convenient, there are pros and cons to each type of design.
These devices are essentially small GPS units that are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. As the name suggests, they’re carried around the course in your pocket to be pulled out whenever you need them. Often lightweight and compact, these devices can offer a range of features – from basic to advanced – depending on their price.
When it comes to accessories, handheld devices often have the most to choose from. Some of these can be so small that they leave buyers the option to convert the device to a watch by way of a wrist strap. But even without the strap, most can be pretty convenient, featuring a clip-on design that allows you to latch them on to your cap, clothes, or belt.
A watch GPS can be packed with a load of features which can turn it into more than just a golfing essential. So although they might appeal mostly to golfers, they also serve a purpose for other athletes and outdoor enthusiasts.
Watches are often considered the most convenient of the different types of GPS devices for golf players. They’re easily accessible in game, they won’t weigh you down, and some of them are designed to be exceptionally stylish.
If you’re one of the high rollers driving around in your own golf cart, you might want to consider buying a GPS that mounts to your vehicle. These devices have larger screens and are often capable of providing more information at a glance. They’re richly featured, powerful, and comprehensive, so they’re definitely better suited for intense players who want precise measures for seamless performance.
When you first look at a golf GPS, you might find yourself scratching your head more than once, trying to figure out what button does what, and what the different little bits of information on the screen mean.
Sure, that little device might come with an instruction manual, but just the same, here are a few tips that should help you get the best out of your device.
It’s easy to get lost in the technicalities of a GPS device, especially something that’s advanced. So before you head out to the course with your brand new GPS, consider spending some time studying how it works.
Unfortunately, while most of us would love a device that just works as soon as you turn it on, there are some devices that need to be booted, synced, updated, and a host of other maintenance steps in order to bring the information they contain up to speed.
So take the time to study that manual, tinker with your new device, and preload any essential information to make sure it works as it should when you reach the fairway.
This is one of the reasons why a watch GPS is often preferred. Just as you’re unlikely to use a kitchen appliance that isn’t on your counter, you might find it taxing to keep digging in your bag to find a GPS device at each hole.
In this way, a GPS may become more of a nuisance rather than an essential. So make sure you choose something that you feel you’ll have a seamless experience with. Watches are great for that reason, but clip ons and those with sturdy mounts that attach to golf carts can also be suitable for certain buyers.
These days, it’s almost impossible for a device to not have an app that supports it. The best golf GPS app should improve the functionality of your GPS, allowing you to update your device with ease and save information to help make your future visits to a course more efficient.
Sometimes, golf GPS manufacturers won’t state it as obviously as the other features of their designs. So try to check out their website just the same to find out if they offer mobile resources that can help improve your user experience.
What’s a good GPS for golfers and what isn’t? While the term ‘best golf GPS’ can often be relative, there are a few features that can make some designs better than others.
GPS devices for golf can come preloaded with course information, or can have access to a course database where it downloads information to match the course you’re playing. Depending on the brand, some GPS devices won’t have access to certain courses, especially if they’re designed and sold mainly in different countries or states.
An extensive course database will help guarantee that your chosen GPS will prove useful in your chosen course. You’ll know that a device can offer an extensive collection of GPS data if you choose something from a well-known brand.
Golfers – especially older ones – might not always figure out how to work a GPS at a glance. So in case you’re completely confident in your ability to decode all those little blinking lights, codes, and messages flashing on that screen, you should consider choosing something a little less complicated to use.
Ease of use include screen size, accessibility, maintenance, and of course, the general user interface. Quick, comprehensive yet concise devices that provide all the information you need at a glance can be the perfect choice for no-nonsense players. Some devices also offer voice features that dictate information to you so you don’t ever have to take your eyes off your target.
Did you know that some GPS devices require users to pay monthly fees in order to maintain their access to some of its features? This includes map information as well as the course database that we talked about a few paragraphs back.
Consider the cost it would entail to keep a paid subscription, and decide whether or not those monthly fees are worth paying especially if you’re just a recreational player.
In the area of maintenance, you might also want to consider how your GPS’s information stays up to date. What do you need to do to keep the maps as accurate as possible and how do you download new information and updates, if there are any?
It’s hard to top the Garmin brand when it comes to sports tech. So it comes as no surprise that the first choice on our list is the Garmin Approach X40. Featuring a slim, sleek, and stylish build, this compact sports accessory doesn’t only provide the distance between you and your target, but also lets you know what hazards are on the fairway.
Other than that, the device also provides accurate information on the distance travelled by your ball, your heart rate, steps taken, calories burnt, and the intensity of your activity level.
Small and compact, this cute little device gives you the straightforward details you need in order to get a better understanding of where you stand relative to the current hole. The device boasts the simplest user interface around, making it a hit among golfers who want to do away with all the fancy and often confusing bells and whistles.
Affordable, compact, and convenient, this clip on design is also often considered the best handheld golf GPS thanks to its minute size that fits conveniently in any pocket.
We told you Garmin was a front runner in this niche, and for good reasons. Take their Approach G10 for example – designed with seamless ease of use, a sleek design, and a feature-rich interface, there’s not much else you’d want in a device in the mid-range price.
Of course, it’s probably not as impressive as the X40, but all things considered, it’s powerful, accurate, efficient, and worth the cost considering its fair price tag.
Fitted with a small yet powerful magnet on its back, the Bushnell Phantom Golf GPS can easily mount to a club or your golf cart frame with a reliable cling. Its large display makes reading information easy at just a glance, and its compact design makes it the perfect companion for players who want something that can slip easily in and out of their pocket.
At its price, it definitely offers quite a lot of features, including extensive golf course information that covers a variety of well-known and lesser known courses you might frequent. The only downsides to the design is that it might not look as sleek or sophisticated as other choices, and it’s definitely not as durable either.
With all the features you would expect in a Garmin GPS device, the S20 is your industry standard GPS watch for golfers. It boasts a host of impressive features.
AutoShot analyser and recorder which integrates past experiences on a course in order to optimize your next visit, CourseView, which updates frequently played courses to inform you of possible changes and new hazards, as well as TruSwing Compatibility which helps improve your swing consistency.
Aside from all that, the S20 also measures heart rate, calories burnt, activity levels, and a bunch of other metrics that might be useful to golf buffs. But because it can seem pretty complicated, some users find that all the functionality becomes lost and confusing on such a compact screen.
The best golf GPS can be a major investment if you’re in search of a tool to help bump up your performance. But be careful – the market is riddled with poor choices that might give you severe bouts of buyer’s remorse soon after you receive your package.
As with all things, take your time to learn more about your choices. If you want our recommendation, the Garmin Approach X40 is a choice we believe is unlikely to disappoint. So if you’re out to find the best bang for your buck, be sure to check out the X40 or the other top notch picks we’ve listed above.
