Readers Respond: Have You Tried a Golf GPS Device? Improve Your Game?

Responses: 56

By Fred Zahradnik, About.com Guide

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I have tried both skycaddie and Garmin 8. With the Garmin you can use it right out of the box. With the skycaddie you have to figure your way around the unit. I tried the SG-5. Too complicated. Make mine Garmin
—Guest Dbl Jay

I did a lot of research before picking up the Approach. I chose it as it showed the entire hole instead of just the green and a distances to various hazards (which you set up). I liked the Callaway one as well but it is based on google earth and I found it a little more difficult to see and I really didn't care about the fly-bys that cost $10 per hole. With the ability to drag the icon around it makes it easy to figure out how far the group in front of you is so you can hit sooner, I pick the right club to hit, I make smarter choices about laying up etc. I love this and I am sure any one you pick will help. This one has 8800 free courses and they recently added a zoom feature (for free) which help with more complex holes. It is easy to read, I use it to keep score and it stores your score cards so you can download them at home. All in all, one of the best purchases I made and it just dropped $100 as there is a price war on these lately.
—Guest Garmin Approach

Unit worked good, then you have to pay $40 per year just to keep the courses you have already loaded on your unit and working. Rip off.
—Guest Waterglide

i have had skycaddies for the past 3yrs they are like having your own caddie help me so much to shoot my best low rounds and had my first hole in 1! thanks to proper yardges
—Guest c powell

I have had the Garmin 2007 model and used it until the 2008 model came out. While all the distance figures are very helpful the best use for me is finding out how far you can hit each one of your clubs in your bag. Also the last shot distance is very helpful, lets you figure how to play the "problem" holes on the courses you normally play. All in all they are a good investment for a golfer who is interested in improvoing his or her game. I have friends who have a Skycaddie and the distance measurements are neqrly identical.
—Guest Kdutchman

i have the skycaddie SG4 its a dog! i play with someone with a newer unit and my yardages are off by 5-8 on a good day. keeps crashing looses signal while my friends is working fine. skycaddie has offered no solutions other than buy a new unit.
—yoik

I have both units. Sky Caddie is the "Cadillac" of the industry. Golf Logix tech support is non-existent. Buy Sky Caddie !
—Guest Bill G

I have now use the Garmin 4 times and absolutely love it. This unit has all the features needed to help you in a round of golf. Check the course availability on Garmin's website but almost all of the courses I play in New Jersey are on it with full course layouts. Rumor is Garmin is releasing more courses soon for download and I love that all the courses are already stored on the unit. On the course I noticed accuracy was within 2 yards at the worst from USGA Markers. The touch screen is easy to use with a finger use but using a tee in lieu of a stylus pen made it easier for selecting menu options or targeting points on the course. The screen is easy to read in sunlight. Being able to move the flag on the green is a huge plus and the scorecard feature is awesome. Saving the rounds and downloading them is a great way to track your performance. I use NiMH rechargeable batteries and carry extras. So far I get 2 rounds out of the batteries. This is the best golf accessory purchase I made!
—Seagarz

I use ViewTi, an iphone app which gives me distances as well as satelite views. It is inexpensive and isn't always as fast as I'd like when I'm using a cart, but it beats SkyCaddy and all the others on price and having used several generations of golf gps I'm sold on this. Of course, you have to have an iphone first.
—Guest Mike Maher

Using my golf GPS brings greater consistency to my game. I am able to get back to the flag more often as well.
—Guest Big Andy

Definitely handy and speeds play. It won't save time if the other players in your foursome insist on walking back and forth to use a single GPS to find their exact distances. I try to get level with them and shout distances or tell them to get their own GPS!
—fit_n_fast

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