So the rangefinder is not your style huh? That's cool, now you are ready for a GPS unit. GPS units are the latest rage in golf and they are not without some confusing features and choices. Let's try to weed through the confusion together.
The first thing we have to do is define what the GPS unit does. GPS units are linked to satellites in orbit over the earth that can read where the unit is and give you distance to certain, pre-programmed objects. The accuracy is incredible and it is a bit easier to use than a rangefinder since the distances are displayed for you as opposed to you having to shoot the laser at the object.
Courses are mapped by humans who walk the course with a satelite backpack that looks like something out of "Ghostbusters." They walk to certain areas of the golf course and "tell" the satelite to remember that point. From there, they walk to another point and repeat the process. The shortcoming of these units is that you can't have an infinite number of points of interest. A golf course can have thousands of trees and there is no way that a mapper is going to use every single on of them as a point of interest.
To combat this, most of the units will allow you to put your own point of interest into the system. If the bunker you can't seem to clear, no matter what you do, isn't on the unit, you can put it on there manually. Most units accommodate up to 5 extra points of interest per hole so you should be able to get yourself everything you need to score.
The only other problem is that a GPS unit does not tell you the distance to the pin. The units only provide distance to the front, middle, and back of the greens. The reason is the same as the tree problem. On a given green, there may be dozens of possible pin locations. How would you tell the satelite what location they are using today?
Most people I talk to are computer illeterate, like me, and the GPS scares them. You will, most likely, have to use your computer at some point to download a course. Since most of the units come "blank" with nothing on them, you will have to put the courses you want to have on the units. Sometimes, the units may only hold 10 or so courses so you may have to drop and add courses based on where you are playing too. While this sounds tough to do, it is actually very easy. If you have ever downloaded photots from your camera to your computer, you have done all you need to be able to use the software for a GPS unit.
The last thing you must know before deciding on a golf GPS unit is that most of them have either an activation fee or a membership fee of some kind. Some of them have levels of membership as well which you will need to know before you purchase a GPS. You can check these features on each of the GPS manufacturers websites.
So I'm still on board and now I have to decide which unit to get. Sky Caddie was the first to develop the golf GPS and so they kind of lead the way when people think of a golf GPS unit. They have a variety of units available. The SG5 is the flagship of their line. It is in color and comes with all the bells and whistles that a GPS can come with.
Garmin is the #1 name in GPS systems worldwide so it is no surprise that they have a GPS for golf too. The Golflogix is one of the easiest GPS units to use. The large display is easy to read and displays only distances to the points of interest as opposed to others that show computer photos of the green or the course.
The Golfbuddy is intriguing. This unit has all the bells and whistles as well as no activation or yearly membership fee. In fact, it comes pre-loaded with up to 20,000 courses so it is pretty much ready to go from the moment you open the box. Go to the first tee and turn it on and you should be good to go. Of course if your course is not one the 20,000 pre-loaded courses, you will have to download it from the website, but a small price to pay to not pay a price ever again, right?
There are others, trust me there are others. There are some that have maps of the hole that you are playing. Others are marketed as the most innexpensive on the market. Others have a "real life" flyover of the hole as you play it so that you can see the lay of the land you are about to conquer. Choices abound!
Either way you go, calculating the distance you are about to have is paramount to playing better golf. GPS or Rangefinder, it is up to you. But technology can help you. Take advantage where you can, this game is hard enough.
Play well and have fun!
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