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Will a golf GPS unit bring your game to the next level?

SuperStroke
Jimmyboy

Jimmyboy

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So I guess what I'm asking is if you own a golf gps have you found that it has brought your game to a whole new level? Or has it had little impact on how you play?

Thinking about getting a Golf Buddy GPS just want to know if it will help bring my game to a new level!?:confused2:
 
I am not sure it has brought my game to the next level, but it certainly has helped. I have been using them for a few years now and our club has them built into the carts now. Playing at a course without them is very hard for me. Knowing my distances to all hazards and around doglegs is a huge plus.

Units such as the Bushnell XGC Pro take it up a notch even further, but most have the same basic functions. Make sure whatever unit you are looking at has more features than just distance to the green. Make sure it atleast does hazards and points of interest.
 
I don't have a GPS, but my rangefinder helped me a bunch when I started using it. I think anytime you can go from guessing to knowing an actual number can only help you. Will it automatically shave 4 strokes off your game? Doubtful. But it will help you in the long run. You will know your distances better and not have to guess as much which will lead to more GIRs. The game is much easier when you don't have to guess.
 
A GPS won't make you play better, but you'll know how far things are away.. As I have said before, it is never bad to know your distance. This thread may turn into another GPS versus Rangefinder thread, but either way, knowing yardages is a good thing. The GPS won't give you the distance to the pin, but will give you front, middle and back readings, which for most people's games is plenty. Your better players who can hit it to within a yard or whatever will prefer the rangefinder.

Unless you are able to measure distances by sight, a GPS is a great tool to have. Many people use both, as sometimes you cannot see the pin from where you are, and the rangefinder can give you distances to objects not on the GPS. If I had to make a choice between the two, I would go with the GPS for a couple of reasons. One, ease of use (look down and get your yardage). Two, I am not so good that I need to know it is 138 yards to the pin. Knowing it is 145 to the center is good enough for my game. If you can see the pin, the person who cuts the hole that day has a smaller flag on the pin to indicate the area on the green (front, middle, back) that the pin is that day.

I'm glad I don't have to decide which one to use, because they both have their benefits and I use both during my rounds.
 
thanks for clearing some questions for me!:D I play the same course 95% of the time so I'm not sure how effective a GPS unit will be....
 
I agree that a GPS unit won't make you play better but it allows you to think better, which can lead to better play overall.

The things I most appreciate about GPS is knowing the distances to the front, middle and back of greens (especially the front) and knowing distances when I can't see a target or have to clear obstacles to reach a target.

Even something as simple as hitting a tee shot into an adjacent fairway can have you guessing at yardages, even if you can see the "150" marker in your fairway. Since you're in another fairway, you're obviously farther from the green than you would be if you were in your own fairway and trying to draw imaginary arcs in your mind from that 150 marker to where you're standing is difficult.
A GPS will tell me exactly how far I am from a green no matter where I am and that takes the guesswork, or "dead reckoning" and even ego out of the equation and that all by itself can save a stroke or two right there. In the course of a round, those little stroke savers add up.

GPS is definitely a very good course management aid because it provides a variety of information to you, but it's still up to you to decide what to do with that information. But it sure beats guessing.


-JP
 
I agree with the sentiments already posted. It won't miraculously change your game, but it definitely provides additional convenience and additional confidence. I think it also speeds up play - glance, number, club, and I'm done.
 
I found I had better club selection when I knew the yardages.I played better. And that was just with one mounted on the cart.Seemed to speed up things as well. I want one but there are just too many to choose from.Plus they can be expensive.I'm leaning toward the cheapest.
 
I think it has made me a little better only because I can make better club choices & layup to proper distances for my game.

It's nice knowing if I am out 243 yds & I want to layup to about 100, I can break out the 8 iron & will be right in my target range.
 
Dyna,
That is it for me without question. I try and play at a number and this has helped me 100% when doing that. It has also helped me understand my club selection and play a safer game knowing the distances to all the hazards.
 
The yardage number that has helped me the most is to the front edge of the green.

Knowing the distance to the middle is fine, but knowing the number to the front makes the middle number more relevant. The reason is that most greens tilt towards the fairway in some way. Since an uphill putt is far easier to deal with than some delicate little downhill slider, knowing the front edge distance allows me to make much better club choices so that I'm almost always looking at an uphill putt.

Say I'm on a par 3 tee and I can see that the pin is roughly dead center on the green. The distance to the middle of the green may be 180 yards, but if I also know that the distance to the front edge is, say, 154, I know that I have 26 yards to play with. And this is all from where I'm actually standing on the tee.
So let's say that I want to land my tee shot about 3 yards short of the pin, I know that distance will be 177 with a minimum distance of 154 so that a "safe" target distance might be around 165 or so. To get within three yards, I know that my tee shot will have to go somewhere between 165 and 177, which narrows things down even more. Now I just need to figure in the usual things like wind, elevation, shot-shape and so on.

So rather than having a static number like "180 to the middle", I instead have several choices because I know the front distance as well. Not only that, I also have distances to bunkers or other hazards which may affect my choices as well as an accurate image of the green and the ability to pinpoint specific areas of that green.
So now, instead of picking just one club for one distance, I may have a choice of as many as three clubs, as well as a variety of shot shapes to choose from, all because I know exactly where everything is instead of just where one thing is.

It really is the next best thing to having a caddy with a yardage book.


-JP
 
What I do NOT like about GPS is that they give you yardages to layup distances. For example, if you are 230 out,it tell you you are 80 yards to your 150 yard layup (duh), 105 yards to your 125 yard layup (duh, duh) and 130 yards to your 100 yard layup (duh, duh, duh)! I can figure that out by myself,and it's just a screen I have to scroll off of. It also keeps going back to that screen until you re past those distances! Bugs the heck outta me!

That's the only thing I really don't like about my GPS.
 
Jimmyboy said:
So I guess what I'm asking is if you own a golf gps have you found that it has brought your game to a whole new level? Or has it had little impact on how you play?

Thinking about getting a Golf Buddy GPS just want to know if it will help bring my game to a new level!?:confused2:
Click to expand...

I have both a GPS and a laser, and I find the laser to be far more useful than the GPS. It is not dependent on an outside agency picking the points to program into it, nor is dependent on having the course in it's memory. It doesn't require a subscription and one battery lasts an entire season. I can take a sighting on anything I can see... tree, bush, bunker lip, etc. There is no guesswork about the location of the flag because I shoot it directly. I only use my GPS on the infrequent occasions when I can't see my target. If I only had to stick with one, I'd go with the laser. Mine is the Bushnell Tour V2.

Has it brought my game to the next level.... not really. That is a factor of my physical ability (or lack thereof :confused2: ). I still have to deal with an inconsistent swing, but at least I have the added confidence of KNOWING that I have the right club, and if I make a decent swing, then good things will come of it. :D
 
I agree with what has been said for the most part. The one thing I use the GPS for the most is checking my distances hit. The range I go to has no yardage markers at all so I never know how far Im hitting. The GPS is great for those shots where I feel like I killed the driver only to look down and see 208! Nothing like being humbled! Another thing is price. Seems most of the units sold are $300-500 and you still have to buy a subscription. Im not down with that. I bought a Golf Buddy Pro that requires no subscription ever. So far Ive had no trouble with courses either. Its not color but other then that it does everything else! Needless to say I use it every round and actually feel handicapped when I forget to charge it and cant use it!
 
I bought mine on ebay for $240, shipping included. That was for the GPS and the first year's subscription. Mine also uses regular batteries. When it dies on the course I just put another pair in.
 
Harry Longshanks said:
I agree with the sentiments already posted. It won't miraculously change your game, but it definitely provides additional convenience and additional confidence. I think it also speeds up play - glance, number, club, and I'm done.
Click to expand...

totally agree Harry....
 
Got one about two months ago and I agree with the above. I don't think it has gotten me to the "next level," but it helps with confidence and club selection. It is helping me to learn my true distances - I was a bit optimistic; it is a humbling little device.:beat-up:
 
I thinking about getting one too. The bushnell xgc is only 300 after rebate. Should i pull the trigger?
 
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