2015 Golf’s Most Wanted: Handheld GPS

By Tim Halberg

Who makes the best handheld Golf GPS in 2015?

Handheld Golf GPS units may all appear to be nearly identical on the surface outside of screen size, but when you start to dig in and ask, why would a golfer use this, the test results quickly separate the winners. Your biggest question this year for handheld GPS won’t come down to accuracy or number of courses loaded, but will come down to if you want a small, medium or large screen and if you’d prefer to do software/map updates via wifi or through USB interface.

* Note: in general all GPS devices access the same satellites, so accuracy is similar across the board. Likewise all handheld GPS devices come preloaded with more than 30,000 courses. Which means accuracy and number of courses pre-loaded doesn’t make a device stand out.

While the answers may appear simple, the testing was thorough and The Most Wanted Handheld GPS winner was put through the paces rain and shine to give you the insight you need to make your buying decision.

Golf’s Most Wanted Handheld GPS:

The Competitors

Left to right:

• SkyCaddie Touch
• Golf Buddy PT4
• Garmin Approach G7
• Garmin Approach G8
• IZZO Swami

While the notable features seem nearly identical for three of the four units, in testing we were able to dig past the features you might read on the box or the manufacturer’s website. Our panel of reviewers brought different concerns to the table and were asked to provide feedback on Ease of Use, Battery Life, Screen Readability, Features and Updating the units. Testing took place at a range of public and private courses in Palm Springs, Sacramento, Monterey and Carmel. Units were tested in light rain, under clouds, near/under trees, while walking, while riding in carts and connected to computers.

Among the competitors there was little variation to distances measured – modern GPS units can connect to 20+ satellites when possible and from an accuracy standpoint fall inside of the expected variables to the average golfer’s distances. In order for a GPS to stand out from the crowd it was going to need to be dead simple to use, provide all the options you could want without getting in it’s own way, and surprise you at a turn or two.

• Ease of Use – From box to first tee, how much effort does it take to understand the unit and move through your first round. Do you NEED to read the manual in full? Does it take more than one try to figure out just turning the unit on?
• Battery Life – One round? Two, three…? What does the manufacturer claim? Did we see anything in testing that differed?
• Readability – In the past it was common for GPS units to be difficult to read in the bright sun. Also, how large are the numbers? Our resident “old guy” was consulted specifically to this factor.
• Features – Important features are listed in the above graph, but digging beyond that, is there an interface both on the unit and/or online to review rounds and stats? How easy is it to move the target point while seeing where on the map you are? Is zooming in easy and does it make sense?
• Updating – You want to add more courses or get the latest software update. Do you need to plug the unit in, or just be connected to wifi? Can you use either a Mac or PC platform?

Golf’s Most Wanted Handheld GPS Winner

Garmin Approach G8

• Good – A balance of big enough without going “too big.” Easy to read, dead simple to use with hidden features that make reading the manual well worth your time to sync with your phone, view numbers larger and collect/review your stats. In testing we pulled 3 rounds out of one charge.
• Bad – Would love to see satellite images of each hole to be even more precise.
• Notes – As with Garmin’s S4 watch, the G8 Handheld unit is a pack leader offering everything and then some. Updates can be done automatically via wifi. The interface just simply works, and there’s nothing there that doesn’t need to be. Your biggest decision now becomes, do you want a smaller form factor in the G7 and then sacrifice the ability to update via wifi, but save $100.

Golf’s Most Wanted Handheld GPS Runner-Up

Garmin Approach G7

• Good – Almost all the features you “need” as it’s big brother, but in a slightly smaller package. We still got three rounds of battery life.
• Bad – On the verge of being too small
• Notes – If you have great eyesight  you might not mind the smaller form factor, and if you have smaller hands, this might be a winner as well. If you don’t care about wifi updates and don’t mind a slightly smaller display, this unit is your clear winner.

Golf Buddy PT4

• Good – Biggest screen and number of the competitors
• Bad – Slightly clunkier interface vs. the Garmin units, not enough battery to realistically play two rounds
• Notes – This unit wins the Elder Statesman stamp of approval for largest screen and default largest numbers (the Garmin can zoom the number just as big or bigger)

SkyCaddie Touch

• Good – Decent sized screen, and offers updating via bluetooth
• Bad – SLOW boot time and reaction time to touch screen inputs. Low quality graphics. Not very intuitive to use out of the box.
• Notes – Slowest unit we tested from pressing the power button to getting your first distance on course. Sluggish response in the software to touch screen inputs and difficult to actually work your way through setup to update maps via bluetooth (first must download their app to your phone, pair phone bia bluetooth, then you’re in business) Absolutely must read the manual for this device.

 

• Good – Dead simple, no fuss
• Bad – Tough to make sense of this purchase with so many lower priced units that offer more in a smaller format
• Notes – For someone who isn’t tech savy and doesn’t want to mess with a map, this might work for them, but our suggestion would be to look at the options from our Watch/Voice GPS Guide.

Final Ratings

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