Golf Buddy
 

What is the best golf buddy to buy? Why?

I don’t buy my golf buddies. I try to beat them in golf so they have to buy me a beer after the round.

I still have my old GolfBuddy Pro (discontinued) which is many years old. Works great! No need to pay to get course updates. The newer ones don't look as appealing to me, but it appears they have the same features.

If that's the case I'd highly recommend it. The shot distance tracker is fantastic so you can measure your shot from the tee to verify that you have your club distances dialed in and can spot trends in driver distance, etc.

I don't personally care for the watch and would get the basic version (if mine ever broke).

I also have a laser rangefinder and use that for wedges, but sometimes there are hills or trees that prevent a line of site range finder and the GPS is very handy.

Whatever happened to looking at the course yard marker, adding or subtracting the paces either side, picking a club, then hitting the ball?
They will be launching drones and weather balloons next.
No wonder it takes hours to complete a round!

So using current tech is slower than pacing off yardages? I don’t think so.

If you have a smart phone, the are many apps available.

Rollie

Voice 2 is great.
Accurate & responsive.
I did not want to wear a watch, mostly in 95 degree heat.

I had a prior version & is was much slower.

The Golf Buddy WTX+ is a top of the line GPS watch. It offers distances to middle, front and back of green. It also will measure the actual distance of a shot, and has full color layouts of each hole with distances to hazards (i.e. sand traps, water). You can show just the green, and set where the pin is for accurate distances. I love it - have had no issues at all with it!

That being said - I'm getting a new one. I'm getting their latest version that now has slope in it as well. The new watch is $299... if you're interested, I'm selling the old one for $90 (it's still $229 new).

I had a Golf Buddy Global I paid $150 for a dozen years ago and a Callaway/Nike Range Finder, I found I use the rangefinder almost every shot. When TV opened Evans Prairie and Belle Glade and other new courses the Golf Buddy I had to download the courses, plus it was always a hassle to look for it in the cup holder or wherever I stuck it.

Two years ago I bought the Garmin Approach GPS wrist watch at Jim's Golf Shop for $129, that's all I use now. It's great, no matter where I go I just look at my wrist. I thought it might irritate me having something on my wrist, but it's the same hand area that you're wearing a glove, I don't even know it's there. It has all the courses I play, even when I go off campus.

I was just looking it up and it's now only $99 at Dick's and until the end of today (11/30) Dick's has 25% off on the top of the website page.

https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/p...B&gclsrc=aw.ds


https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/s...L08qA&usqp=CAc

I use SwingU on my iPhone. Very good.

I use the free app VPAR on my phone. Works great shows trees, sand traps. Gives you your yardage to front. Center, and back of green. Did I mention free,?

I use SwingU on my phone as well, works great for me

I have a golf buddy wtx which does a good job. I never understood the need for a range finder they are slow to measure and hold up play. Who is good enough to need the exact yardage

Everyone in the group ahead of me.

Do you play championship courses where your approach shot is from the fairway on 14 of the 18 holes or executives courses where you're always hitting off a tee with a yardage marker? That's one big difference right there.

I don't know how you can play a serious game, or score good if you don't know the distances of your individual clubs. In which case, you need to hit the range. I'm only 5'9" 150 and 70 years old. My PW is exactly 103 yards if I hit it full and good. My 9 iron is 110, my 8 is 122, my 7 is 135, my 6 is 145 and my 5 if 159 and my 4 iron is 169 and my 4 hybrid is 179. So if the distance is between those ranges, I have to know to take some off or hit it harder. My drives average 210 on the fly 220 total distance. It's more of exact science if you want to play correctly. I started playing when I was 12. In January when I'm paying $65 for 18 holes, I'm not going out to mess around. Unfortunately I only play one day a week, so my scoring is not where I want it, I'm averaging between 76 and 84 from the whites.

Best golf buddy is someone with a low handicap.

iPhone App
 

If you have a Smartphone try 18Birdies. It is a free App and not only gives distances on every shot but also tracks your score and shows wind speed and direction.

Much easier to be at your ball and look at a range finder or GPS than pacing off from a marker, which you have to find. Plus, that’s not what slows play. Poor cart etiquette is the biggest factor. Where you leave the cart, do you get out of the cart when you get to you partners ball and walk to yours, (pre-pandemic), now you should be at your ball and be ready to hit. Also, after you hit, get in your cart and worry about cleaning your club and putting it back in the bag when you stop at your next shot. THATS WHAT WILL SPEED PLAY!

Personally I like a laser range finder. You can spot anything/obstacle to know the distance. This helps in understanding what it takes to clear an obstacle when the obstacle is in front of your landing zone. The only issue with a laser is fog defeats it.

I have had"golf buddy voice" for 12 yrs, never had a problem with it.

Best answer I‘be seen yet. My “buddy” has a 9 handicap.

Amazon, i was about to order one monday and ended up getting the Garmin s10. Was only a few dollars more and garmin had great reviews. Shows out for deliver today

I purchased a GolfBuddy Voice 2 Golf GPS/Rangefinder Bundle with Ball Marker and Magnetic Hat Clip for $99 at Amazon. I will sell it to you for $75. Used only once. Here is a link to the product

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Might need a bigger discount, it's now $83 on Amazon. :duck:

Golf Buddy
 

If you are looking for a laser gps, my husband and I did some research and I decided on the Aim L10. Can be purchased at Amazon or local golf shops.

It depends on your skill level, and your ability to control distance. Laser provides exact distance to the pin, and not center of green as GPS does. GPS generally also gives front of green and back of green. Knowing the distance between the pin and edge of green matters to skilled players, for club selection. For the average golfer, I think most pros would tell you to hit it at the center of the green. I can get the GPS front-back and Laser pin position in less than 10 seconds. I think this is much faster than guestimating, and then having second thoughts.

Appreciate the offer hubby wants to buy me a new one

Thanks great info

don't buy a golf buddy- waste of money - use the distance markers at the t-box. If the t is in front of the marker SUBSTRACT a few yards. If behind then ADD 3 or 4 yards. Golf buddies are a waste, unless you just WANT to look cool.

That's the same one I mentioned in post #9, I've been using it for about two years and it's a great to have right on your wrist. The Garmin Approach S10.

That's exactly what I was referencing in post #15. Playing executives where almost all your shots come from a tee box with a yardage marker is nothing like playing a championship golf course hitting from the fairway, the rough, out of the woods to a green or a layup. A discussion about GPS's really only pertains to a par 72 championship course.

Actually, all the Championship courses have reflectors imbedded into the top of the flagsticks which makes it very quick and easy to shot the yardage to the pin with a laser. It doesn’t take any longer to shot the yardage than it would to look at an app on your phone or a gps devise. And some greens are so big that the difference between a front and back pin placement can be two clubs. I will always use a rangefinder, just personal preference I guess. Regardless of how one determines the yardage, it still requires putting the right swing on the ball. Golf on !

If looking around for sprinkler heads and pacing off the yardage to the nearest one is quicker than glancing at a display, then go for it.

But I agree, be quick. Get distance and make club selection while playing partners are shooting.

I mounted my GolfBuddy to my cart so I have can see the distance as I drive up.

My neighbor that I rode with before the pandemic created an attachment for his Golf Buddy on the post. The Golf Buddy has to go inside between rounds for recharging, for whatever reason he would forget it half the time or left it in his bag because he walked the Executives between Championship rounds and then it wasn't charged enough. I did the same myself, forget the Golf Buddy a couple of times.

Since I've gotten the wrist watch version from Garmin two years ago I've not forgotten it ever, I think because it's part of your apparel it's easier to remember. I also find on my wrist is really handy, especially when your playing 'rough only' or 'cart path only' days that happens during our rainy season May to October.

For years I eschewed techno intrusions into golf. Learned as a youth how to estimate yardage from a few landmarks; 150 marker, colored yardage plate and sprinkler heads where close. Trained a lot of caddies to do the same, my son included. Would compare their pace off with my estimate and usually had less than 5 yards difference. Good skill to have in the bag when needed.

Now have a basic (yardage only) scope, mostly for strange courses and to quickly advise fellow players of yardage’s to keep them moving along. Use it to dial in my hickories as most ranges are worthless for that exercise. Not allowed for hickory play as however.

As with any tool, used properly they can be a benefit, while misused they can really slow up everything. Having been a single digit player I am constantly amazed at the advanced technology some bring to bear, so they can hit their next shot another 50 yards. Unless they have a ubs port in their butt the technology is near useless. Also most of these watches and such only give estimated distances to center, or front/back.

But each to their own.

Love my golf buddy Voice. No downloads or subscriptions... 40,000 courses loaded.

Quick, easy, and simple to use.

Never take my $$$ Garmin Christmas gift anymore.

18Birdies. Free phone app. Been using it for 5 yrs. Gives distance to front, middle and back of green. You can also see how far to bunkers or water or houses :-). Track your score. GIRs. Fairways hit. There's a premium version, but I don't need it. Free version is great.
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THIS is a golf buddy,,, the other things are just electronics who's primary purpose is to confuse us
blair o'neill golfer - Bing

When I used to play Championship courses I always walked, and by the time I had reached my ball I had worked out yardage, and club selection.
Never held up play 'pacing off,' and kept up easily with cart golfers.
Only play Execs. now, but still walk, repair my own and others divots, and rake bunkers for the lazy and entitled.
Old fashioned I know, but I still think the New Rules allowing DMD's took some of the unpredictability out of the game.
Far to techy now. Just imagine a four in front playing like Dechambeau!:icon_wink:

SwingU on your phone is free. It gives you an original satelite view of the hole and front, middle and back distances to the green. A great feature is you can tap the screen to see distances to any spot on the hole (example: to a bunker). Works well on ALL villages courses (including Exec.). Might give an occasional misreading but not often. You can buy an upgraded version with additional features such as wind speed and elevations but I'm not good enough for it to make any difference in my game. Loads quickly and uses about 40% of the battery life on my iPhone 8 for 18 holes.